How Trump won a second term as president in 2024

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – At one of his final rallies, at New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden, former President Donald Trump delivered a amped-up version of his signature stump speech, promising “the strongest economy, the most secure borders.” and safest cities.”

He also railed against opponents he sees as “the enemy from within,” describing his opponent, Vice President Harris, as an evil person with a “low IQ.”

“We are dealing with something much bigger than Joe (Biden) or Kamala (Harris) and much more powerful than them, which is a huge, brutal radical left machine that runs today’s Democratic party,” Trump told the crowd.

Upon his return to power, Trump defied so many expectations and survived repeated scandals and multiple indictments. He is the first convicted felon to win the White House.

Trump’s overall focus on the economy and immigration ultimately resonated with enough Americans — more so than Harris’ message, who called for unity and warned that Trump was a “petty tyrant” obsessed with revenge.

Trump doubled down on his tough stance on the border, using increasingly dehumanizing language to describe immigrants, accusing them of poisoning the nation’s blood and falsely claiming that a Venezuelan street gang was taking over the country.

The election results show that Americans were less concerned about Trump’s rhetoric and instead longed for change. Polls just before Election Day showed that Harris was unable to do so grab the change cloak as part of the Biden administration.

Many experts cite runaway inflation midway through the Biden administration’s term as the key to Harris’ downfall. While inflation declined, prices remained higher than when Trump was in office.

Voters like Dale Roberts in Georgia saw Harris as an extension of President Biden.

“Harris has the same policies as Biden. There are no two ways about it,” said the 67-year-old former state trooper. “No matter how much she lies or tries to get out of it, she can’t get out of it. She should have changed policy or tried to change policy while she was vice president.”

As in 2016, Trump appeared to galvanize an army of white working-class voters, especially men, this election cycle. Exit polls also indicated he was eroding support from key groups for Democrats, including Latinos and black men.

In the end, Trump’s victory may simply have come down to an old political cliché: “It’s the economy, dumbass.”

“What it ultimately says about President Trump’s victory is that people are more willing to vote with their wallets,” said Republican pollster Jon McHenry. “They say, ‘I think the criticism of democracy is exaggerated and I’m going to vote with my wallet because I know it’s not exaggerated.’”

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Trump was helped by increased border crossings early in the Biden administration, which sparked outrage not only from Republican but also Democratic governors and mayors who criticized the Biden administration for its immigration policies along the border.

Some thought divisions within the Republican Party, including the high-profile defections of major party leaders such as former lawmaker Liz Cheney, would be fatal for Trump.

But Harris also struggled to articulate a clear vision for the country’s future beyond pushing people to vote against Trump.

“Donald Trump has spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other. That’s who he is,” Harris said during a controversial speech at the White House. “But America, I’m here tonight to say, that’s not who we are.”

But Biden did her no favors in promoting unity when he appeared to call Trump’s supporters “trash” in the final days of the race. The White House tried to clear up the muddled comment, arguing that the president was specifically talking about a comedian, Tony Hinchcliffe, who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of trash” during his speech at Trump’s rally in New York City.

But the damage had been done. Trump stoked the outrage of his supporters by donning an orange reflective vest and answering questions from the press while sitting in a Trump-branded garbage truck before his rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, which he then wore during his rally .

Instead of running from his scandals, Trump embraced his legal troubles and used them to reinforce one of his core messages: that the system is rigged, and against conservatives in particular.

He stepped up his threats to go after political opponents, even suggesting he could use the military to tackle “the enemy from within.”

He enjoyed giving the kind of red meat speech that his die-hard fans will wait for hours in the hot sun.

“I like to be nice and careful,” Trump said at a rally in Duluth, Georgia. “And then I decide: better be careful or really entertain people? And I usually choose entertainment. And then I have fun.”