US Election 2024: Trump Wins
The 47th President of the USA has officially been elected: Donald Trump.
After months of fervent campaigning from team Kamala and the Democrats, and team Trump and the Republicans, the American electorate has spoken: Trump is their choice for the next 4 years. Trump has won but not by a close match as predicted, with a large gap between him and Kamala in the polls. Trump’s appointment proves that his criminal record and allegations are not important - he was selected over Kamala, a former prosecutor.
Trump's Election Pledges?
The key areas to look out for in Trump’s presidency are what he pledged and the big issues dominating the world. The first two are the pledges to seal the border, and lower taxes. It is no secret that Trump is anti-immigration, having promised to build the wall with Mexico during the 2016 presidential election. This immigration stance will signal more hostility towards countries with individuals wanting to come in, especially Muslim ones since Trump had a Muslim ban list during his last presidency. This prevented refugees and travellers from 7 countries from entering the US to prevent 'terrorism'. Trump also wishes to lower taxes - this is of course popular but begs the question of how resources will be financed as well as how the US economy will be safeguarded. Also, abortion: Trump is against it, meaning a loss in protection for women's rights which has increasingly diminished in the aftermath of Roe v Wade.
What Trump Means for 2024
Looking further afield, Trump's appointment is highly pertinent for all countries. The US' level of influence and trading power is almost unmatched, so the leader at their helm is now going to be conducting business relations worldwide, shifting the dynamics of country allies. One obvious example is Ukraine: where Biden has openly supported Zelenskyy, Trump is close to Putin and will support Russia, ending US aid to Ukraine. It increases the chances of Ukraine being invaded completely by Russia and ceasing to exist as a sovereign state. In the Middle East, the Palestine/Israel conflict has been controversial with the US cautiously navigating their obligations to the UN with their individual relationship with Israel. Trump's appointment changes this significantly, it symbolises a win for Netanyahu because he will receive greater assistance, leaving Palestine much more vulnerable.
Now What?
The return of the 2016 president is one that is for history - Trump is the first president to win a non-consecutive term since Cleveland in 1893. His return to office whilst awaiting trial for multiple offences is novel but not enough to have prevented him from holding office. The result is one that will not only have worldwide ramifications, but endorse a relatively new trend of establishing legitimacy to far-right individuals who think it acceptable to conduct themselves in any manner and still be representatives of their country.
Personally? I am devastated. Part of me knew it was a real possibility, but it's now fact that we live in a world where America would choose a criminal over a woman to be President. No candidate is perfect by any means but the bar for politicians seems to be non-existent. I have spoken to some people in my circles and they are split over Kamala v Trump. I find it upsetting that it is even a debate when there is so much evidence and discrimination that is being ignored in favour of analysing candidate backgrounds instead of policies. This is such a key issue for me that will be discussed in future blogs.
The next 4 years will be incredibly challenging in having to make some sense of why this decision has come about and how countries will strive to adapt to communicate with a new America. Or rather, a 2016 America.
The next blog will be analysing the stats of the election and how it contrasted to 2020's presidential election.
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*Image obtained from Reuters, all rights reserved 
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