Why Trump won!

As Trump and the Republican Party emphatically return back to the white house, let's try to understand how this came to be. There are several factors but I will mention what I think are the main ones.

1) Candidate selection

The US electoral system has an interesting process in which the president is chosen not by one election but two elections.

The first election is called primaries which selects for a party nominee using public voting. Typically not all citizens can vote but people registered with the party.

The elected nominee of each party goes on to compete in the presidential election.

This process is followed by both of the major parties - Democrats and Republicans.

Republican primary

Republicans voters overwhelmingly chose Donald Trump to be their parties nominee over other candidates like Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, etc.

Democrat primary

Democrats chose Joe Biden (the sitting President).

However something strange happened in Democrat party as the final nominee (Kamala Harris) that the party selected was someone who did not even contest in the primaries.

It should be noted that Kamala Harris did participate in the primaries for the 2020 presidential election but did not perform well and ultimately withdrew her candidacy.

So in simple words the Democrat party candidate was selected not elected.

2) Elon Musk & Twitter

An important development that also had a big impact was Elon Musk buying twitter.

Before Elon Musk bought Twitter, it was often seen as a platform that promoted left-wing narratives and ideas while limiting right-leaning views and voices.

Musk aimed to make the platform a space for free speech, removing what some perceived as a political advantage for left-leaning users and, by extension, the Democratic Party.

He restored several Trump-supporting accounts, including Donald Trump’s, who had been banned in 2021. Musk also publicly endorsed Trump’s candidacy for president and contributed to his campaign.

3) Lacklustre foreign policy

Under President Biden, several major international crises unfolded:

• The war between Ukraine and Russia,
• Escalating conflict between Israel and Palestine,
• And the Taliban’s rapid takeover of Afghanistan.

These events have led some to view the U.S. as weakened on the global stage, casting a shadow over the current administration, in which Kamala Harris serves as the Vice President.

To summarize, these are the main reasons for the Trump victory:

1. Kamala Harris nomination: Despite not contesting in the primaries, Harris was chosen as the Democrats presidential candidate.
2. Elon Musk's Changes to Twitter: Musk’s acquisition of Twitter shifted the platform towards a more open, free speech approach, with vocal and financial support for conservative voices, including endorsing Donald Trump.
3. Underperformance of the Biden-Harris Administration: Global conflicts (Ukraine-Russia, Israel-Palestine), the Taliban's swift takeover of Afghanistan, and domestic challenges have led to critiques of the administration’s handling of foreign policy and national strength.