It was close until it wasn’t. Many anchors, reporters, and election insiders thought that the 2024 Presidential Election would be closer than it was, and expected the results to take days. In reality that didn’t happen, with former President Donald Trump taking early insurmountable leads over Vice President Kamala Harris. While Pres-elect Trump only carried the popular vote by 1.5 points, with the crucial swing states of North Carolina and Georgia being called for Trump at 11:03 p.m. and 12:50 a.m. respectively, along with Wisconsin just after that, the mood started to damper for supporters of Harris. By 5:30 a.m., the election was called for Trump and questions emerged about what went wrong in Harris’ campaign.
One key reason that likely led to this result was Vice President Harris’ lack of time to run her campaign and the lack of identity her campaign ran on. When President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on July 21st, Harris had a mere 107 days to campaign and spread her message to the American people. Another likely factor that played a role in her loss to President-elect Trump was Harris’ lack of separation from Biden’s failing campaign.
Harris built her campaign around the accomplishments of the heavily criticized Biden administration, promising to bolster reproductive rights in the wake of the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, and to “build and support freedoms of Democracy.” Based on exit polling in swing states, many voters perceived this as Harris running Biden’s campaign for him, causing voters to conclude that no real change would happen if she were elected, despite her attempts to distance herself from Biden. Harris also spent a lot of time on the campaign trail criticizing Trump and his policies based on Project 2025, something that President-elect Trump has denied being involved with, creating a rift in messaging for Harris.
The question on many Americans’ minds with the result is, what comes next? President Trump has started to lay out the base of his administration, notably nominating Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) to serve as Secretary of State, former candidate Robert F Kennedy for Secretary of Health, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to the United Nations and Governors Kristi Noem (R-SD) and Doug Bourgum (R-ND) all being nominated to key cabinet positions in the new government..
The biggest controversy of the transition so far has been the nomination and aftermath of Trump’s choice of Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to serve as the next Attorney General. Gaetz, whose November 13th nomination raised concern not just among Americans, but many allies of Trump, due to the active House investigation into him. Gaetz would eventually resign from the House and also withdraw his nomination due to the rising lack of support for his confirmation. Gaetz, who has been investigated by the House Ethics Committee and previously the Department of Justice for child sex trafficking, resigned from Congress after being nominated, preventing the Committee from releasing their report immediately upon its conclusion, and faced heating pressure over his nomination. After many Senators expressed that they wouldn’t support his confirmation come January, Gaetz withdrew, in what some viewed as an effort to further suppress the House report from being released.
While Gaetz has been one of, if not the most controversial nominee of the cycle, Trump has also made some other questionable picks for cabinet positions. Trump nominated Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister to run the DEA, who resigned just days after his nomination after pressure over his lack of experience to take the job. Trump also nominated Fox News host Pete Hegeseth for Defense secretary, who has since faced similar backlash as Gaetz, after news broke about allegations of excessive drinking, sexual assault, sexual misconduct, along with mismanaging multiple nonprofits.
Pres. Trump has since started to outline his policies in the days following the election, including a controversial plan to place tariffs on international imports. The plan would assess a 25% tariff on goods from two of America’s top trading partners, Canada and Mexico. Many economists have spoken out against the plan arguing that the costs would be passed onto the American people, only making costs higher.
Trump has also appointed many members of his cabinet who have made comments in the past denying the effects and existence of climate change, as he prepares to potentially withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement. Enacted in 2015, it was a major landmark deal with nations across the Earth to reduce emissions and counteract the effects of climate change, with a goal of limiting the emissions in this century to 34.7℉ (1.5℃).
No matter what President-elect Trump decides to do in office, come Inauguration Day on January 20th, many aspects of our lives may change. Ranging from costs in the grocery store to the food we eat, or the earth we live on, the second Trump presidency has the chance to rewrite the history books, with many different uncertainties.
