Harris versus Trump campaign slogans: a storyteller’s analysis (or, a victory for the more resonant story)
This is not a post about politics. This is a post about why stories matter, and what we look for from our politicians’ stories. Because whether we are running for office or writing the script for our podcast trailer, we are in a realm of competing stories. So what can we learn as narrative podcasters by comparing the slogans for the 2024 Trump and Harris campaigns?
First of all, a few analogies between campaign slogans and narrative podcasts: an effective political slogan, just like a good narrative podcast, helps us make sense of our experience, and makes us feel equipped to take action in our lives. Good slogans, like good stories, are specific enough to be real and distinct, but also allow us to project our own needs and aspirations onto the canvas they create.
But before we dive into assessing the individual campaign slogans, let’s think about some core storytelling principles:
As scriptwriting guru Robert McKee puts it, all stories deep down are about trying to restore the balance of life. So an effective campaign slogan will acknowledge that voters feel that their lives are out of balance somehow.
An effective campaign slogan will also relate to the four elements of every compelling story: character, setting, conflict, and resolution. But it’s important to clarify that a good slogan (just like a good story) will let voters imagine themselves as the main characters in the story, not the candidate or the author/host.
A great campaign slogan will also speak to the conflict that voters feel in their own lives, and point to some resolution that they are longing for.
So with these general story structure principles in mind, let’s look at the slogans for the 2024 Harris and Trump campaigns.
Harris campaign: “a new way forward.”
This slogan speaks to all of those who feel the old way isn’t working. “A new way forward” also implies that our lives, our nation, is out of balance, and we need to try something different to regain that balance. The word “forward“ also suggests progress and hope and resolution to problems, which is what we all want from politicians and stories.
The deep human desire that “a new way forward” speaks to is the desire for change, the feeling that there’s something better out there, and we need to venture out after it. It’s the belief that animates inventors and entrepreneurs and immigrants, the belief that a better future is possible and is worth working for.
Thinking about psychology, the basic belief or personality trait that the Harris campaign slogan rests on is the belief that change is good. It’s the litmus test for being progressive.
My critique of “a new way forward“ is that the promise is vague. Forward to what? If you feel like you are lost, going somewhere is preferable to going nowhere, but what if you don’t want to go forward?
Trump campaign: “make America great again.“
This slogan speaks to everyone who feels that the imbalance in their lives is because of how America is changing. That America is not great anymore, America is slipping out of our hands, sliding into some unrecognizable non-greatness.
“Make America great again” speaks to the perennial human desire to hold on to the things we love. Maybe it’s pre-9/11 travel (remember that, no TSA?). Maybe it’s pre-streaming-service music. Maybe it’s drive-in movies and cars with lots of chrome and fins. Whatever the memory, “Make America great again” invites us to fill them in ourselves.
Nostalgia is powerful, and we can all look around and point to some way we don’t like how life has changed.
In terms of story elements, “Make America great again” does well: this slogan allows voters to imagine themselves as characters helping to achieve this mission; the setting is clearly America; the central conflict is how the country is changing; the promised resolution to the story is a return to greatness.
The resolution or promise of this slogan is more powerful and evocative the other slogan, because “forward“ suggests people imagine a new future, whereas American greatness allows people to fill in their favorite memories about the past.
The basic belief or personality trait that the Trump campaign rests on is the belief that change is bad.
Another core psychological trait that “make America great again“ taps into is loss aversion. The principle that people will work harder or be more bothered to keep something they have, instead of getting something else that they don’t.
At heart, these two contrasting campaign slogans boil down to the essences of the conservative versus progressive worldview: do you believe change is bad and should be resisted or approached with caution, or do you believe change is good and necessary, and welcome it? These are the timeless truths about humanity that each of these slogans speaks to. And of course, we shouldn’t over simplify; we may appreciate change in one context, like when our kid is finally potty trained, but then fear change in another area, like aging. But in a voting context, the two slogans give us an internal referendum: do you want to go looking for something new, or back to the way things were?
From a purely storytelling perspective, I would give the edge to the Trump campaign slogan, because greatness is more evocative promise than forwardness.
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