Donald Trump was elected the 47th President of the United States on Wednesday, clearing more than the 270 electoral votes needed to claim victory after picking up the key battleground states, according to the Associated Press.
In a vindication of the “Make America Great Again” movement, the former president overcame felony convictions to best his political opponent, Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president,” Trump told supporters in Florida even before his victory was confirmed.
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Harris conceded to the Republican President-elect in a phone call on Wednesday before she spoke to supporters gathered at Howard University.
“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” Harris said before a somber crowd, some in tears.
“The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we voted for,” she added, urging her supporters “to organize, to mobilize and to stay engaged.”
The two candidates remained in a tight race until the very end. A Pew Research Center study conducted before Harris’ and Trump’s presidential debate in September showed that 49% of voters would choose Harris as president, while the same percentage of voters would pick Trump. The day before the election, a New York Times Poll projected Harris had a very slim 49% lead over Trump’s 48%.
Trump’s victory is an astonishing comeback after his loss to Biden in the 2020 election, a race which Trump and his supporters never conceded. In this campaign, he ran on extending many of the policies that he’d run on before, like taking a hard line on immigration.
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In the 2016 election, Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, the former U.S. Secretary of State and Senator, to become president. He garnered a large following using the slogan “Make America Great Again,” and promising to “build a wall” to keep out immigrants on the southern border.
Trump’s business and political life have been plagued by controversy and scandals. Federal investigators, looking into his business dealings, found evidence of racially discriminatory renting practices, financial fraud, and colluding with the mafia. Over the years, dozens of women have publicly accused Trump of sexual misconduct, all of which he denies.
Recently, Trump has been under criminal investigation for four different cases. In May, he was found guilty of 34 felonies in a hush-money case involving an adult film star, and is currently awaiting sentencing. He’s also being investigated for allegedly interfering with the 2020 presidential election results, attempting to overthrow voting results in the state of Georgia, and keeping highly classified documents even after stepping down from the presidency in 2021. Trump’s return to power, however, casts some doubts on whether these cases will be postponed or dismissed altogether.
The Presidential Inauguration will take place at the United States Capitol Building on January 20, 2025. Once sworn in, President Trump will have to tackle the country’s most pressing issues from immigration to the economy. A recent Pew Research Center Poll found that Republican voters are most concerned with immigration and safety along the U.S-Mexico border while Democratic voters care about access to reproductive rights; both sides care equally about the economy.
While experts say the economy is in good shape, Trump is viewed by his supporters as the best candidate to handle the rising cost of living. In a campaign speech, Trump said he would bring about a “manufacturing renaissance” by imposing numerous tariffs on import items coming from China and other countries. Chinese companies will face a 60% increase in import taxes while all foreign countries face a 10% increase. This action, he claims, will encourage U.S. companies to invest in American factory labor, shrink the federal deficit, and lower food prices. Retail experts disagree and say Trump’s tariff plan would backfire and cause a rise in prices for consumers, according to a study from the National Retail Federation.
Trump also plans on making tax cuts, according to his campaign platform. He says he will permanently keep in place his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act which is set to expire in 2025. The act doubled the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000 and also slashed the corporate tax rate from 21% to 35%. If extended, Trump’s tax policy is projected to increase the national debt by $7.75 trillion through 2035.
Border security remains a pressing issue for many Americans. An AP-NORC poll shows that Republicans are worried about immigrants committing crimes, while Democrats see immigration as a benefit to the American economy and culture. But both sides are equally concerned about border security.
Trump spent the entirety of his time in office spewing racist and nativist rhetoric against immigrants and used his presidential powers to enact executive actions such as building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, increasing border patrols, and prioritizing deportations of undocumented immigrants. By the end of his term, the Trump administration had completed more than 472 executive actions affecting U.S. immigration policy.
Today Trump remains steadfast in his goal to increase deportations and make it difficult for asylum seekers, refugees, and undocumented immigrants to become naturalized citizens. At campaign rallies, his supporters waved signs that said: “Mass Deportation Now!” He has promised to enact these mass deportations by invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allows the president to deport, detain, or relocate any non-citizens who are considered U.S. enemies during wartime.
Trump also said he will use the National Guard to locate and detain undocumented immigrants. He aims to use his executive powers to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to non-citizens, a constitutional right ordered by the 14th Amendment.
Another critical issue in this year’s election is women’s reproductive rights. The Supreme Court voted in 2022 to end Roe V. Wade, ending a constitutional right to abortion. Going into the election, 13 states had made abortion illegal and some states were deciding whether to repeal or institute permanent bans, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Trump has switched his views on reproductive rights over the years but also took credit for the dismantling of Roe V. Wade because he appointed three of the justices who voted to overturn it. In a video released this April, he said he would not support a federal abortion ban and would instead leave it up to states to enforce or instate their bans.
