OP-ED: Donald Trump’s Triumph—Victory despite two impeachments, 34 guilty felony counts, and an assassination attempt

On Nov. 6, Americans and the rest of the world woke up to the news that Donald Trump won the election. According to the Associated Press, Trump secured more than 270 electoral votes to win the presidency. What came as a surprise to many is that even though Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts and was impeached twice, he still managed to secure over 70 million votes from the American people. Trump maintained a lead against his opponent, Kamala Harris, in the electoral college and with the general population.

The subjects that Trump focused on during his campaign were the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, the state of the economy, inflation and the cost of living, gun control, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the Israel-Hamas war. Kamala Harris’ campaign mostly focused on reproductive rights, protecting democracy and healthcare, and reforming the “broken immigration system.” Seeing that Donald Trump is now the face of America, one could assume that the ideas and policies that he stands on are an extension of American values, especially because over 70 million people voted for him. However, when on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, one may notice that he is very unpopular with the masses. This leads one to question: are most of the people who voted for him closeted Republicans?
Kamala Harris received endorsements from highly regarded public figures such as Oprah, Barack and Michelle Obama, Jenniffer Lopez, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, LeBron James, and so many others. On the other hand, Donald Trump received endorsements from public figures such as Elon Musk, Jake Paul, Joe Rogan, Dr. Phil, Kevin Sorbo, Dana White, and many other public figures. While Trump was guilty of 34 felony counts and has been found “liable for sexual abuse” by the court, it is also worth noting that some of the public figures who endorsed Kamala Harris were also closely associated with rapper Sean Combs, also known as P. Diddy. Adrian Lee, an editor for the Globe and Mail wrote an article on why  “Celebrity endorsements might have hurt Kamala Harris more than they helped.” Additionally, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is very unpopular with the American public due to his foreign policies, which have led to thousands of deaths and a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, also publicly showed support for Kamala by stating, “we’ll support her.” However, Putin’s statement has been labelled as a joke by several media outlets, such as the Associated Press.

Trump’s victory could also be attributed to the decline of the Legacy media’s popularity. With the increased influence of social media platforms such as X and TikTok, millions of individuals with all sorts of characters were free to share their views regardless of whether they were factual, controversial, or harmful, and this was protected by the First Amendment, “the freedom of speech, or of the press.” The digitized world has enabled everyone to be the press. Most of the public figures who supported Trump, like Joe Rogan, Charlie Kirk, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, Ben Shapiro, and the Daily Wire community, have millions of followers online who have come to trust their political views. Because of how popular Trump podcaster supporters were, his interviews had way more views than those of Kamala Harris. For example, At the moment, Harris’ interview on Club Shay Shay has below 2 million views, while Trump’s interview on the Joe Rogan Experience currently has over 48 million views, though Trump’s interview was posted on YouTube two days before Harris’s. 

Those who bet on the poly-market that Trump would win have become richer, especially as $1.3 billion was bet on Trump’s victory. According to Forbes, “The world’s 10 richest people got a record $64 billion richer from Trump’s reelection.” Some of them include Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, Bill Gates, and Steve Ballmer. Trump’s net worth has also increased by $300 million after his win.

Although Obama deported more undocumented immigrants than Trump, as per government records, one can’t help but wonder why Trump consistently speaks of deporting millions of undocumented immigrants if he did not beat Obama’s record. Could this be because immigrants are unpopular among Trump’s supporters, and speaking negatively about them helps Trump maintain their support? 

So far, Trump’s win shattered a glass ceiling when he announced that he picked Susie Wiles as the White House Chief of Staff. Susie Wiles will be the first-ever woman to be the White House Chief of Staff. However, Trump’s reelection has brought along negative feelings among people whose values do not align with his policies. For example, LGBTQ+ crisis hotlines have spiked by “700% after election day”. 

Therefore, Against all odds, Donald Trump managed to win the 2024 Presidential Elections despite the controversies and a surviving assassination attempt. However, we have yet to see if his reelection will lead to a win for all Americans, regardless of their political beliefs and financial status.