• If only the Washington Post had endorsed Harris, no doubt everything would have turned out differently.
• Donald Trump’s reelection to the presidency is an astonishing political achievement. After an interregnum at Mar-a-Lago following the Capitol riot in January 2021, Trump set out to rebuild his political strength. That he did so in convincing fashion has been demonstrated by Tuesday night’s results. Trump overcame his election loss in 2020, his disgraceful conduct in the aftermath, a concerted and abusive effort by Democrats to prosecute him into political oblivion, and unremittingly hostile press coverage. Trump nonetheless swept the battleground states and is well-positioned to win the popular vote, an achievement that eluded him in 2016. This time, his coalition was broader and more racially diverse than in the last two elections. His comeback is more impressive than Richard Nixon’s in 1968. Grover Cleveland’s election to a nonconsecutive term in 1892 pales in comparison. But in politics, every victory is seeded with the potential for hubris and therefore a fall. Trump’s remarkable comeback will make him less inclined than ever to heed advice. He should still realize that he isn’t personally popular (public polling shows that many of his voters still disapprove of him) and that his victory was in large part a repudiation of Joe Biden (and of Kamala Harris, noted parenthetically here, as history will likely characterize her as well). Trump now has his four more years. We hope he uses them well.
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