At 2:35 AM PST, the Associated Press confirmed that Donald J. Trump would be the 47th president of the United States after receiving all the electors from the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. Other swing states—Nevada and Arizona—have yet to finalize their ballots, but Trump has already surpassed the 270 electoral votes needed to secure the presidency. This result comes after polling had Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump neck and neck.
This election truly was a coin toss, and the coin landed on red.
The man who was charged with 34 felony crimes, found liable for sexual abuse, impeached twice, had two Supreme Court cases filed against him, and incited a riot to overturn a fair election is now the commander-in-chief of this nation… again. With a court packed with MAGA conservatives, a Republican majority in the Senate, a House of Representatives on its way to having a similar majority, and a staff of loyalists who will concede to his every demand, the Trump Administration will have the means to enforce his agenda over the next four years with virtually no opposition. So what could be expected from these next four years?
We are slowly returning to moderate levels of inflation, but the high prices for basic commodities like groceries are still customary. Donald Trump’s solution: tax cuts and tariffs. In 2017, he was able to pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—a law that ended up disproportionately giving tax breaks to those in higher taxable brackets and corporations which only increased the federal deficit.
Within his next term, he plans on instituting a more aggressive tax cut, and has even flirted with the idea of abolishing income tax nationally. To counteract this loss in tax revenue, he plans to place a flat tariff from 10-20% on all imported goods, and one of up to 60% on all Chinese goods. This would undoubtedly cause prices to skyrocket and the revenue gained from these tariffs wouldn’t be enough to compensate for his tax cuts. So while the costs of commodities will “trickle down” to the consumer, the extra cash from these cuts most definitely will not and income inequality will only be exacerbated.
Education is also expected to undergo some significant changes in the upcoming years. As expressed in How Trump Politics Promote Ignorance in the Classroom, one of Trump’s primary objectives is to extinguish critical thinking from schools. He knows that the only way his vision of America can survive is if the educators of the next generation only teach a warped curriculum that he prescribes. To further keep the next generation uneducated and widen class divides, he plans to privatize all education, ensuring only those born into wealth have the opportunity to get a quality education.
The economy and education are only two of the many pillars of society Trump plans to fundamentally alter. Abortion rights, immigration, foreign policy, and due process are all under fire, and he now has the organization and backing of the other branches of government to carry out these plans. As he continues to thread the needle on how far he can extend his own personal power, only time will tell how many of his plans come to fruition.
Donald Trump is a threat to our democracy. He spits in the face of the checks and balances put in place to uphold our republic system of governance, and he is immune from any crimes he commits while in office thanks to the decision rendered in Trump v. US, effectively making him a king. The kicker of it all is that he didn’t even have to cheat to win. A fascist wannabe who fraternizes with dictators was fairly and democratically elected, and that is a new fact of reality that must be accepted. In Harris’ concession speech earlier today, she emphasized how there would be a peaceful transfer of power to the new administration, but also how the fight is not over.
“Sometimes the fight takes a while,” Harris said. “The important thing is to never stop trying to make the world a better place.”
The strength of our nation, of democracy, will be tested in this term but that does not mean that this is the end. The United States has emerged as a beacon of freedom through independence, world wars, and even civil war. This fight is no different, and as long as the spirit of democracy lives within Americans, the threat of Donald Trump will stay temporary. This Trump era of politics will serve as a cautious reminder to future generations of what undemocratic principles can lead to, but to make sure history is told this way we must fight. Because when we fight, we win.
