Will America be great again?

It is finished. Donald J. Trump has won the presidency with an overall improved performance in both Red and Blue states, not to mention capturing enough swing states to secure his victory. Following the election trail, early results showed a Red shift across the United States in favor of Trump, including Hispanic counties which had long been Democratic strongholds in Texas, which showed how all but one have shifted to the right.

CNN reported that Trump’s victory was shaped more by the festering discontent of Americans on the direction of the country rather than the warnings of democratic forces on the great tragedy for Americans on the incoming 47th (once the 45th) president of the United States.

Donald Trump’s win is a repeat of his 2016 victory where, as they say, he has once again broken through the “Blue wall.” Making gains with almost all demographic groups compared to his loss in 2020 is more than impressive, as it almost closely mirrors his previous success in 2016, as he is now poised to return to office with a Republican Senate majority making it easier for him to confirm his choices for key government positions.

At this juncture, Democrats will face the difficult task of confronting issues on the direction of their party. It is also important to note the gender split that has been seen in this election, as majority of women backed Harris while more men supported Trump. But the question on a lot of people’s minds has been – how did Donald J. Trump do it?

A segment by New York Times Opinion expressed that they were either not surprised or that it was an easy answer but one that is hard to digest. Opinion columnist Ross Douthat described Trump’s victory as a big picture level with Americans being somewhat nostalgic for the world that existed during Trump’s first term. Opinion columnist Ezra Klein also expressed how Americans never really blamed Trump for the pandemic and that Americans had a world before Russia invaded Ukraine as well as an Israel that had not invaded Gaza.

Other columnists also emphasized how Trump was able to blame inflation on President Biden’s policies and that he had a very straightforward narrative that emphasized restoration. It seems, and as many have come to realize in the United States as early as now, regardless of how erratic he has been and as Trump’s detractors have described him to be, America had just enough voters who looked at Donald Trump and decided that they were willing to take another chance with him.

The analysis of other New York Times Opinion writers said that Americans are living through a time of great anxiety and the kind that is often associated with cultural angst where people are concerned about their economic future, their children’s economic future where one cannot imagine what life would be like in five, 10 or 15 years and how one would be able to survive, not to mention the failure of America in dealing with profound inequality and dealing with an enormous group of people who feel that they have been left out.

Some writers have noticed that Americans are becoming more insular and in turn becoming more protective of a legacy – something Kamala Harris could not do regardless of her approach in treating the issues with what is called the politics of care, which basically was unsuccessful.

All this being said, other opinion writers have described the Trump victory as an extremely lucky win. Did everyone who voted for Donald Trump actually like Donald Trump? The answer is no. But why did these people vote for him? Simply because they thought that he was the obvious choice over a candidate who was incapable and because there was a clear comparison between the Trump and Biden administrations that pushed them into doing just that. Those who did not like Trump but voted for him pointed out how Harris did not have a clear and concrete plan, that even on her website there were no visibly clear policies marked, apart from a donation button, while the bulk of subject matters surrounding America focused on economy, taxes, tariffs and global security.

Trump supporters also pointed out that the Harris campaign thrived only on emotions of politics. Prior to the elections, American model Amber Rose told the public that Americans were safer and wealthier under Trump, so much so that CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings expressed how this was the way to change the composition of the electorate. Amber Rose was said to have been a very important game changer, being a woman of color and speaking her mind despite criticism from liberals.

At the end of the day, and whether or not Trump was just extremely lucky to have won the elections, America seems to have voted decisively, so much so that not even my personal hero Taylor Swift could do anything about it. “We made history for a reason tonight,” Donald Trump said in his speech. Will America be great again? It seems that Trump has a plan – the part that the opposition failed to impart to the majority of American voters.