donald trump defeats kamala harris in presidential election

By Noah Cytrynbaum ‘28 
On Tuesday, November 5th, Donald Trump was elected as the 47th President of the United States of America. He beat Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris through both the popular vote and electoral college. This will be his second term, with his first being his victory in November 2016. 

    In the months, weeks, and days leading up to the election, with tens of millions casting early ballots, it was unclear who would win and it was expected that the winner would only win by a small margin. Over 74 million ballots were cast for President Elect Trump, while the Vice President won over 70 million. Trump had 312 electoral college votes not including Arizona, while Harris only had 226. 
The former President won all 7 of the major battleground states of Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, as well as Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona. 
Trump started off the night by winning Southern and Midwestern states which were expected, and Harris won New York and California, which were expected. 
The major issues included the economy, immigration, democracy, abortion rights, and Israel’s wars against its neighbors. 
    Trump’s economic plan includes cutting taxes especially for the wealthy as well as introducing new and harsher tariffs, mainly on China, in an effort to bring jobs back to the US. Many economists believe the high prices as a result will hurt the economy. Harris’s plan includes raising taxes on the rich and lowering them for the middle class(both candidates would), supporting workers’ rights, and building more housing. However, the economic struggles under the Biden Administration seemed to be something that lost her votes. 
    Senior Noam Waknin said, “I am most excited for the potential massive increase in the stock market, as the market has been surging since Trump has been elected,” when asked what he predicts the best part of the Trump Presidency will be.
Mr. Trump has also promised shutting down the Southern border and beginning mass deportations of illegal immigrants. His record of low border crossings during his stay in the White House helped to earn him support, while Harris’s poor job of managing the border crisis reflected poorly. Harris’s main policy on immigration was to pass the bipartisan border deal from 2023, the strongest in decades, that failed. 
Senior Oren Goldman stated, “I think one of the most concerning policies of the incoming Trump Administration is the plan for a mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. This plan would upend the lives of millions of people and likely separate children from their parents, which is unacceptable in my view.”
American democracy was a major issue that made many cast their ballots for Harris. After the past three elections which Trump and his allies claimed that the election was rigged to keep the Democrats in the White House and after his supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6th, 2020, many feared that he was eroding democracy by not accepting the election results. Also, 200 hundred members of his former staff worked on the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which is a plan to keep Republicans in power and enforce some radical right-wing laws. 
    The conflict in the Middle East was also a major issue. Trump was able to convince the large Arab population in Michigan that he would keep peace and therefore keep Arabs and Palestinians from being killed. This was a major catalyst in winning him the important swing-state. The Vice President stated that she would push for a ceasefire in Gaza(including a return of the hostages and a governing body independent of Israel and Hamas) as well as a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Ironically, despite the President-Elect’s Muslim ban, recognizing the Golan Heights as part of Israel, recognizing a unified Israeli Jerusalem and his son-in-law’s right-wing views on Israel, he was able to frame Kamala as failing the Palestinians. 
    The safety of abortion rights was an important issue, as Trump’s Supreme Court nominees overturned Roe v. Wade, allowing the issue of abortion to be handed over to individual states. Harris promised to reaffirm abortion rights. 
    Former President Trump will be sworn into office on January 20th, 2025.
            Republicans now also control both the House of Representatives and Senate. 
    In 2016, he beat former Secretary of State and husband to former President Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton. She won the popular vote, but him winning the electoral college was a shock to millions of people, who were excited for a potential first woman President. 
It is unclear if Kamala Harris will be chosen as the Democratic nominee given her defeat and given her record of shifting positions. 
Many fear that Donald Trump being elected will herald in a new era of even harsher attacks on political opponents and the legitimization of conspiracy theorists. This led hundreds of Republicans to endorse Mrs. Harris. However, the majority of voters didn’t believe that Trump’s election would lead to anything dangerous for democracy and political opponents. 
The 2024 Presidential Election was an example of American democracy at work, and the next election will be on the first Tuesday of November in 2028, in which the Republicans will have to pick a new candidate.