Donald Trump, the candidate representing the Republican party, was criminally

convicted in May and found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business record to

commit election fraud. And yet, the convicted felon won the election just weeks ago.

The two candidates, former prosecutor and democrat Kamala Harris against the

former defendant and republican Donald Trump were expected to be neck and neck

according to many journalists and political analysts. Yet, in a turn of events, the

republican won with over 76 million votes. 

The outcry from democrats has flooded social media, warning those of minority

groups to do whatever is necessary to stay safe. On the other hand, there’s delight

from Republicans who believe that Trump will lead America into a better condition

than its last administration. Regardless of your thoughts, the revelation of this

landslide win is still surprising, considering Trump’s controversial policies, sexual

misconduct allegations and criminal charges- an issue of particular importance due

to their severity. It makes many question: exactly how did a criminal win the

presidential election?

Many reasons are primarily based on what went wrong in Kamala Harris’s campaign.

For example, Harris lamented the position of the United States regarding minor

demographic groups such as LGBTQ+ groups and ethnic minorities rather than

focusing on general issues that affect everyday lives of all Americans, such as the

economy, crime rates and immigration.

One could argue that the threat which some of Trump’s policies and views hold for

civil rights in the United States, and Harris’ advocation for equality amongst the

American people, including female healthcare and legalisation of abortion

nationwide, may explain the demographics for Harris voters.

Furthermore, Joe Biden, the current president, dropped out of the presidential race in

July rather than earlier after blunders in debates that eroded confidence in the

Democratic party. Many analysts and supporters believe that Harris may have stood

a chance if given more time to campaign.

Further out of Harris’s control as a black woman, is the historical gender and racial

bias of presidential candidates where many previous candidates were white and/or

male. While she did win over most voters from ethnic minority groups, these groups

only make up a small chunk of the United States. Ethnic minorities make up only 72

million of the population compared to over 252 million white Americans according to

2023 statistics, and Trump won over half of the votes from both white men and

women.

That is not to say that Trump was fortunate based on the opponent’s misfortune. For

example, Trump was right to focus on the United States’ economy. 45% of all voters

said they were worse off financially than they were four years ago. One Trump voter

talking to LBC stated : “We’re tired of being stomped down, we’re tired of high gas

prices, we’re tired of being bullied - and we stood up for the first time.” A lot of Trump

voters stated economy to be a driving point of their decision, but the attempted

assassination of Trump in July could very well be a contributing factor too.

Demonstrating resilience he made a public appearance less than two days later. By

this point, Trump was dominating polls, leaving Biden behind and Democrats reeling

from the defeat that had yet to be confirmed. 

Trump’s success in the US election is something that could be debated for days for

many reasons, but the results have stated its official victor without complaint. While

Haris and Biden has peacefully conceded and ensured “smooth transition” for the

now President-Elect, it has not stopped them from working. The Biden

Administration’s green light for Ukraine to use US-supplied missiles to strike Russia

on Sunday (17th) and usage of landmines on Wednesday (20th) indicates rapidly

rising tensions for the world. This is a major policy shift from the democrats promise

in 2022 to limit anti-personnel landmines. How Trump will proceed in January with

the Ukraine-Russia conflict as well as the fate of the United States is something that

the world will sure be watching.