New Delhi:
With 295 electoral votes and the most swing states, Republican Donald Trump raced to victory, buoyed by issues such as immigration and war. Exit polls also showed voters' top concerns were the economy and inflation, which spiked under outgoing President Joe Biden in the wake of the Covid pandemic.
The 78-year-old achieved bigger margins than before, despite a criminal conviction, two impeachments during his time in office and warnings from his former chief of staff that he is a fascist.
American views on migration shifted dramatically, with not only Republican voters but even Democrats and independent voters moving to the right due to a wave of migration along the US southern border. Throughout his campaign, Trump portrayed immigrants as a threat and also proposed invoking the century-old Alien Enemies Act, winning support from 57 percent of voters for deporting immigrants, a poll shows from the New York Times/Siena College. More than 50 percent also supported a wall along the border with Mexico, one of the top sites of unprecedented migration during President Biden's term.
During his previous term as president and before that, Trump had introduced the policy of taking migrant children from their parents in an effort to stem family immigration, and even declared a public health emergency to close the border. Then Biden took office in 2020, as people risked border patrol and death by crossing rivers, cutting wires and climbing the border to make their way into the US. Citizens, meanwhile, saw growing resentment over the pressure this movement placed on resources, including affordable housing and food banks.
The number of illegal entries into America rose to an all-time high monthly record, over 300,000 in December, prompting Trump to come out and gain support for the issue.
Inflation was also a major issue in this election, with the Biden administration desperately trying to calm citizens plagued by rising costs of living, unemployment and a general economic downturn. The conditions prevailed during the Covid pandemic and the war between Russia and Ukraine, both unexpected events. Too bad for the Democrats, because Trump's term in 2016, on the other hand, saw booming stock markets and historically low unemployment levels.
What also may have dented the Democrats' stock was the extensive US aid to Ukraine and Israel, at a time when their own citizens were struggling to afford shelter, food and health care. Moreover, the Biden administration's unwavering support for Israel, in a country that has a minority of Arab descent, while Gaza left thousands dead and millions displaced, may have struck the wrong chord. Trump's margin in Arab-majority Dearborn, Michigan, points to minority resentment toward Democrats.
The rural states that propelled Trump to victory in 2016 were buoyed by swing states this year to give Republicans an even more decisive mandate. The section was generally ignored or viewed negatively by Democrats, with Hillary Clinton saying during her 2016 campaign that Trump voters are “a basket of deplorable people.”
Georgia's Baldwin County, with a significant share of African-American voters, went Republican after 2004. Nevada and Arizona, with significant Hispanic populations, also voted for the former president. Both numbers indicate that Mr. Trump may have made breakthroughs in minority communities. “Exit polls showed Trump winning large numbers of Latino men in key battleground states, improving his numbers among that group in Pennsylvania from 27% to 42%. Nationally, Trump's support among Latino men rose from 36% to 54%,” according to TIME magazine.
According to an NBC Newspoll, Trump received support from as many as 1 in 3 voters of color, most likely the best performance of any Republican presidential candidate since George W. Bush in his 2004 re-election.
By banking on people's anger toward the Biden administration, their fear of a future under the powers that be and their suffering amid a faltering economy, Trump returned to power. In his victory speech on Wednesday, he promised to usher in America's “golden age.”