U.S. Elections: Democracy or Entertainment

On the night of November 8, 2016, I went to bed in our overnight apartment in Stockholm, convinced that Hillary Clinton would win the U.S. presidential election. The last thing I saw on my phone was a prediction graph showing her as the likely victor. I turned off the lights, feeling certain of the outcome.

But when my alarm went off the next morning, my world shifted. I grabbed my phone and saw that the prediction graph had completely flipped around 4 a.m. CET. By 8:29, the Associated Press had called it: Donald Trump had won.

Walking through the freshly fallen snow to the office that morning, I was in shock. I felt detached from reality, almost numb. How could one of the world’s most influential democracies make such a… surprising and consequential decision?

I’ve always been drawn to U.S. politics, largely because the outcome of U.S. elections and its foreign policies have significant global consequences. Decisions made in Washington ripple out to impact issues that matter deeply to me, like sustainability, equity, and global cooperation—issues that also matter profoundly to many Scandinavians. So, it’s a topic I can’t help but bring up, even when it’s not always the most appropriate conversation.

Eighteen months earlier, April 20, 2015, the night before the From Business to Buttons conference (a gathering focused on innovation in digital design), I had dinner with Steve Wozniak. We discussed Apple, innovation, and technology. But my curiosity about U.S. politics crept into the conversation, so I asked Wozniak about the upcoming election. It was still some time away, but Trump had recently launched his “presidential exploratory committee,” and I was curious about Woz’s view.

His response surprised me at the time: “Politicians? They’re just there for entertainment. The real leaders of the world are people like Tim Cook, Larry Page, and Sergey Brin. They are the ones who can influence the world.”

Woz, of course, had a point. Especially in hindsight. In a commercialized world where elections are heavily influenced by money, power, and media control, it’s easy to understand his perspective. But this was before the “Trump era,” when U.S. politicians were still generally expected to uphold certain standards, and political discourse was relatively civil. Coming from a Swedish background, where corporate influence on politics is more limited, his words initially struck me as exaggerated.

Despite this discussion, I didn’t let go of my belief in the importance of political leadership. The following year, I invited former Vice President Al Gore to our conference. His work on sustainability had left a strong impression on me, and I was eager to hear his thoughts on the design community’s role in a future increasingly centered on sustainability and digitalization.

Before Gore’s presentation, we were talking backstage in a small room. I was arguing that a greater focus on social sustainability would likely be required before we could really get to the environmental challenges. The door was slightly ajar when Patricia Moore—a pioneering designer who has advocated for human-centered, inclusive design—entered. She extended her hand to Gore and said, “Mr. Vice President, you were robbed, sir.”

She was referring to the 2000 U.S. election, where Gore had lost to George W. Bush by just 537 votes in Florida after a contentious recount and a Supreme Court decision. Although Gore won the popular vote by 543,895 votes, the U.S. electoral system allowed Bush to become president.

Fast-forward to that snowy November morning. It had happened again: Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump despite receiving nearly 3 million more votes.

Steve Wozniak’s words from that dinner have echoed in my mind ever since. Back then, I pushed back, clinging to the ideal and importance of political power. But today, with billionaires and corporations pouring unlimited funds into campaigns, it’s hard to deny his point. Elections are shaped as much by wealth and influence as by the actual votes cast. Candidates without billionaire backers or corporate funding struggle, and those who do succeed are often tethered to the interests of their benefactors.

And the structure itself? Patricia Moore’s comment to Al Gore about being “robbed” is telling. Despite winning the popular vote, Gore lost the election due to the intricacies of the Electoral College—a uniquely American system that allocates votes to each state based on population, plus two additional votes for each state’s senators. While there’s more complexity to it, the core issue remains: this setup gives smaller states disproportionate influence per voter, skewing representation so that a candidate can lose the popular vote yet still win the presidency. The same system repeated this in 2016 when Hillary Clinton’s millions of extra votes weren’t enough to win.

For a nation that has long promoted democracy as a core value, this system feels outdated and fundamentally unfair. If you truly believe in the will of the people, this system needs reform. Limiting the influence of money and reevaluating the Electoral College are steps to ensure that elections reflect the people’s choice. Making these changes is about honoring democracy itself, restoring a process where every vote counts equally.

When I wake up a week from today, on Wednesday, November 5th, I’ll be holding my breath. For all the values I hold dear, I hope to see Kamala Harris emerge as the winner—and not just through the popular vote, but through the Electoral College as well. No leader is perfect, but Harris represents a vision for the future that aligns more closely with values like sustainability, equity, and global cooperation. And for a world watching closely, this election is about much more than any one candidate—it’s about restoring faith that the U.S. democracy can work in the interests of all its people, not just the privileged few.

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Me? I am a designer turned entrepreneur, investor, and advisor. I’m the CEO of Ambition , where we help organizations enhance their design, UX, and CX capabilities through consulting, recruitment, and our continuous training program, Ambition Empower. I’m also on the board of Touchtech , a SaaS platform that frees salespeople from tedious tasks, allowing them more time with customers, as well as Vizcon AB , where we enhance customer satisfaction and profitability for construction companies, merchants, and suppliers through the platform Bygghub.

In 2002, I co-authored the book “Anv?ndbarhet i Praktiken” (Usability in Practice) and co-founded inUse, which grew to become one of the most influential Business, Service, and UX design agencies in Scandinavia with 100+ amazing designers and strategists. Later, I co-founded From Business to Buttons, one of Europe’s leading UX and Service Design conferences, attracting over 1000 participants at its peak. To leverage the reach and power of a larger corporation, we sold inUse, including the conference, in 2017.

Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you. Happy to connect if you want.