President Trump's victory was both impressive and very close
Trump's comeback win was unprecedented, but it was not the sweeping victory Republicans claim it to be.
Last fall, President Donald Trump accomplished arguably the most significant political victory in American history when he became only the second man to be elected to non-consecutive terms as President in our nation's 250 year history. Vice President Kamala Harris got 6 million fewer votes than President Joe Biden did four years earlier. Trump got 4 million more votes in 2024 than he did four years earlier, in an election where three million fewer voters turned out than in 2020. Trump became only the second Republican to win the popular vote in the nine presidential elections since 1992.
Obviously, we should not downplay the significance of President Trump's victory. But we should also not overreach and declare the victory to be much more sweeping than it actually was. The election was not a dominant landslide, and a few votes in a few states would have resulted in President Kamala Harris. Trump won 6 key swing states, but not by much. A review of the results:
♣ - Arizona: 11 electoral votes
Trump - 1,770,242
Harris - 1,582,860
♣ -Nevada: 6 electoral votes
Trump - 751,205
Harris - 705,197
♣ -Wisconsin: 10 electoral votes
Trump - 1,697,626
Harris - 1,668,229
♣ -Michigan: 15 electoral votes
Trump - 2,816,636
Harris - 2,736,533
♣ -Georgia: 16 electoral votes
Trump - 2,663,117
Harris - 2,548,017
♣ -Pennsylvania: 19 electoral votes
Trump - 3,543,308
Harris - 3,423,042
Had Harris won Pennsylvania (which was decided by only 120,000 votes out of nearly 7 million votes cast) she would have been at 245 electoral votes. Had she won two or three other close states, her electoral college vote total easily jumps up to the 270 required to win the election - and she could have done that while still losing the national popular vote. Democrats may be depressed about losing to Trump again, but they have a lot to build on for 2028, while Republicans could easily see their significant gains slip away.
I did not vote for Trump. I do not regret, repent or apologize for that. I am nonetheless thankful he won instead of Harris. But his executive orders can be reversed within minutes of a Democrat taking office in 2029, should the Democrats win the next election. Trump has a small window to get his agenda through Congress, which is the only way to solidify the policies he is implementing. Overreaching and being personally toxic (bragging about how he won to "shove it up their ass" is a good example of this) is going to harm that agenda.