On November 6th, mere hours after polls in all fifty states closed and ballots began to be counted, the winner of the 2024 Presidential election was announced: Donald Trump. Similarly to all other Presidential elections, as a result of the electoral college, the winning candidate relies heavily on the seven “battleground” or “swing” states, including the Western states Arizona and Nevada, Midwestern states Michigan and Wisconsin, and the Eastern states North Carolina, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.
Before election day, various exit polls were taken through the early voting period, many of which, according to U.S. News, wrongly predicted that the election would be a “coin flip” as each candidate was deemed capable of winning a good portion of the swing states. Instead, to many analysts’ surprise, Republican candidate Donald Trump won all seven battleground states, acquiring a total of 312 electoral college votes relative to Harris’ 226.
Despite incorrect projections of a toss-up between both candidates, Trump’s victory margins in the swing states were not necessarily large. In fact, as demonstrated by NBC News, the former president’s broadest lead was a mere 5.7% in Arizona, in which he acquired 52.3% of the votes while Harris secured 46.6%. Wisconsin, on the other hand, was the closest state, pledging 49.6% of its votes to Trump and 48.8% to the Vice President.
Notably, unlike the 2016 and 2020 election results, Donald Trump won the popular vote this year, obtaining approximately 75 million votes compared to Harris’ 72. The other 2.6 million American votes were allocated to third-party candidates, with the Green Party’s Jill Stein amongst them.
While the Vice President conceded the election to the former President on November 6th, the final battleground votes from Arizona were only finished processing on November 9th, once more solidifying Trump’s unexpectedly large victory. Now, the public’s focus is shifting from the race toward the next four years. Here is what citizens should expect under a second Trump presidency:
Abortion
As stated by NBC, the former President has been very outspoken on his disapproval of abortion, repeatedly and proudly claiming credit for the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Assuming this stance persists through his next presidency, it is unlikely that Trump will sign a national abortion ban. However, unlike his opponent, Trump also exhibits no desire to reverse the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision, maintaining that state-level decisions on abortion are the best-case scenario.
Trade
Concerning international trade, according to ABC, the Republican candidate plans to raise tariffs on foreign goods, stating a 10% increase on materials from all countries and a 60% boost on any Chinese products. While this strategy intends to compel suppliers to buy exclusively from American companies, the augmented tariffs will merely lead to inflation as importers pass the financial burden onto customers, thus elevating prices. In addition, a negative international response may cause other countries to mimic Trump’s policies on American imports, opening the door for a trade war.
Taxes
ABC also noted that Donald Trump’s tax plan favors upper-class Americans, considering his intended 6% reduction in corporate income tax and the desired elimination of Joe Biden’s income tax increase on wealthy citizens.
Interestingly, although Donald Trump won in what many call a “landslide,” recently trending Google searches in the United States have hinted at public regret, with the question “Can I change my vote?” growing by 700%. While election results are concrete, online reactions such as those alluded to by search engine histories indicate that the President-elect’s apparent population may not last.