Like many others, I watched election night closely — analyzing down-ballot races, tracking trends and listening to news anchors as they attempted to interpret why certain states were voting a certain way. The final result — a stronger Trump finish than in either of his previous presidential runs — only confirmed a stark reality: The way America judges its leaders has dramatically changed and not for the better.
To say Trump had a great night would be an understatement. His improbable return to the White House just four years after his defeat was fueled by a coalition that made gains across nearly every demographic.
Notably, an estimated 44% of Latinos and 13% of African Americans voted for him — especially Black men in swing states like North Carolina, where up to 20% of African American men voted for Trump. Young men, often called the “bro vote,” helped reshape the Republican landscape nationwide, offsetting much of Harris’s gains among young women.
This indicates a shift. Trump’s supporters are not simply the fringe voice of older white men. A far more diverse range of Americans than many liberal voters anticipated are drawn to Trump’s brand of rhetoric, promises and persona.
At face value, this shift seems to reflect voters’ focus on the economy, which was the top issue in every swing state, with most voters citing it as breaking toward Trump. However, Trump’s economic policies were widely criticized by Nobel laureate economists — for good reason. While his administration initially saw low unemployment and a rising stock market, experts credit this more to the lingering “post-Obama aura” than Trump’s own policies.
His 2017 tax cuts provided limited benefits to the average American, largely favoring corporations that funneled savings into stock buybacks instead of wage increases or domestic production. This led to a short-term market surge without sustainable growth, which slowed months before the 2020 recession. Trade wars, particularly with China, also strained American businesses, raising costs and disrupting supply chains — a problem that escalated under Biden but originated with Trump’s policies.
Now Trump’s new economic proposals look much like his old ones: more tax cuts, deregulation and aggressive trade policies. Economists warn that these moves could worsen inflation and increase the national debt, placing additional strain on affordability for households.
Further protectionist trade policies would likely raise consumer prices, exacerbating the financial strain on American families. Once again, Trump’s measures promise appealing short-term solutions, but they have minimal impact on the long-term health of middle America and suburban voters, who just decisively handed him the White House.
So why did he win in such dominant fashion despite expert concerns? The new Republican Party doesn’t seem to care.
In 2024, Trump checked every box for the “presidential candidate who doesn’t care about norms” with voters. He endangered First Amendment freedoms by pledging to revoke news licenses from rival networks, called for his political opponents to be executed at military tribunals, belittled opponents with sex jokes, and perhaps most surprisingly, has only doubled down on his beliefs about the 2020 election and lack of action on Jan. 6.
Many will characterize this election as a referendum on Biden, and Harris by extension as his vice president, though I could do an entire other article about the quadruple standard placed on the Harris vice presidency versus any vice president of the last 20 years. But for me, the real revelation is how effectively Trump’s campaign shattered norms once believed integral to American presidential politics.
As I look to 2028 (yes, the earth will still be spinning then) I see the lasting impact: a Trump-inspired Republican nominee almost certainly on the ballot, carrying his divisive style into future races.
The 2020 election was supposed to be a final reckoning, an acknowledgment of who Trump is and the world of hate he feeds off and proof that voters heard the words of Maya Angelou, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”
Instead, election night 2024 showed us that not only can Trump return, doubling down on his rhetoric, but he can also broaden his appeal by doing it. I’ve seen people on social media saying something along the lines of, “No matter what, when this election is over, we can finally leave the craziness behind.”
I’m here to tell you that’s far from the case. Donald Trump’s most wide-reaching legacy will be that every future Republican candidate for the next 50 years will try to emulate him. So long as it brings voters to the polls and makes candidates winners, campaign seasons filled with this type of rhetoric and division are far from over.
Edward Wilson is a sophomore public policy leadership major from Jackson, Miss.
