Experts weigh in on how Trump won as activists plan to oppose his presidency

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nominee, won a second term in the White House, defeating his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump’s victory marks only the second time in US history that a candidate has won two presidential races in a row.

Trump won the Electoral College and appeared to narrowly win the popular vote for the first time in his three presidential races. This is the first time a Republican presidential candidate has won the popular vote. since 2004.

Trump’s route to victory was secured through many of the same states he won. in 2016when he broke the “blue wall” of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. In addition to Trump being projected to win those states this year, he also won Nevada in his column, and redistricting across the country helped boost his Electoral College vote total over 2016.

Although votes are still being counted, Associated Press called the race for Trump on Wednesday morning. If the current state of the race continues after the final vote count, Trump will win by an Electoral College margin of 312 electors to Harris’ 226.

In his early morning victory speech in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump says he has a ‘powerful mandate’ from votersand said his victory was a sign of strong support for the MAGA movement.

Although Trump won decisively, his Electoral College lead is not generally considered a “mandate” size victory. Indeed, his projected victory this year this is a smaller margin than 10 of the previous 15 presidential election results.many of which were not considered mandate victories.

Trump’s speech included Christian nationalist overtonesat the same time, he stated that he was called by God to “save our country and restore America to greatness.”

“And now we are going to accomplish this mission together,” Trump said.

As president, Trump will likely seek to implement part of “Project 2025,” the plan laid out by the far-right Heritage Foundation for Trump’s second presidency.

Although Trump has recently tried to distance himself from the right-wing manifesto, he praised the document years ago, and dozens of his former officials played an instrumental role when developing your proposals. One of the project’s co-authors even said that Trump “blessed” Project 2025 and the Legacy plan to draft hundreds of executive orders that he would sign when he entered the White House.

The document calls Ministry of Justice weapons (Department of Justice) and retaliation against local district attorneys’ offices if they oppose the president; potentially prosecution of journalists on charges of espionage for using government informants as sources; further restricting access to abortionincluding in states where the procedure is currently protected; undermining other reproductive rights, including in vitro fertilization, surrogacy and birth control; And lifting restrictions on child labor lawsamong other proposals.

Field survey data suggests that a number of traditional Democratic Party voting blocs were not as strong for Harris as in previous electoral contests.

For example, among Latino voters, Harris led Trump by 8 points nationally. However, the margin is the smallest lead recorded in exit polls since 1976—by comparison, Biden beat Trump among Latino voters by 33 points in 2020.

Trump also won among first-time voters, receiving 54 percent support among that voting bloc to Harris’ 45 percent, a huge shift from 2020.

Economic concerns – usually a harbinger of poor election results for incumbent candidates – also played a role in the outcome of the race. According to exit polls, 45 percent of voters said their finances were worse under the Biden-Harris administration than before, while only 24 percent said they were better off.

Political pundits and observers weighed in on the Harris campaign’s mistakes.

“Donald Trump was able to win in part because the Democratic Party leadership, including President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, failed to listen to their core voters—young people, women, people of color and progressive voters—who were demanding their government end support for Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip,” Hamid Bendaas, director of communications for the policy project at the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU), said in a press release.

Former Ohio representative and progressive activist Nina Turner criticized Democrats for their strategy of creating a “big tent” movement that included Republicans and known warmongers.

In a message to XTurner rejected new calls for Democrats to “do the right thing” in the future to win elections, saying:

Is it right to campaign with Liz Cheney and promise Republican cabinet seats? No. This is what (election results this week) look like for Democrats moving to the right.

World leaders, including far-right authoritarians whom Trump has openly expressed admiration for, have also weighed in on the US election results.

Hungary’s right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, known for his attacks on immigrants and democratic dissent, described the victory as “a much-needed victory” and “the greatest comeback in US political history.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has spent the last year waging a genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza with almost unconditional US support, called Trump’s victory “a powerful affirmation of commitment to the great alliance between Israel and America.”

Meanwhile, in the wake of Trump’s victory, activists and mutual aid organizations are preparing for the important work ahead.

In a series of publications published on X, Bridget Alliancean organization that helps pay travel costs for people seeking abortion care said it is “willing and able to redouble our support for abortion seekers,” even as the new administration appears poised to impose greater restrictions.

“Our movement is strong. We are resilient. We are creative. We’ve faced enormous challenges in the past—we fight them every single day.” the organization stated. “Now it’s up to each of us to muster that strength + resilience + creativity, hold our heads high and never, ever give up.”

AND in a message for YES! published earlier this monthSilky Shah, executive director of the Detention Watch Network, a coalition that seeks to end immigration detention in the United States, suggested that immigrant advocates should respond to Trump’s victory by putting pressure on the Biden administration before the president leaves office.

“If Trump wins the election, the imperative will be to demand the Biden administration dismantle detention and deportation systems and end harsh border policies. For now, Biden has received encouragement from liberals and even some immigration advocates to step up enforcement efforts, but the short period of time between the election and the inauguration will require a united front to make (Trump adviser) Stephen Miller’s shady agenda that much more difficult. implement,” Shah wrote.

Organizers should then continue their efforts to resist immigration detention and deportation, Shah added.

“The coming months will undoubtedly bring more heartache and confusion to immigrant communities. Regardless of who becomes president, educating people about their rights and expanding our base will be essential to strengthening power and achieving lasting change.” She said.