Donald Trump has made history. He will return to the White House in January to assume a second non-consecutive term as president, only the second candidate in American history to do so.
The former and now future president trounced Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent, with heavy support from men across all demographics.
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Trump, 78, who has been campaigning for re-election since Joe Biden defeated him in 2020, declared early Wednesday morning to a cheering crowd of supporters, “Every citizen, I will fight for you and your family, your future. Every single day I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body. I will not rest until we have delivered the strong safe and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve. This will truly be the golden age of America.”
Besides winning reliably Republican states, Trump painted the map redder, and redder.
He won the two crucial Southern battleground states—North Carolina and Georgia—and went on to win Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, putting him over the top.
His victory followed an abbreviated yet intense three-month race against Harris, who inherited her party’s nomination after Biden, 81, was driven out of the race following a debate performance that revealed a decline that came with aging. Trump and Harris appeared to be locked in a dead heat until the bitter end, with polls showing either candidate could win.
The father of MAGA won with the backing of his top billionaire donor, Elon Musk, who stands to play a pivotal role in the second Trump administration, and an endorsement from Joe Rogan, the country’s top podcast host who holds incredible sway over men. And macho professional wrestlers, from Hulk Hogan to UFC founder Dana White, played a key role throughout his campaign.
While Harris campaigned on abortion rights, the economy, and restoring democracy, Trump promised to secure the U.S. border against “illegal aliens” and he spewed anti-transgender sentiments. For a moment, it seemed as if Latino backlash to his Madison Square Garden rally may have cost him the election. That, and his violent rhetoric against former Rep. Liz Cheney, a Republican for Harris who served on the House Jan. 6 special committee.
Instead, Trump won—with not just his MAGA base—but Black men, women, and young male voters.
Trump has spent most of the past four years denying that he lost the election to Biden, falsely alleging widespread voter fraud, and fighting federal and state indictments for his alleged efforts to subvert democracy and overturn the election results. He also became a convicted felon this spring after a jury ruled he falsified records to cover up a hush-money payment.
Now he will return to power with full immunity from prosecution, thanks to the three justices he appointed to the Supreme Court during his first term.
Though he already had a vice-like grip over the Republican Party, including GOP congressional leaders, Trump officially launched his 2024 bid just one week after the 2022 midterm elections. And though he faced numerous presidential primary challengers, he quickly dispatched them, winning their endorsements without engaging in a single debate against them.
Trump is only the second president in American history to win two non-consecutive terms. The other was Grover Cleveland, the first post-Civil War Democratic president, who won in 1886 and 1894.
The former president was considered the favorite for much of this year. His allies’ confidence soared in July after he survived an assassination attempt that wounded his ear—an incident remembered for the iconic moment of Trump, with blood streaming down his face, pumping his fist and urging his supporters to “fight, fight, fight.” Another would-be assassin was apprehended at his golf course two months later.
The early enthusiasm that Harris enjoyed, as she smashed fundraising records and attracted massive crowds to her rallies, wasn’t enough to persuade the other half of the country to vote for her.
Trump won after a campaign in which he horrified his rivals and thrilled his base, even when he was admonished on occasion by GOP leaders in Congress. He falsely claimed that undocumented immigrants were eating pet dogs and cats in Springfield, Ohio. He suggested he would use the U.S. military against liberal Americans. In the last week alone, he floated violent rhetoric against journalists and used the b-word to describe former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The billionaire used attention-grabbing campaign stunts, like working a shift at McDonald’s, serving french fries and happy meals through the drive-through window and waving and smiling at customers.
On the campaign trail, he also emphasized the fact that he did not start any new wars during his presidency, while war in Ukraine and in the Middle East broke out after he left office.
The former president was able to overcome concerns, especially from women, after three Supreme Court justices he appointed helped overturn Roe v. Wade. Despite Democratic attacks insisting Trump and his allies would ban abortion nationwide, he has insisted that he won’t.
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