Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump defeated his Democratic challenger, Kamala Harris, and win the White House for another four years.
The 45th president after losing to President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, Trump will now be the 47th.
This victory marks several records. At 78 years, he will be the oldest to be elected U.S. president. He is going to be the first president in 132 years since Grover Cleveland to serve two non successive terms. He also won what had been projected to be the most expensive presidential election.
Trump is the first president, current or former, to have felony crimes imposed against him. He became the first president ever to have been impeached twice and immediately regain the presidency. He also became the very first to enter the presidency with active criminal charges pending in federal and state courts.
It means Harris, the vice president, will not reach what would have been a historic defeat to become the first woman president of the United States.
It was also an extraordinary political triumph for Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, who was only elected two years earlier.
From vocal critic to stalwart supporter, Vance from a vocal critic of Trump to being one of the most stalwart supporters and key booster of the president elect’s right wing populist agenda Vance now has a new status at age 40: first in line to presidential succession.
Should Trump follow through with his entire campaign promise, his second term will almost undoubtedly embark on a radical, controversial platform promising extensive tax cuts, mass deportations, and a new direction in foreign policy.
Trump has promised putting heavy tariffs the idea being this will increase U.S. revenue, strengthen U.S. industries, and decrease unwanted foreign competition.
But mainstream economists long warned that the tariffs actually taxes paid by U.S. importers would result in higher prices for U.S. consumers.
It is anyone’s guess how much Trump’s presidential program would resemble the many pronouncements he made as a candidate.
He said he will pardon those of his supporters who have been indicted as a result of the violent action at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
He also has said that he would broker a quick settlement to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a nebulous position that could compromise the Biden administration’s staunch support of Kyiv.
He has said that he would task Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, to oversee health policy and ask billionaire Tesla chief executive Elon Musk for recommendations on deep cuts in government spending.
He has shrugged off Democratic concerns that he would govern in an authoritarian manner, saying, “except for Day One.”
