Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Until a year ago, most political ‘experts’ had almost written him off. He was facing several court cases. First, many in his Republican Party were not ready to nominate him again. America’s left-liberal-democratic toolkits worked overtime to smear him with mud and black…
Yet, on Wednesday, he shocked them all with his convincing leads for victory against his Democratic rival and incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris.
Two assassination attempts may have swung many votes in his favor, particularly after Time magazine’s title, “Man of the Ear,” which quickly became a ‘fashion statement’ among many Republicans in recent past.
Trump, the 45th President, also made history by winning a second non-consecutive, four-year term to become the 47th President, 132 years after Stephen Grover Cleveland who was the 22nd and 24th President of the United States, from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897.
Also, Trump became the first Republican in two decades to secure the popular vote twice since George W Bush, the 43rd President (2001-2009).
On Wednesday, Trump’s path to the presidency became clearer as he clinched crucial swing states, such as North Carolina and Georgia, narrowing Kamala Harris’s chances to the White House, the media reported, and sent his popularity soaring.
Election voter data of the past 20 years show that Barack Obama achieved the largest popular vote victory with 69.5 million votes (52.9 percent) and a substantial 365 electoral votes in 2008. His second term in 2012, while still a decisive victory, saw a slight decline in popular vote percentage to 51.1 percent and in electoral votes to 332.
In contrast, the 2016 election witnessed Trump winning the presidency with 304 electoral votes but only 46.1 percent of the popular vote, while Hillary Clinton won 48.2 percent of the popular vote – a 2.1 percent margin higher than Trump’s and yet insufficient for victory.
In 2020, his Democratic rival Joe Biden secured both a clear popular and electoral majority, winning 51.3 per cent of the popular vote and 306 electoral votes, against Trump’s 232 electoral votes.
This time, Trump gained early leads in crucial swing states, including North Carolina and Georgia. But the biggest prize of all was winning the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania. With 19 electoral votes, Pennsylvania’s victory puts him closer to the White House. These wins, combined with his strong showing in traditionally Republican strongholds like Texas and Florida, gave him a critical advantage in the electoral vote count.
As results streamed in, Harris’s campaign scrambled to regain momentum. Despite strong performances in Democratic strongholds, her path to victory narrowed significantly.
The election night intervening Tuesday and Wednesday saw dramatically different scenes in Washington DC and at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
At the private Howard University, a historically Black college in the nation’s capital, excitement quickly waned as results began showing Trump’s mounting lead. Harris supporters, many of whom expected her to deliver a landmark victory as the first Black and South Asian woman in the White House, expressed concern and anxiety. Trump supporters at a Palm Beach viewing party, on the other hand, celebrated early victories.
If confirmed, Trump’s victory would make him the oldest president—78 years—at the time of inauguration in January 2025. His return to the White House would also make him the second president ever to serve non-consecutive terms, after Cleveland.