In 1992, Bill Clinton was in a presidential race for the White House against incumbent George H. W. Bush while the U.S. economy recovered from a recession. Economic hardship was one of the primary issues keeping voters up at night, and the mood in Clinton’s campaign headquarters reflected that of the country. “It’s The Economy, Stupid” was not meant to take on a life of its own beyond campaign walls. Instead, it was the creation of Clinton’s political strategist, James Carville, and one of the three primary messages posted on a sign inside the campaign’s headquarters in Arkansas to remind everyone on the team where the country's main problems lie. While the phrase never graced official campaign ads, it acted as a de facto campaign slogan that helped catapult Carville to fame and Clinton to the White House [1]. 

 On January 8, 2008, after trailing behind then-Senator Hillary Clinton in the primary election, Senator Barack Obama gave a passionate speech in New Hampshire that gave birth to the slogan that would accompany his campaign to victory in November. Many Americans continued to grapple with the effects of the Great Recession, an economic catastrophe that caused millions of Americans to lose their homes and sent the unemployment rate skyrocketing [2]. Over 900 U.S. service members were killed in the Iraq War during the year prior [3]. “Yes, we can” tapped into the spirit of optimism and emphasized the uniqueness of American resilience. “You can be the new majority leading this nation out of a long political darkness. We will end this war in Iraq. We will bring our troops home. We will finish the job -- we will finish the job against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. We will care for our veterans. We will restore our moral standing in the world. Yes, we can heal this nation. Yes, we can repair this world. Yes, we can” [4].

Modern U.S. presidential campaigns are well-oiled machines that produce massive rallies, advertisements, and speeches. These events are meant to reach the ears of millions and total billions of dollars in spending every four years. Long after the campaigning has ended and the votes tallied, what remains on the manicured lawns of front yards, affixed to car bumpers, the fronts of t-shirts, and the backs of people’s minds are just a few words: “I Like Ike!,” “It’s Morning Again in America,” and “Yes We Can.” At their most basic level, political slogans must be palatable, catchy, and easy to repeat. According to communications expert Eric Swartz, “To be memorable, a slogan has to be catchy. To be politically effective, however, it needs to be authentic” [5]. While hard research scarcely exists to back any conclusions about slogans [6], to generate enthusiasm amongst their base, political slogans need to resonate with the candidate’s larger message and be utilized in persuasive ways [7]. 

This upcoming election will highlight two slogans: “Make America Great Again” and “We’re Not Going Back.” Both sum up completely different visions for the country’s future. One calls for a return to a time of stability and American exceptionalism by appealing primarily to conservative voters who yearn to return to traditional values. The other captures a commitment to progress and forward-looking policies by appealing to younger and marginalized groups who fear a regression in their rights and freedoms. Each slogan has succeeded not only due to its ability to persuade but also because it serves as a rallying cry for the ideological divide that has become deeply embedded in American politics.  

MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN

“Make America Great Again” was a statement first uttered by Donald Trump after Obama’s reelection in 2012; undoubtedly planting the seeds for his campaign just four years later [8]. If the slogan seemed familiar, President Ronald Reagan first used the term during his 1980 presidential campaign. Reagan, dubbed “the Great Communicator,” created this slogan when he acknowledged that the economy was resurfacing from a period of stagflation. During his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, Reagan lamented, “For those who’ve abandoned hope, we’ll restore hope and we’ll welcome them into a great national crusade to make America great again” [9]. Despite its historical origin, Trump claimed authorship of the phrase in a Fox interview in 2015, stating, “I came up with it about a year ago, and I kept using it, and everybody's now using it, they are all loving it”; there is no mistake that the slogan is now synonymous with the Trump campaign [10]. 

Trump’s slogan roused much of the Republican base, which refrained from voting during McCain and Romney's years. During his 2016 campaign, Trump spoke often about a bleak and pessimistic outlook on the future of the United States. At a rally in Virginia in July of 2016, Trump remarked, “ Too many Americans are trapped in fear, violence, and poverty. Our inner cities have been left behind, and I am going to fight to make sure every citizen of this country has a safe home, safe school, and safe community.” [11].  Trump’s speech during his presidential announcement emphasized a nation overrun by poor trade deals, illegal immigration, increased competition from abroad, and positioned himself as a fighter for workers and the antithesis of globalization. His promises to bring back jobs to Americans, cut taxes, and remove America from the global stage for the sake of focusing on domestic issues became the core tenets of Trump’s populist “Make America Great Again” slogan. According to a Pew Research poll conducted during his candidacy, many of his supporters agreed with his outlook. 84 percent of those who support Trump for the GOP presidential nomination favor building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border [12]. Nearly seven out of every ten Trump supporters polled (69 percent) said that immigrants today are a burden on the U.S. because “they take our jobs, housing and health care” [12].  

Nevertheless, Trump's definition of MAGA was not shared with many of his critics. For some, the phrase echoed a return to a period that many Americans, particularly African Americans, associate with systemic oppression and racial violence. Critics argued that the slogan either ignores or romanticizes eras where racism was deeply entrenched in American society through slavery or Jim Crow laws. Author Stephen Finley captures these sentiments by questioning, “When had America been great—during slavery? Jim Crow? The period of lynching that lasted about a century from the beginnings of Reconstruction? That ostensible American “greatness” had grave consequences for African Americans. It signaled white consolidation, a backlash” [13]. From Finely’s perspective, MAGA can be seen as a retreat from hard-fought civil rights and inclusion in recent decades. The Sydney Morning Herald also shared this same sentiment by writing, “His election campaign theme was effectively a promise to "Make America Great Again; America First and Only" and – nod, nod, wink, wink – to Make America White Again” [14]. 

Despite winning over 70 million votes and having an extraordinary hold on much of the country, Trump lost reelection in 2020 to career politician Joe Biden. Trump had won the presidency partly because the MAGA movement stood for the breaking of norms, distrust of the media, and the anti-liberal order. But Donald Trump also lost the presidency partly due to the MAGA movement standing for the breaking of norms, distrust of the media, and the anti-liberal order. Many of his supporters who gave him a chance in 2016 began to disapprove of his job performance, especially after the events occurring on January 6, 2021—an event where some of Trump’s most ardent supporters stormed the capital to protest the results of the election [15]. While some found his brash nature and unconventional politicking a breath of fresh air, some found it off-putting at best and offensive at worst [16].

Unlike many presidential candidates who rebrand their slogans during reelection season, Trump’s remained the same. During Joe Biden’s presidency, Trump continued to fan the flames of the MAGA movement to ensure the spark hadn’t died out. Now, the slogan has rekindled and retained the same fever from its base as it had before while relying on many of the same principles in its founding. Trump hopes to capitalize on the same blood & soil nationalism that propelled him to the White House in 2016, hoping that America asks itself, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” [17] 

WE’RE NOT GOING BACK

In most presidential campaign cycles, the nominee has ample time to discuss their message with political strategists and campaign managers to ensure that it will resonate with voters. Slogans consume a great deal of forethought from campaign managers, political strategists, and political pundits, who see a candidate’s slogan as the first attempt to define their identity and create a brand around their candidacy [18]. After a pitiable debate that left many Democrats reconsidering their nominee for a second term as president of the United States, President Biden’s age and cognizance became the center focus for many political pundits and voters [19]. Undeterred by the discontent brewing amongst prominent members of the Democratic party and public cries to drop out, Joe Biden insisted upon his decision to remain in the race and reassured his most loyal supporters that any calls for his resignation would fall on deaf ears. On Sunday, July 21st, Joe Biden officially decided to end his campaign for a second presidential term in a social media post. Biden described Harris as “experienced,” “tough,” and “capable” and reminded America that we are “a republic if you can keep it” [20]

“We’re Not Going Back” can almost be seen as a reply to “Make America Great Again” in slogan form. Similar to Clinton’s “It’s The Economy, Stupid,” Harris’s slogan was not supposed to be her campaign’s catchphrase. Biden’s initial reelection strategy was to campaign on the sharp contrast between him and Trump; Harris intended to pick up where Biden left off. During one of her initial speeches after Biden dropped out, Harris said, “ I took on perpetrators of all kinds. Predators who abused women. Fraudsters who ripped off consumers. Cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say, I know Donald Trump’s type. And in this campaign, I will proudly put my record against his” [21].  Shortly after, Harris uttered the phrase “We’re not going back,” and it was met with raucous applause. Harris continued to use the slogan to symbolize the core message of her campaign until her official nomination as the democratic nominee for President. 

While Trump's meaning of MAGA alludes to the days of American exceptionalism, Harris redefines it as the days in which bodily autonomy, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, and free speech were a thing of the past. Coincidentally, Trump has contributed to several instances of regression over the last four years. Trump boasted about playing a part in overturning Roe v. Wade [22]. Meanwhile, Trump-supporting governors like Ron Desantis vowed to remove aspects of African American history from schools that he feels “delve too far into political agendas” [23]. Book banning was successfully implemented by certain conservative groups, such as Moms For Liberty, whose platform advocates against curriculums that touch on LGTBQ rights, race discrimination, and even the way schools define a scientific fact [24]. Harris saw an opportunity to use a slogan that channeled the fears of Democrats and Progressives.  While “We’re Not Going Back” sounds like a defiant retort to the MAGA movement, it also alludes to a time when her candidacy was all but possible.