Summary
Donald Trump narrowly won the 2024 presidential election, securing the smallest popular vote margin for a victor in modern U.S. history, with just 1.6% over Kamala Harris.
Despite his win, Democrats performed unexpectedly well in down-ballot races, flipping Senate seats in swing states Trump carried and maintaining the House balance.
Republicans lack a clear mandate as Trump’s plans for deportations, ending birthright citizenship, political retribution, and tariffs clash with voters’ hopes for economic relief.
There’s likely to be backlash as voters realize the gap between what they wanted and what Trump plans to deliver.
The senate is weird. It’s possible to lose seats even if your party gets more votes overall. 6 years ago was the Trump midterm so democrats did well. This meant a disproportionate number of senators up for reelection this year were either vulnerable democrats or safe republicans. So overall losing only 3 seats is not bad in that context.