Chethana Janith, Jadetimes Staff
C. Janith is a Jadetimes news reporter covering science and geopolitics.
Donald Trump has done it again. Eight years after his stunning upset of Hillary Clinton and four years after Joe Biden evicted him from the White House, the former president is about to return to power.
On the back of a victory that swept across the key early voting battleground states – and improved on his electoral margins in much of America – he claimed an “unprecedented and powerful mandate” to govern.
“This will truly be the golden age of America,” he promised the cheering crowd at his election night rally in West Palm Beach, Florida.
A Political Movement Grows Stronger
Trump's win signals a lasting shift in American politics toward conservative populism that began in 2016, despite his 2020 defeat.
His movement is back, appearing more resilient than ever. Now, he can start building his new administration and implementing his promised policies to create a "golden age."
With the Senate now under Republican control after four years, Trump’s key appointments, like Cabinet members and judges, will face an easier path to approval.
It could take days or even weeks to confirm if Republicans also keep control of the House, but early Wednesday, Trump expressed confidence that his party would succeed there as well.
A Republican Congress will be integral to Trump’s plan to enact a platform that includes an aggressive plan to restructure the federal bureaucracy, replacing senior career government employees with political appointments.
His supporters have vetted thousands of loyalists who are poised to take control of all facets of the sprawling federal government.
Among those being swept into the corridors of power along with the new president are multi-billionaire Elon Musk, vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr, Democrat turned Republican Tulsi Gabbard, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and a host of other figures who have become part of this unusual electoral coalition.
Trump has also pledged to impose broad new tariffs on imported goods to protect domestic industry, enact a range of new targeted tax breaks and credits, and implement a mass deportation of undocumented migrants living in the US.
On foreign policy, he said he would quickly end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and prioritise America’s interest above all others. Those global crises will be his to solve once he takes office in January.
Kamala Harris, her fellow Democrats and some former Trump White House officials warned that these policies will create massive economic and social disruptions and threaten global stability – and that a second Trump presidency would be unhinged and set loose from political guardrails.
On Sunday, Trump himself said that his second presidential term might be “nasty a little bit at times, and maybe at the beginning in particular,” but he promised the end results would be good.
On Tuesday, an electoral majority - and likely even a majority of the America’s voting public - agreed.
Four years to turn his promises into action
If Republicans control Congress, Trump will have the power to reverse many Democratic policies from the past four years and push through conservative laws on taxes, spending, trade, and immigration, allowing him to make a lasting impact.
Trump’s win marks a major comeback after he left office under heavy criticism following January 6th. Condemned by Democrats and even some Republicans, he spent four years on a journey back to power. Despite facing multiple indictments, convictions, and major fines on his business, he pushed forward, ultimately securing the Republican nomination.
While his rally speeches could be blunt and sometimes abrasive, he had a skilled team around him. Polls showed Americans trusted him on immigration and the economy, and his campaign kept a strong focus on these issues.
In an anti-incumbent climate, Trump’s stance on big issues resonated. He expanded his support from 2020, particularly among rural voters and even gained ground in traditional Democratic areas among young, Hispanic, and Black voters.
Though his team was initially uncertain how to handle the switch from Biden to Harris, Trump found his stride and rode the anti-incumbent wave back to the White House. Now, with a stronger organization behind him, he has four more years to put his plans into action.
