Results of the U.S. presidential election have come out according to expectations. Former President Donald Trump has emerged as victorious to serve his second term in office. In a statement, he credited his victory to the efforts of the world’s richest and business-friendly circles. By winning the presidency, Trump also avenged his previous defeat to incumbent President Joe Biden.
The moment Donald Trump gained the 270 electoral votes that would label him as the next President of the United States, he already claimed himself as the 47th President of the United States. Speaking in elated tones to his campaign headquarters in Florida, he told supporters a “golden era” is about to begin – it’s time to make America great, safe, strong, and prosperous again.
He declared the intention to put an end to all wars in the world while at no point going into new wars. He declared that the American people had given him a tough mandate on the campaign work towards the issues of the nation and cutting taxes as well as protection of citizens’ rights. He promised not to relent until America becomes safe as well as a prosperous country. He declared that he ended wars and did not start any.
In his speech, Trump stressed unity, appealing Americans to lay aside the divisions of the last years. No matter how deep those divisions are – and they are deep – and no matter how painful it may be for him and his opponents to admit, only time will tell whether those divisions heal, and whether that unity he envisions can be attained. But the question is also whether opponents in the Democratic Party will move on from the aggressive strategies Trump employed after his loss to Biden.
Needless to say, Donald Trump’s political career has been marred by divisive tactics that multiplied hate and prejudice for political purposes, making it rather complex to dissipate accordingly. As a politician in the United States, he contributed in great measure to setting and nurturing a kind of confrontational political culture. Whether he can dismantle it himself is anybody’s guess, but that only time will tell.
In any case, Donald Trump has become the second president in U.S. history to serve non-consecutive terms. Only one other candidate has held the presidency in two separate terms: Democrat Grover Cleveland, who won in 1884 after overcoming scandals and crises. Cleveland defeated Republican James Blaine. Trump has now run for president three times and won twice.
Trump’s record on women is also not unknown, and some of his remarks on Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris may not go down in history as particularly distasteful to the more educated American people. Today he stands out as the first U.S. president who has ever had to run against two female presidential opponents. Before this, he was defeated by Joe Biden, the only male Democratic opponent that he had ever faced.
Trump’s re-election went up the dollar worldwide, as this is a positive response from the business community everywhere in the world. Even the international leaders started congratulating him. The most enthusiastic message came from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who called Trump’s win the “greatest comeback in history” as it symbolizes a strong commitment to the U.S.-Israel alliance. Congratulations posters with Trump’s picture and inscriptions like “Make Israel Great” now hang in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs extended congratulations to Trump on his victory, saying their policy toward the U.S. is not going to change but “on mutual respect and shared interests, we will continue to cooperate with the new administration”. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took his congratulations to X (Twitter), hoping to further close collaborations with the new administration to intensify the already-supportive relations between the United States and Pakistan.
Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi describes Trump as a “friend” in his congratulatory message on X, welcoming renewal cooperation. The Taliban government of Afghanistan issued a very hopeful statement that they hope for a new chapter in Afghanistan-U.S. relations because it reminds them that during his previous term, Trump’s administration managed to clinch a peace agreement with the Taliban and the 2021 U.S. withdrawal followed.
Congratulations also came from Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Gaining a footing in the international diplomatic world, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte hoped that Trump’s leadership would further strengthen NATO’s defensive alliance.
One of the former Democratic presidential aspirants, Kamala Harris, demonstrated very high democratic values when she accepted defeat. According to her, democracy means accepting loss as it is that differentiation that makes democracy distinct from dictatorship. She also declared that the fight against gun violence to protect the American citizens was not over and that she remained committed to a better future for America, as it is said that stars shine brightest in the dark.
In this regard, the approach of Kamala Harris would really transcend democratic values, which Trump does not match in the same way, given that he used to refuse to concede defeat in the past, which led to demonstrations by his supporters. It was an election that attracted the whole world and is perhaps one of the most expensive ones ever, as candidates can spend $16 billion campaigning for their election.
Various Democratic leaders criticized US President Joe Biden following her defeat in the primaries. They pointed fingers that his defeat was because of him as he pursued continuing the presidential policies envisioned by Biden. Other Democrats have expressed concerns over what will happen to the party going forward. They accused the incumbent of concealing his health issues from fellow supporters. They said Biden should have withdrawn earlier on based on the warning signs during the first debate between him and Trump.
Now, with Trump now elected president of the United States, it is wait-and-watch for new policies as well as who he will assemble in his team, which will slowly come to interpret his policy path. Americans are also waiting for a full response to fulfill promises made by Trump.