WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Donald Trump continues to redefine what is possible in American politics.
He was impeached twice. He was convicted of 34 felonies. He was ousted from the White House four years ago.
But Americans not only voted to send Trump back on Tuesday, they supported him more decisively against Vice President Kamala Harris than they did against Hillary Clinton in 2016.
One of the most remarkable comebacks in political history surprised even Trump.
“Look what happened – is this crazy?” Trump told a crowd of screaming supporters at the Palm Beach County Convention Center early Wednesday morning.
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The former president took control of battleground states that had been thought for weeks to be an outright victory. This race was both impossible and historic.
Former Trump officials, including the vice president and military leaders, had warned against him assuming office again.
He is currently being indicted on charges of attempting to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump will also elect a 78-year-old man to the nation’s highest office who survived two assassination attempts and has refused to reveal details about his health, which other presidential candidates routinely share. It overcame any concerns voters may have had about this.
“God is taking care of him.”
When the return arrived, supporters gathered in South Florida in awe of President Trump’s progress so far.
Businessman Stephen Hamilton, 58, who flew to Palm Beach County from his home in New Jersey to be a part of history, said he saw President Trump as a very tough man.
“He’s resilient,” Hamilton said.
Blake Marnell, a 60-year-old San Diego salesman, has attended dozens of Trump rallies wearing a suit that looks like a pile of bricks, and has since become a major influence on the Republican Party and American politics in general. He said it will have an impact that will last for decades.
“His success will inspire other politicians,” said the man Trump called “Brick Suit.”
Some supporters saw a spiritual component to Trump’s victory.
“It was very emotional, very, very emotional,” said Rose Roque, 84, a retiree from Miami Lakes. “God is taking care of him.”
The watch party’s sound system alternated between 70s and 80s rock and a television news broadcast of election results. The escalating crowd cheers reached a crescendo at 1:47 a.m. ET, when Fox News predicted Trump had won enough electoral votes to win the presidency for a second time.
Some Trump supporters said the night reminded them of Trump’s 2016 victory over former Secretary of State Clinton.
Others said they couldn’t compare.
“I don’t think it’s reminiscent of anything,” said Hogan Gidley, Trump’s first White House media secretary. “This is the most incredible, most unlikely turnaround in American political history.”
The precedent set by Grover Cleveland
Trump was the first president to lose office since Grover Cleveland 132 years ago and was re-elected four years later.
Although nearly forced into exile after the violence on January 6, 2021, Trump quickly began making plans to return from his home base at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach. He announced his 2024 candidacy in November 2022, shortly after the congressional elections in which Republican candidates performed worse than expected.
But the mood of the country this year was in Trump’s favor.
For months, Americans have overwhelmingly said in poll after poll that they believe the country is heading in the wrong direction.
Harris calls herself a “new generation of leader” and a forward-thinking advocate who works across the aisle to seek solutions rather than political wars to address America’s concerns about rising prices and housing prices. He was positioned as a candidate.
However, given Ms. Harris’ position as the sitting vice president, she never fits the traditional “replacement candidate” mold, remaining tied to President Joe Biden and the American public’s lack of confidence in his inflationary and inflationary remained loyal to him despite expressing disapproval of his handling of the situation. Migration at the southern border.
Mr. Trump’s victory would take a very different course than Mr. Biden has charted over the past four years, but Mr. Biden defeated Mr. Trump in a close race in 2020, and Mr. Trump still believes he won. claims.
If given another term, President Trump would begin mass deportations of illegal immigrants, seek retribution against people he considers political opponents, and deploy the military to Chicago and other cities to respond to acts of violence. He vowed to impose tariffs as high as 10% on most foreigners. Goods.
Echoing comments he made during his campaign, President Trump called his supporters the “greatest political movement in history” and said his victory and Republican victories in Congress provided “an unprecedented and powerful mission.” Ta. He promised to help rebuild the country after a divisive election season, stressing that “we have to put our counties first, at least for a period of time.”
“We have to fix that,” he said.
Contributor: Joey Garrison
