This story is syndicated from The Black and White, the newspaper of Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, MD. The original version ran here.
The 2024 election was a decisive victory for the GOP, one that will no doubt shape the future of America. President-elect Donald Trump won by sweeping all seven swing states, earning 312 electoral votes to Vice President Kamala Harris’ 226.
Republicans also gained control of the Senate with 53 seats, flipping West Virginia, Montana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Democrats narrowly held other contentious seats in Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada and Arizona. The election marks the first time in history that two Black women will simultaneously serve as Senators, as Delaware’s Lisa Blunt Rochester (D) won her race with 56% of the vote, and Maryland’s Angela Alsobrooks won hers with 53% (D).
As of mid-November, control of the House of Representatives has gone to Republicans, narrowly earning a majority at 218 seats. With only a handful of districts still undecided, Republicans have secured a political trifecta for the first time since 2016.
After results showed clear victories in Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, Trump claimed victory early on Nov. 6, stating , “I will not rest until we deliver the safe, strong and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve.”
Harris conceded the election to Trump that evening, in a return to precedence after Trump’s refusal to admit that he lost the 2020 election. The vice president urged supporters to “never give up” and said, “While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign.”
President Biden described Trump’s win as a “setback,” but said, “A defeat does not mean we are defeated.” The president also said his administration would work for a “peaceful and orderly transition” of power. The president welcomed Trump to the White House in a visit on Nov. 13.
Democrats saw a significant erosion of support from key demographics, with more than 90% of all counties shifting to the right since 2020. Trump made significant gains with Latino and young voters, as well as with individuals without a college education. Harris, while losing votes in crucial groups, did make small gains among white voters, Black women and voters above the age of 65 compared to Biden’s results in 2020.
Trump is the first Republican to win the national popular vote in almost 20 years. He is the second president to have multiple nonconsecutive terms, with the first being Grover Cleveland in the nineteenth century. Trump will be the oldest president in history at 78 years and 220 days on Inauguration Day, passing Biden’s previous record of 78 years and 61 days at inauguration. This is the third straight election in which the victor has broken the record of the oldest president.
While turnout isn’t final as some polling stations are still counting votes, this election saw a slight decrease in voter turnout from 2020, with roughly 64.5% of the electorate voting in this election compared to 66% four years ago. Harris is on track to get roughly 75 million votes, compared to 81 million for Biden in 2020, suggesting a dropoff in Democratic turnout. The third-party vote was significantly lower than expected, with all third parties, including Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver, getting just 1.7% of the vote combined.
Despite Trump winning easily, polls had suggested a tight race, leading many to believe that polls are no longer as reliable as they once were. However, the average polling error in the seven swing states was just 2.2 points, the smallest margin in 25 years. For comparison, the error of battleground state polls was roughly 4.7 points in 2016 and 2020.
Trump’s victory also signals a likely end to his pending legal cases, with special counsel Jack Smith pausing all deadlines in the case accusing the former president of trying to overturn the 2020 election. On Nov. 12, a New York City judge called off Trump’s Nov. 26 sentencing for the “hush-money” trial. A jury in May found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in an attempt to influence the 2016 election.
The election’s results will change American foreign policy drastically, as many foreign leaders expressed their feelings about the outcome. Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated the president-elect, calling him a “brave man.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy similarly lent his congratulations to Trump, saying that Ukraine is “interested in developing mutually beneficial political and economic cooperation.” Other leaders struck a more hesitant tone, as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said “Mexico will always prevail” and that “there is no reason to worry” for Mexicans.
Americans can expect Trump’s presidency to reshape the United States government in ways never seen before. Trump has publicly stated his plans to terminate the Constitutional protections for birthright citizenship; increase ICE’s presence at the Southern border; conduct mass deportations through the use of the military; pardon nonviolent Jan. 6 rioters; cut federal funding for schools allowing discussions on race, gender or sexual orientation and restrict curriculum topics of anything that paints the country unfavorably; disband the Department of Education; prosecute journalists and political opponents; withdraw America from the Paris climate agreement; terminate Democrats’ environmental legislation; and fire Jack Smith, the special counsel who was tasked with bringing federal cases against him. Smith and his team have signaled they plan to resign before Trump takes office.
The controversial “Project 2025” map of Republicans’ legislative goals remains at the center of policy discussion surrounding Trump. Though he is nominating supporters of the Project to his administration, Trump has denied a connection to Project 2025.
