Trump will push US institutions to the maximum limit

Donald Trump was elected president of the United States on Wednesday, marking a significant return to the White House after a four-year hiatus.

The victory came after an intense and polarizing campaign, during which Trump overcame two attempts on his life and benefited from Democrats’ late decision to nominate Kamala Harris as their candidate, following Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race in July.

Trump and Harris competed for the electoral votes, with Trump securing 279 to Harris’ 223, based on preliminary results that included a crucial victory in Wisconsin.

“Americans have given us a powerful and unprecedented mandate,” Trump declared in a speech to a Florida crowd at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. Trump’s victory was projected despite numerous legal challenges and low approval ratings that had persisted since his first term. The former president was impeached twice and faced multiple criminal and civil charges.

The campaign was intensely focused on issues such as the economy and immigration, areas in which Trump promised tough measures despite a lack of concrete evidence of rising crime. These positions, along with rhetoric that often inflamed political and social divisions, appear to have resonated with a voter base facing economic concerns worsened by inflation.

Internationally, Trump’s re-election is seen as a potential change of direction in trade and climate policies, as well as in relations with conflict-ridden countries such as Ukraine and Iran. World leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky, have already expressed their expectations and concerns with the new administration.

In the US, Trump’s victory also indicates a possible reconfiguration of the majority in the Senate for the Republican Party, although the situation in the House of Representatives remains uncertain. Financial markets reacted positively to the news of Trump’s victory, with the dollar reaching its highest peak since 2020.

Meanwhile, Kamala Harris, who failed to catalyze enough support to overtake Trump, is expected to make a formal statement recognizing his victory at 4 p.m. Nearly three-quarters of voters expressed concern about the health of American democracy, a sentiment that Trump’s campaign both exacerbated and exploited.

With his re-election, Trump promised significant roles in his administration to figures such as Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., both declared supporters. His return to the presidency promises to further intensify political and social divisions in the United States, with direct implications for issues of race, gender, reproductive rights and education.

With information from Reuters