In the weeks after Vice-President Kamala Harris’s rapid ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket, Donald Trump’s allies and advisors urged him to stay on message.
Polls showed Americans trusted the former Republican president more on the economy and immigration than Harris. All he needed to do, they reasoned, was stick to those issues.
He didn’t. In the final months of the presidential campaign, Trump did it his way: diverging from prepared remarks, resorting to personal attacks, spouting anti-immigrant rhetoric, threatening retribution against rivals and ignoring advice from allies to stay focused on the issues.
As Trump sealed the presidential election, winning 279 electoral votes to Harris’ 223 by Wednesday morning, the result wasn’t just a win for him. It was also a triumph for the chaotic, scorched earth politics of Trumpism.
There were fewer leaks, less infighting and a more deliberate strategy honed by seasoned professionals this time than in Trump’s prior two campaigns, to be sure. Yet his third White House bid ultimately drew its force from the candidate himself. In the final weeks, that included meandering, apocalyptic speeches, race-baiting attacks on Harris and strongman language at odds with
America’s political institutions. Reuters spoke to more than 20 Trump allies, advisors, donors and Republican operatives for a detailed account of how Trump managed to pull off a stunning comeback, becoming the first former president in more than a century to win a second term after leaving the White House.
The interviews reveal how he forged key alliances, including with tech billionaire Elon Musk, who spent at least $119 million (R2.2 billion) on canvassing for Trump in the seven battleground states. He also resisted calls to fire senior campaign staffers, choosing to keep together a team that avoided the internal chaos of Trump’s previous bids. And he kept the spotlight on immigration, rather than abortion, where Democrats have an edge with voters.
Scott Bessent, a Trump donor and economic adviser, recalled meeting with Trump speech writers in August to offer ideas for what the campaign was billing as a big economic speech in the battleground state of North Carolina. But when Trump got on stage, he essentially tore up the script, dropping some economic talking points, delving instead into the border and crime – and ripping into Harris in personal terms.
Bessent told Reuters he was initially caught off guard by Trump’s address.
But the crowd seemed to lap it up. After hearing rave reviews from blue-collar workers later that day, Bessent said he realised the power of Trump’s political instincts. “I have to do it my way,” Trump told reporters a day after the North Carolina event, dismissing suggestions to alter his approach.
A majority of voters said they trust Trump more to handle the economy, with 51% saying they did so compared to 47% for Harris, according to preliminary results from a national exit poll conducted by data provider Edison Research. And the voters who identified the economy as their primary concern voted overwhelmingly for Trump over Harris – 79% to 20%.
Trump’s hardline rhetoric on immigration and other issues, which many Americans see as unsettling, energised some of his supporters on a visceral level. Those Americans, especially white, working-class voters in economically struggling towns, once again saw Trump as an anti establishment figure who understood their grievances.
“America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate,” Trump said early on Wednesday to a roaring crowd of supporters at the Palm Beach County.
The Harris and Trump campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Harris was expected to deliver a speech conceding defeat in the presidential election to Trump.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Trump to congratulate him, and they discussed “the Iranian threat” and the need to work together for Israel’s security, Netanyahu’s office said. “The conversation was warm and cordial,” it said.
Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, called for an end to the “blind support” for Israel from the US.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed what he called Trump’s commitment to “peace through strength,” while the Kremlin said it would wait and see if his victory could help end the war in Ukraine more quickly.
Trump said while campaigning that he could end the war in 24 hours.
Cape Times