Trump vs. The Death Star

Trump won the 2024 election because he told a better story. No, wait, that’s not quite correct. He won the election because the Democrats handed him a better story.

It was like the end of Star Wars, a zero-sum duel. If Luke does not destroy the Death Star, it will destroy his cause and his friends and probably him, too. Oh, man, what a scenario. The suspense makes you want to see Luke succeed so badly. Your whole heart gets invested in this contest.

You probably see where I’m going. The Democrats created the same suspenseful scenario when they hit Trump with all those lawsuits. Either he wins the election—or he goes to prison. And as it always does, the suspense pulled at people’s hearts.

I can hear the objection: “But Trump was not Luke Skywalker! He was the bad guy!”

It doesn’t matter. Hitchcock explained this all the time. Suspense makes the audience root for the character in jeopardy, regardless of his morality.

“But Trump was not the only person in jeopardy. He put American democracy in jeopardy! He put human rights in jeopardy! He put millions of people in jeopardy!”

But the audience does not identify with millions. It identifies with an individual.

“But there were so many factors. Inflation, Joe Biden’s health, the rise of alternative media. It’s simplistic to say the election came down to the suspense created by a few lawsuits.”

Yes, it is simplistic. And yes, the election was more complicated than the end of Star Wars. But our brains like simple answers.