Americans woke up to election news that ended months of anxiety and suspense with results that have changed the configuration of political power in Washington and have set the stage for a continued and intensified battle by the people to improve the lives of themselves, their families, and friends.
In addition to Trump winning the White House with his racist campaign of fear of immigrants and exploitation of economic worries, Republicans have taken back control of the U.S. Senate. At press time the Democrats had lost Senate seats in Ohio and Montana, where MAGA Republicans unseated incumbents. The fate of numerous other Democratic Senate incumbents was still hanging in the balance. Control of the Senate will allow Trump to get approval of any and all of his most extreme Cabinet members and to get approval for additional Supreme Court nominees.
Also, at press time, it was still not clear which party would win a majority of seats in the House. As many as 54 races have yet to be called, making it impossible to determine right now which party will come out on top in the House.
If the Democrats control the House, Hakeem Jeffries, the African-American representative from Brooklyn, will become Speaker of the House and that chamber will be able to prevent Trump from passing legislation, in effect blocking the legalization of any parts of the extreme right Project 2025 agenda.
If it turns out that way the House Democrats will need the support and mass actions of labor and all its allies to back them up. The heroic actions of labor and its allies were a critical part of the effort to stop the MAGA Republicans but they came up short as they faced billionaires and big capitalist money determined to divide and conquer the people’s forces.
In two years, when many more Republicans than Democrats will be up for re-election in the Senate, the Democrats will have a chance of ending the GOP grip on that body. Of course, that will not prevent Trump from brokering a deal in the meantime to get two right wingers on the Supreme Court to resign, allowing him to name and get approval for two young extremists who can saddle the country with their anti-democratic rulings for many years to come.
On the popular vote, Ballotpedia reported at 6:40 this morning that Trump had about 58,000,000 votes and that Harris had about 57,000,000 votes. We know that vote totals are below those of four years ago but it is not yet clear by how much and for which candidates. When the popular vote counting is completed we will know more.
Media hype about large numbers of Black votes going for Trump proved false with the percentages for Harris almost exactly what they were for Biden four years ago. Black men also voted overwhelmingly for Harris at the same rate as they had for Biden.
Media talking heads claimed that allegedly “unprecedented” numbers of Latinos voted Republican but they failed to mention that the 44 percent total of such votes was actually a point smaller than the total percentage of 45 that voted for George Bush years ago. Bush, at the time, spoke to voters in fluent Spanish.
Republicans, this time, made strong appeals to working-class Latinos, using Spanish-speaking canvassers and turning towns with large populations of Latinos in Pennsylvania and even in Passaic County, New Jersey, from blue to red. Bernie Moreno, a wealthy Republican Colombian business magnate, used his nationality and native language to appeal to Latinos in Ohio and helped the GOP effort to oust pro-worker Sherrod Brown from the Senate.
White women voters in the suburbs went for Harris but in much smaller numbers than expected by the Harris campaign with many voting for abortion rights measures and for Donald Trump at the same time.
When Donald Trump is losing he raises holy hell about election “fraud” but made no such claims last night as he saw he was winning. Expect no claims by his campaign that he “stole” this election.
Voters in many states made choices regarding the issue of abortion restrictions. In some states, like Florida, Republicans made it difficult for abortion rights measures to pass by raising the threshold required for approval to 60 percent. In addition to Florida, the abortion rights measures failed in Nebraska and South Dakota. They passed in Montana, New York, Nevada, and Colorado.
Right-wing leaders overseas are celebrating the Trump election. Among them was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Prime Minister congratulated Trump on his election victory, and the two agreed to work together for Israel’s security. The two also discussed the alleged Iranian threat. Netanyahu noted that he was among the first world leaders to call Trump after his victory.
Saudi Arabian Prince Mohammed Bin Salman “expressed — may God protect him — the kingdom’s aspiration to strengthen the historical and strategic relations between the two countries, wishing the friendly American people progress and prosperity under his excellency’s leadership.” He has poured billions of dollars into the investments of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, who envisions turning Gaza into a seaside resort.
Trump made his first foreign trip as president to Saudi Arabia. He stood by the kingdom, even as ties became strained over the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi operatives in Istanbul.
In the final weeks of the campaign, Trump promised Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a free rein in his administration to investigate childhood diseases like obesity and autism. Kennedy has urged his followers to ignore the U.S. government’s current vaccine recommendations for their children.
Vice President Kamala Harris will deliver a concession speech Wednesday at 4 p.m., her office announced, at Howard University.
Wealthy investors are betting on what Trump’s return to the White House will mean for the lining in their pockets. The moneyed interests on Wall Street are celebrating. The Dow jumped 1,200 points and major stocks including Elon Musk’s Tesla and bitcoin soared. Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind the Truth Social platform, also surged.
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