It was the moment he had fantasized about for four years.
At 2:24 a.m. on Nov. 6, Donald Trump strutted on stage in a Florida ballroom, surrounded by advisers, party leaders, family, and friends. The Associated Press had yet to call the race, but it was clear by then that the voters had swept him back into power. Staring out at a sea of supporters sporting red MAGA hats, Trump basked in the all-butcertain triumph. "We've achieved the most incredible political thing," Trump said. "America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate."
How Trump, 78, won re-election will be the stuff of history books, and already America's choice can be traced to some key decisions. To Trump's top aides, the thesis of the campaign could be summed up in a simple slogan: "Max out the men and hold the women." That meant emphasizing the economy and immigration, which Trump did relentlessly. It meant diverting attention away from the chaos of his first term, the abortion bans he ushered in, and his assault on American democracy four years ago. It meant a campaign that rode the resentment of disenchanted voters and capitalized on the cultural fractures and tribal politics that Trump has long exploited.
Most of all, the outcome can be credited to a singular figure whose return to the White House traced a political arc unlike any other in 250 years of American history. Trump left office in 2021 a pariah after inciting a mob of supporters to ransack the U.S. Capitol at the end of an attempt to overturn his electoral defeat. Three years later, he engineered an unprecedented political comeback. Trump effortlessly dispatched his GOP rivals, forced President Joe Biden out of the race, and vanquished Vice President Kamala Harris in a dominant victory that exceeded virtually everyone's expectations. Along the way, Trump shrugged off a 34-count felony conviction and an array of other criminal indictments.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
CAVALCADE OF COMEDY
As Saturday Night Live celebrates its 50th season, alumni look back on the people, moments, and humor that shaped their time at an American institution
The Summer of Scam that never ended
EARLY IN THE NEW NETFLIX SERIES APPLE CIDER VINEgar, its star, Kaitlyn Dever, breaks the fourth wall.
The Italian 'Trump whisperer'
ITALIAN PRIME MINister Giorgia Meloni's political fortunes are far brighter than any other G-7 leader's.
The (real) problem with fake plants
WHEN THE GERMAN PHILOSOPHER IMMANUEL KANT puzzled over why nature looks beautiful to us, he considered the case of replicas.
Insecurity is the new inequality
DONALD TRUMP'S SECOND PRESIDENTIAL TERM HAS already been accompanied by a cascade of unnerving political and natural events-from the U.S.'s leaving the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Accords, to the nighttime firings of inspectors general and pardons of the Jan. 6 rioters, to the raids targeting immigrants in a number of cities and the wildfires roaring through swaths of Los Angeles.
TIME the Closers
25 BLACK LEADERS WORKING TO END RACIAL INEQUALITY
THE PAW PATROL PRINCIPLE
How a toy company built a children's-television juggernaut
Mindy Kaling The writer, producer, and showrunner on the status of Legally Blonde 3, cooking with Meghan Markle, and her new Netflix comedy, Running Point
The family in Running Point has shades of Succession. Was that show on your mind?
A THOUSAND CUTS
THE STANDOFF AT 1300 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE was not much of a spectacle.
DeepSeek's hidden warning for AI safety
THE RELEASE OF DEEPSEEK R1 STUNNED WALL STREET and Silicon Valley in January, spooking investors and impressing tech leaders.
