“Red, White, and Royal Blue” gives an election prediction much so like in “The Simpsons”
Alex Claremont-Diaz, the First Son of the United States, dreams of turning Texas blue in the next election. When his path crosses with Prince Henry of Wales at a royal wedding, it leads to a public altercation that threatens his mother’s re-election bid. To mend the damage, Alex and Henry are forced to fake a friendship.
Geek Rate: 2 out of 5 stars (Thief worthy). The big screen version of “Red, White, and Royal Blue” focuses heavily on sex scenes and romance rather than the social commentary on the nature of politics or the expectations placed on young leaders. It dilutes the original novel’s story and turns it into just another forgettable YA movie. But it has one rather ominous prediction worth watching for the Red and Blue politicians in the US: its Electoral College Map.
Based on a YA novel by American Casey McQuiston, the political story in “Red, White, and Royal Blue” is worth delving into. Yes, it is just fiction, but the Electoral College map shown in the movie gives a glimpse of what the U.S. election can look like beyond 2024.
“Red, White, and Royal Blue” revolves around Alex Claremont-Diaz, the First Son of the United States, and Prince Henry of Wales who are forced to fake a friendship after an embarrassing international incident. As YA stories go, they will fall in love with each other, Hallmark style.
In the novel, author McQuiston provides a more detailed description of what transpired during the vote count, albeit hilariously inaccurate. Take this one conversation:
“It’s early, but I’m pretty sure we have Illinois.”
“Cool, that was projected,” Alex replied.
I mean, a very solid blue state shouldn’t even be discussed by the president’s campaign team.
(I’ve discussed this in length in my 2019 book review)
In the movie, they skipped the “boring” state-by-state projection (bummer) and focused on Texas. Yes, the red state of Texas. Before that, let’s dive in on this map they’ve shown for the audience:
See that? How in the world can a Democratic presidential candidate lose Minnesota but win in Georgia? With that swing (5.39% in 2020), Arizona (3.81%) plus the Midwest states of Pennsylvania (1.88%), Michigan (3.01%), and Wisconsin (1.4%) should have been first to turn blue. Throw in Nebraska’s first district.
But let’s talk about Texas. It is a red state that has been a target of the Democrats since 2020. Texas nearly fell that year with Donald Trump winning just 5.8% over President Joe Biden where it should have been, historically, in double digits (Mitt Romney won the state with a 15.79% margin in 2012).
In the movie, Alex’s mother is from Texas, so yeah, she got an edge on that one. But being from a certain state does not mean automatic victory. Take Trump for example who lost in his home state of New York twice (against Hillary Clinton in 2016 and against Biden in 2020).
What is regrettable about this big screen version of “Red, White, and Royal Blue” is that unlike in the novel, it does not focus much on how Alex built a sound campaign strategy to turn the state blue. It mentioned it, sure. But the plot centers on his relationship with the British prince. This is understandable because the writers are banking on the LGBTQ buzz with its steaming sex scenes between these two handsome actors.
Going back to Texas. The map shown here is close when comparing it to the actual 2020 election result. This begs the question, is it really possible for the Democrats to turn this reliably red state blue? It’s hard to tell for sure, but what is clear is that there’s a path.
If Texas falls, there will be no path for a Republican presidential candidate to ever win again. No GOP president has ever won the popular vote since 2004, so they are just banking on the skewed and ancient Electoral College vote. But if the Democrats manage to make Texas blue, it would be like turning California red.
And when that happens, it will be game over for the Republicans.
As for the movie itself? I give it 2 out of 5 stars. It’s nice to watch but the script diluted the substance of the novel and turned it into a forgettable story.
Reignell Francisco
I’m a content creator with passion for travel, history, football, and anything on TV. Visit my YouTube channel onelostgeek for my travel stories. Business inquiry: geekgodreview@yahoo.com
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