Presidential election results map.Red denotesU.S. states won by Trump/Vance andblue denotes those won by Harris/Walz. Numbers indicateelectoral votes cast by each state and theDistrict of Columbia.[3]
A general election absentee ballot fromFairfax County, Virginia, listing the presidential and vice presidential candidatesTheincumbent in 2024,Joe Biden. His term expired at noon on January 20, 2025.
In 2020, incumbent Republican President Donald Trump sought re-election, but was defeated by Democratic challenger Joe Biden. Democratic U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California was elected vice president in 2020 as Biden's running mate.[15]
Trump is the first president in American history to beimpeached twice, and the first to run for president again after impeachment. As Trump was acquitted by the Senate in both cases, he was not barred from seeking reelection to the presidency in 2024.[16]
To sow election doubt, Trump escalated use of "rigged election" and "election interference" statements in advance of the 2024 election compared to the previous two elections.[22]
Trump madefalse claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election and denied the validity of the election results.[23][24] In July 2024,The New York Times reported that "the Republican Party and its conservative allies are engaged in an unprecedented legal campaign targeting the American voting system", by restricting voting for partisan advantage ahead of Election Day and preparing to mount "legally dubious" challenges against the certification process if Trump were to lose.[25]
In the lead-up to the 2024 election, the Republican Party made false claims of massive "noncitizen voting" by immigrants in an attempt to delegitimize the election in the event of a Trump defeat.[26][27][28] The claims were made as part of larger Republican Party efforts to disrupt the 2024 election andelection denial movement.[29] Trump and several other Republicans stated that they would not accept the results of the 2024 election if they believe they are "unfair".[30]
Before the election, U.S. officials and former officials stated that foreign interference in the 2024 election was likely. Three major factors cited were "America's deepening domestic political crises, the collapse of controversial attempts to control political speech on social media, and the rise ofgenerative AI".[44] China, Russia, and Iran were identified as mounting influence operations and attempts to interfere with the 2024 election. U.S. intelligence officials described the efforts as part of broader efforts by authoritarian nations to use the internet to erode support for democracy.[45]
China was identified as interfering with the 2024 election through propaganda and disinformation campaigns linked to itsSpamouflage operation. U.S. intelligence agencies described the effort as not targeting any particular candidate but focusing on issues important to theChinese government, such as Taiwan, and "undermining confidence in elections, voting, and the U.S. in general".[45] As early as April 1, 2024,The New York Times reported that the Chinese government had created fake pro-Trump accounts on social media "promoting conspiracy theories, stoking domestic divisions and attacking President Biden ahead of the election in November".[46]
According to disinformation experts and intelligence agencies, Russia spread disinformation ahead of the 2024 election to damage Biden and Democrats, boost candidates supporting isolationism, and undercut support for Ukraine aid and NATO.[47][48] On September 4, 2024, the United States publicly accused Russia of interfering in the 2024 election and announced several steps to combat Russian influence includingsanctions, indictments, and seizing of web domains used to spread propaganda and disinformation. U.S. intelligence agencies assessed that Russia preferred Trump to win the election, viewing him as more critical of American support for Ukraine.[49]
Iran was identified as interfering with the 2024 presidential election through front companies connected to theIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and hacking attempts against the Trump, Biden, and Harris campaigns starting as early as May 2024.[50] Iran launched propaganda and disinformation campaigns through fake news websites and accounts on social media to tip the election against former president Trump.The New York Times stated the efforts were an attempt at "sowing internal discord and discrediting the democratic system in the United States more broadly in the eyes of the world".[50][51][52]
Multiple Republican-led administrations removed voters from their states' voter rolls in the lead up to the election, which critics argued violates theNational Voter Registration Act.[53][54][55] In July 2024, 160,000 inactive or infrequent voters were removed fromOhio's voter rolls.[56][57] The Ohio chapters ofCommon Cause and theLeague of Women Voters threatened lawsuits against the state over the purge.[58][59]
In August 2024, GovernorGlenn Youngkin ofVirginia signed an executive order removing 6,303 voters suspected of being non-citizens from Virginia's voter rolls.[60][61] In October 2024, theU.S. Department of Justice sued the Virginia Board of Elections and Virginia commissioner of elections over the voter purge, alleging that it violated theNational Voter Registration Act.[62][63] The suit also found a number of alleged non-citizens purged were actually citizens.[63][64] District judgePatricia Tolliver Giles ruled that the removal was illegal, ordering the state to stop purging voter rolls and to restore the voter registration of more than 1,600 voters who had been removed.[65][64] The4th Circuit Court of Appeals then upheld the order.[66][67] The administration filed an emergency appeal to theU.S. Supreme Court, which sided with Virginia in a 6–3 decisionalong ideological lines, allowing the state to continue purging voter rolls.[67][68]
In August 2024,Alabama Secretary of StateWes Allen announced a process for purging 3,251 registered Alabama voters and referred them to the state attorney general's office for criminal prosecution.[54][69] In September 2024, the Department of Justice sued Alabama for violating the National Voter Registration Act.[70][71] In October 2024, district judgeAnna Manasco ruled in favor of the Department of Justice, ordering the state to restore the voter registrations.[72][73] Alabama secretary of state's chief of staff Clay Helms testified that 2,000 of the purged voters were legally registered citizens.[73]
Criminal and civil legal proceedings involving Donald Trump
Trump was the subject of various criminal and civil legal proceedings before and during his 2024 re-election campaign. Specifically, Trump was found liable in a civil proceeding forfinancial fraud in 2023,[74] was found liable for bothsexual abuse anddefamation in 2023, and was found liable for defamation in a related civil proceeding in 2024. In 2024, Trump was criminally convicted of 34felonies related tofalsifying business records.[75] Trump and other Republicans made numerous false and misleading statements regarding Trump's various legal proceedings, including false claims that they were "rigged" or consisted of "election interference" orchestrated by Biden and the Democratic Party.[76][22]
Classified intelligence material found insideMar-a-Lago in 2022
On May 30, 2024, Trump was found guilty by a jury of all 34 felony counts inThe People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump. The jury found that Trump falsified business records relating tohush money payments made to pornographic film starStormy Daniels to ensure her silence abouta sexual encounter between them. This conviction made Trump the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a crime.[77] On January 10, 2025, Trump was given a no-penalty sentence known as an unconditional discharge.[78]
On May 9, 2023, inE. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump, an anonymous jury found Trump civilly liable[83] for sexual abuse and defamation, and ordered him to pay Carroll $5 million in damages.[84] In a related case brought by Carroll against Trump, a jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million.[85] As of April 2025, appeals were ongoing in both cases.[86]
In September 2023, Trump was found civilly liable forfinancial fraud inNew York v. Trump.[74] In February 2024, he was ordered to pay a $354.8 million fine, together with approximately $100 million in interest.[87] As of January 29, 2025, an appeal was ongoing.[88]
Trump made efforts to delay his trials until after the 2024 election.[89][90] On July 1, 2024, the Supreme Court delivered a 6–3 decision inTrump v. United States, ruling that Trump had absolute immunity for acts he committed as president within his core constitutional purview, at least presumptive immunity for official acts within the outer perimeter of his official responsibility, and no immunity for unofficial acts.[91][92][93]
Mass media, lawmakers, and Donald Trump raised concerns about Biden's age, including his cognitive state, during and after the2020 United States presidential election.[94] According to a February 2024 poll, Biden's age and health were major or moderate concerns for 86% of voters generally,[94] up from 76% in 2020.[95] According to another February 2024 poll, most of those who voted for Biden in 2020 believed he was too old to be an effective president;The New York Times noted that these concerns "cut across generations, gender, race and education".[96]
Concerns about Biden's age and health increased after a poor performance by Biden duringa debate against Trump in June 2024. That performance led a number of commentators and Democratic lawmakers to call for Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race.[97] In July 2024,Biden withdrew his candidacy while stating that he would continue serving as president until the conclusion of his term.[98]
In the summer before the election, polling showed at least half of Americans thought that Trump, who was 78 years old, was too old to serve a second term, with 80% unsure he would be able to finish out a second term.[99] Numerous public figures, media sources, and mental health professionals speculated that Trump may have some form ofdementia, which runs in his family.[100] Experts for the science publicationSTAT who analyzed changes in Trump's speeches between 2015 and 2024 noted shorter sentences, more tangents, more repetition, and more confusion of words and phrases. Doctors suggested these changes could relate to Trump's moods or could indicate the beginning ofAlzheimer's. One expert noted an increase in expressions of all-or-nothing thinking by Trump; a sharp rise inall-or-nothing thinking is also linked tocognitive decline.[101]The New York Times reported that Trump's 2024 speeches had grown "darker, harsher, longer, angrier, less focused, more profane and increasingly fixated on the past", and that experts considered this increase intangential speech andbehavioral disinhibition as a possible consequence of advancing age and cognitive decline.[102] Trump was also criticized for his lack of transparency around his medical records and health.[100][103]
On July 14, Biden gave an address condemning political violence, including the attempted assassination of Trump, arguing for the need to "lower the temperature" in American politics.
Several scholars, lawmakers, intelligence agencies, and the members of the public expressed concerns aboutpolitical violence surrounding the 2024 election.[104][105] The fears came amidst increasing threats and acts of physical violence targeting public officials and election workers at all levels of government.[106][107] Trump was identified as a key figure in increasing political violence in the United States both for and against him.[108][109][110] Political violence was at its highest since the 1970s, and the most recent violence came from right-wing assailants.[111][112] Trump increasingly embracedfar-right extremism, conspiracy theories such asQ-Anon, and far-rightmilitia movements to a greater extent than any modern American president.[113][114] Trump also espoused dehumanizing, combative, and violent rhetoric,[115] and promised retribution against his political enemies.[116] Trump played down but refused to rule out violence following the 2024 election, stating "it depends".[117] Trump also suggested using the military against "the enemy from within" on Election Day that he described as "radical left lunatics", Democratic politicians, and those opposed to his candidacy.[118][119]
Results of the 2024 Republican presidential primaries. Trump (blue) won everything but Vermont andWashington D.C., which went toNikki Haley (orange).
Trump filed and announced his candidacy a week following the2022 midterm elections.[120] Trump was considered an early frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination.[121] He had announced in March 2022 that his former vice presidentMike Pence would not be his running mate.[122]
Trump faced opposition in the primaries. Florida GovernorRon DeSantis was initially viewed as the main challenger to Trump for the Republican nomination, having raised more campaign funds in the first half of 2022 and posting more favorable polling numbers than Trump by the end of 2022.[123][124][125] On May 24, 2023, DeSantis announced his candidacy onTwitter in an online conversation with the social media company's CEO,Elon Musk. At the end of July 2023,FiveThirtyEight's national polling average of the Republican primaries had Trump at 52 percent, and DeSantis at 15.[126]
Following theIowa caucuses, in which Trump posted a landslide victory, DeSantis and businessmanVivek Ramaswamy dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump, leaving the former president andNikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who served inTrump's cabinet, as the only remaining major candidates.[127][128] Trump continued to win all four early voting contests while Haley's campaign struggled to gain momentum.[129] On March 6, 2024, the day after winning only one primary out of fifteen onSuper Tuesday, Haley suspended her campaign.[130][131] On March 12, 2024, Trump officially became the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.[132] Trump was injured inan assassination attempt on July 13, 2024, when a bullet grazed his ear.[133] This was the first time a president or major party presidential candidate was injured in an assassination attempt sinceRonald Reagan in 1981.[134] On July 15, 2024, the first day of theRepublican National Convention, Trump officially announced that SenatorJD Vance of Ohio would be his running mate.[135] On July 18, 2024, for the third consecutive time, Trump accepted the nomination from theRepublican National Convention to become the Republican presidential nominee.[136]
Results of the 2024 Democratic presidential primaries. Biden (blue) won everything butAmerican Samoa, which went toJason Palmer (purple).On July 24, Biden addressed the nation from theOval Office on his decision three days earlier towithdraw from the race.
Concerns about Biden's age were prominent, given that he wasthe oldest person to assume the office at age 78, which would make him 82 at the end of his first term and 86 at the end of a potential second term.[165] An April 2023 poll indicated that 70 percent of Americans, including 51 percent of Democrats, believed Biden should not seek a second term, with nearly half citing his age as the reason. Biden's approval rating stood at 41 percent, with 55 percent disapproving.[166] Speculation also arose that Biden might face a primary challenge from theDemocratic Party's progressive faction;[167][168] however, after Democrats outperformed expectations in the2022 midterm elections, many believed Biden's chances of securing the party's nomination had increased.[169] On July 28, 2022, RepresentativeDean Phillips ofMinnesota became the first incumbent Democratic member of Congress to say Biden should not run for re-election and called for "generational change", pointing to Biden's age.[170][171]
On August 5, 2024, after five days of online balloting, Democratic National Convention delegates voted to make Harris the party's 2024 presidential nominee.[181] Sheselected Minnesota GovernorTim Walz as her running mate the following day[182] and accepted the party's nomination on August 22.[183]
The party's nominee in2012 and2016, Stein is a physician and a former member of theLexingtonTown Meeting. On August 16, Stein selected academicButch Ware as her running mate.[194] Stein achieved ballot access in 38 states, and was eligible to receive write-in votes in seven states. She was not eligible to receive write-in votes in the remaining states or the District of Columbia.[192][195][193]
These third-party candidates had ballot access in some states, but not enough to get 270 votes needed to win the presidency, without running awrite-in campaign.
Natural Law Party:Robert F. Kennedy Jr., environmental lawyer and author, the party's nominee in addition to his run as an independent before hewithdrew from the race ahead of the election but was not removed from ballots[200]
Presidential candidatesTrump andHarris campaigned in 17 states, excluding their home states, from August to November in the 2024 United States presidential election.[212]
Harris framed her campaign as "a choice between freedom and chaos" and based it around the ideals of "freedom" and "the future".[213][214] The Harris campaign sought to highlight her experience as an attorney general and a prosecutor to "prosecute the case" against Trump by pointing out his 34 felony convictions and the impacts of the overturning ofRoe v. Wade.[215][216] Harris had taken liberal positions on a number of issues in her bid for the 2020 Democratic nomination; in 2024, she shifted several of those positions toward the political center and embraced many of Biden's domestic policy stances.[217] Harris focused her economic proposals on the cost ofgroceries,housing andhealthcare.[218]
A central campaign theme for Trump's second presidential bid was "retribution".[219][220] Trump framed the 2024 election as "the final battle", and openly promised to leverage the power of the presidency forpolitical reprisals.[221] Trump heavily ran on immigration as a central campaign focus. Trump's campaign focused on dark and apocalyptic rhetoric about the state of the country and predicting doom if he did not win.[222][223][224] TheAssociated Press stated that "Trump's rallies take on the symbols, rhetoric and agenda ofChristian nationalism."[225] During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump made numerousfalse and misleading statements.[226][227][228] Trump has been described as using the "big lie"[229] andfirehose of falsehood[230] propaganda techniques.
Abortion access was a key topic during the campaign;[231][232] it was on the ballot in up to 10 states in 2024, including theswing states ofArizona and Nevada.[233] Some pundits argued abortion rights referendums could help Harris in November.[234][235][236] Democrats predominantly advocate forabortion access as a right,[237] while Republicans generally favor significantlyrestricting the legality of abortion.[238] Since becoming the presumptive nominee, Harris indicated her support for passing legislation which would restore the federal abortion right protections previously guaranteed byRoe.[239][240] She argued Trump would let his anti-abortion allies implementProject 2025 proposals to restrict abortion and contraception throughout the United States.[241]
Trump claimed credit for overturningRoe but criticized Republicans pushing for total abortion bans.[242][243] Trump said he would leave the issue of abortion for the states to decide but would allow red states to monitor women's pregnancies and prosecute them if they have an abortion.[244] In his home state of Florida, Trump announced he would vote "No" onAmendment 4, an abortion rights referendum, preserving the six-week ban.[245] The announcement came one day after he initially criticized the six-week ban for being "too short" and said he would vote to lengthen it.[246] Trump repeated a false claim that Democrats support abortions after birth and "executing" babies.[247][248]
Border security and immigration were among the top issues concerning potential voters in the election.[249][250] Polling showed that most Americans want to reduce immigration,[251] and that a substantial minority of white Republicans were concerned aboutwhite demographic decline.[252] In 2023 and early 2024, a surge of migrants entering through the border with Mexico occurred.[253] By June 2024, illegal crossings reached a three-year low following four consecutive monthly drops, which senior officials attributed to increased enforcement between the United States and Mexico, the weather, and Biden's executive order (A Proclamation on Securing the Border) increasing asylum restrictions.[254]
Harris promised to fight for "strong border security" coupled with an earned pathway to citizenship. Harris highlighted her work in combating transnational gangs, drug cartels, andhuman traffickers while attorney general.[255] As vice president, Harris announced in 2023 that she had garnered pledges of US$950 million from private companies to aid Central American communities to address the causes of mass migration, such as poverty.[240] Harris stated she believes the immigration system is "broken" and needs to be fixed, and she said most Americans believe this.[240] Harris also advocated for stricter asylum rules than Biden.[256] Harris supported increasing the number ofU.S. Border Patrol agents and accused Trump of being unserious on border security.[257] As vice president, Harris also supported a bipartisan bill that would have funded additional border agents and closed the border if too crowded; the bill was rejected by Trump. Trump called on House and Senate Republicans to kill the bill, arguing it would hurt his and the Republican Party's reelection campaigns and deny them the ability to run on immigration as a campaign issue.[258][259][260][261][262][263] Harris criticized Trump for his opposition to the bill on the campaign trail,[255] and promised to sign the bill into law as president.[264]
Trump pledged to finishthe wall on the southern border if elected.
Trump stated that if he were elected, he would increase deportations, send the U.S. military to the border, expandU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detentions through workplace raids,[265] deputize local law enforcement to handle border security, increaseU.S. Customs and Border Patrol funding, as well as finish building the wall on the southern border.[266] Trump has said he will deport both legal and illegal immigrants.[11][267]The New York Times reported that Trump was considering "an extreme expansion of his first-term crackdown on immigration", such as "preparing to round up undocumented people already in the United States on a vast scale and detain them in sprawling camps while they wait to be expelled".[265] Trump stated his intention to deport 11 million people through the construction of detention camps and deploy the military,[244] relying on presidential wartime powers under the 18th-centuryAlien Enemies Act.[268] Trump made false claims of a "migrant crime wave" that are not supported by data, and provided no evidence to back up his claims.[269][270]
In regards to his anti-immigrantnativism,[271] Trump's tone grew harsher from his previous time as president,[265] and usedfearmongering,[272][273] racial stereotypes,[271] and more dehumanizing rhetoric when referring to illegal immigrants. Trump repeatedly called some immigrants subhuman, stating they are "not human", "not people", and "animals",[274][275][276] who will "rape, pillage, thieve, plunder and kill" American citizens,[11] that they are "stone-cold killers", "monsters", "vile animals", "savages", and "predators" that will "walk into your kitchen, they'll cut your throat",[277][278][11][270] and "grab young girls and slice them up right in front of their parents".[11] Other rhetoric includes false statements that foreign leaders are deliberately emptying insane asylums to send "prisoners, murderers, drug dealers, mental patients, terrorists" across the southern border as migrants,[279] that they are "building an army" of "fighting age" men to attack Americans "from within",[280] and are the "enemy from within" who are ruining the "fabric" of the country.[268] Since fall 2023,[281] Trump claimed that immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country", which drew comparisons toracial hygiene rhetoric used bywhite supremacists andAdolf Hitler.[282][283][281][284] In the 20 rallies that occurred afterTrump's debate with Harris,Politico cited experts who found that Trump's rhetoric strongly echoed authoritarian andNazi ideology; Trump made claims that immigrants are genetically predisposed to commit crimes and have "bad genes".[268][285]
Climate change and energy policy played a role in the 2024 presidential campaign. In 2023, the United States saw a record in crude oil production with over 13.2 million barrels of crude per day, beating the 13 million barrels per day produced at the peak of Trump's presidency.[286] The United States also dealt with supply shocks caused by the2021–2024 global energy crisis due to theCOVID-19 pandemic andRussian invasion of Ukraine.[287] An advocate forenvironmental justice to address the impact of climate change on lower-income areas and people of color, Harris supported Biden's climate legislation.[240] In 2022, Harris helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act,[288] the largest investment in addressing climate change and clean energy in American history,[289] putting the United States on track to meet emissions reduction targets by 50–52% below 2005 levels by 2030.[290] Harris's campaign stated that she would not support a ban onfracking.[217]
Trump ridiculed the idea of man-madeclimate change,[291][292][293] and repeatedly referred to his energy policy under the mantra "drill, baby, drill".[294] Trump said he would increase oil drilling on public lands and offer tax breaks to oil, gas, and coal producers, and stated his goal for the United States to have the lowest cost of electricity and energy of any country in the world.[295] Trump also promised to roll backelectric vehicle initiatives, proposed once again theUnited States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, and rescind several environmental regulations.[295][296] Trump stated his intention to roll back parts of theInflation Reduction Act, Biden's signature domestic legislation.[297] The implementation of Trump's plans would add around 4 billion tons ofcarbon dioxide to the atmosphere by 2030, also having effects on the international level. If the policies do not change further, it would add 15 billion tons by 2040 and 27 billion by 2050. Although the exact calculation is difficult, researchers stated: "Regardless of the precise impact, a second Trump term that successfully dismantlesBiden's climate legacy would likely end any global hopes of keepingglobal warming below 1.5C."[298]
Polling before the election indicated profound dissatisfaction with the state ofAmerican democracy.[299][300][301] According to an October 25ABC/Ipsos poll, 49% of Americans saw Trump as afascist, described as "a political extremist who seeks to act as a dictator, disregards individual rights and threatens or uses force against their opponents". Meanwhile, only 22% saw Harris as a fascist by this definition.[302] Some Republicans were concerned that Trump's formerimpeachment andfour criminal indictments were attempts to influence the election and keep him from office;[303] however, there is no evidence that Trump's criminal trials were "election interference" orchestrated by Biden and the Democratic Party,[22][76] and Trump also continued to repeatfalse claims that the2020 election was "rigged" and stolen from him.[304]
Trump's 2024 presidential campaign was criticized by legal experts, historians, and political scientists for making increasinglydehumanizing, violent, andauthoritarian statements.[305][306][307] Trump's platform called for the vast expansion of presidential powers and the executive branch over every part of the federal government.[308] Trump called for stripping employment protections for thousands of career civil service employees (a provision known asSchedule F appointment that had been adopted by Trump at the end of 2020) and replacing them with political loyalists if deemed an "obstacle to his agenda" within federal agencies, theUnited States Intelligence Community,State Department, andDepartment of Defense.[309] Trump repeatedly stated his intention to have theJustice Department investigate and arrest his domestic political rivals, judges, prosecutors, and witnesses involved in his criminal trials.[116][310][311] Calling theJanuary 6, 2021, Capitol attack a "day of love", Trump promised topardon those charged for their involvement and called them "hostages" and "great, great patriots".[312][313][314][315] Trump played down the possibility of violence if he were to lose the 2024 election, but did not rule it out altogether.[117]
Trump's 2024 campaign rhetoric has been described as fascist.[316][317][318] Trump said his political opponents are a greater threat to the United States than countries such as Russia, China, and North Korea.[319][320] He urged that the U.S. Armed Forces be deployed on American soil to fight "the enemy from within", which—according to Trump—included "radical left lunatics" and Democratic politicians such asAdam Schiff.[321] Trump repeatedly voiced support for outlawing political dissent and criticism he considers misleading or challenges his claims to power.[322][323] Trump previously tried to have his political rivals prosecuted during his first term.[324]
Voters consistently cited the economy as their top issue in the 2024 election.[326] Following theCOVID-19 pandemic,a global surge in inflation ensued that raised prices on many goods, although the U.S. inflation rate had declined significantly during 2023 and 2024.[327][328][329]The New York Times reported that both candidates "embraced a vision of a powerful federal government, using its muscle to intervene in markets in pursuit of a stronger and more prosperous economy".[330]The Wall Street Journal reported that economists found Trump's proposed policies created a greater risk of stoking inflation and generating higher budget deficits, relative to the Harris plan.[331] Twenty-threeNobel Prize-winning economists signed a letter characterizing the Harris economic plan as "vastly superior" to the Trump plan.[332] Trump's designated government efficiency leaderElon Musk said in October that he expected Trump's plan would involve more than $2 trillion in federal spending cuts and would cause "some temporary hardship."[333][334] Harris ran on a pro-union platform.[335] She promoted the passage of theInfrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, funding for small business, and previously supported an act as senator to provide a $6,000 tax credit for middle and low-income families.[240] Harris promised to addressprice gouging, bring down costs, ban hidden fees and late charges from financial institutions, limit "unfair" rent increases and cap prescription drug costs, which she said would "lower costs and save many middle-class families thousands of dollars a year".[336]
The New York Times described Harris's economic policy as embracing "the idea that the federal government must act aggressively to foster competition and correct distortions in private markets". Harris proposed raising taxes on corporations and high-earners to fund services for the lower and middle classes and reduce the deficit.[330] Harris stated she supported increasing the top tiercapital gains tax rate to 28%, up from 20% and lower than Biden's proposed 39.6%. Harris stated her support for a Billionaire Minimum Income Tax, increasing the tax onstock buybacks to 4%, and a ten-fold tax reduction for small business ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 in relief.[337] Harris also supported efforts to create a tax on unrealized gains for those with more than a $100 million in net worth if they do not pay a minimum 25% tax rate on their income inclusive of unrealized gains so long as 80% of said wealth is in tradeable assets. The plan would impact a small percentage of the wealthy in the United States, andAxios reported most tech founders and investors would be spared.[338] Harris also announced support for restoring the corporate tax rate to 28% among several other tax proposals to raise taxes and close loopholes for corporations and the wealthy that would bring in $5 trillion in additional revenue over 10 years.[339] Harris proposed tax breaks to companies delivering economic benefit, such as manufacturing technologies thatmitigate climate change and buildingaffordable housing, and proposed a ban on corporate price gouging to "help the food industry become more competitive".[330] Harris also expressed support for student debt relief,[340] and said she supported raising theminimum wage.[341]
In response to thehousing crisis in the United States, Harris said she would increase home construction to reduce housing costs, arguing that it negatively impacts the economy and hurts working-class families. Harris proposed directing $40 billion to construction companies to build starter homes, and promised to send $25,000 in down-payment assistance to every first time home buyer.[330] Harris said she would urge Congress to enforce fair housing laws and pass a bill to bar property owners from using services that "coordinate" rents through the passage of the Preventing the Algorithmic Facilitation of Rental Housing Cartels Act, and also call on Congress to pass the Stop Predatory Investing Act by removing tax benefits to Wall Street firms that buy up large numbers of single-family homes.[342][343] Trump proposed further individual and corporate tax cuts beyond the2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.[344] Trump argued that keeping taxes low for the wealthy increases job creation,[345] and that these policies coupled with a crackdown in illegal immigration and reduction in inflation would help the middle class.[340] Trump said he would reduce regulation of business through the creation of an efficiency commission led by Musk,[346] along with reducing environmental regulation. By October 2024, Musk was Trump's second-largest individual campaign donor.[347] Trump said deporting millions of immigrants would bring housing prices down, although most economists argue it could raise prices by removing construction workers who use less real estate.[330][348] Trump and Harris support not taxing tips for at least hospitality and service workers.[341][349] Trump suggested that he would abolish the federal income tax and replace it with tariffs. In June 2024, Trump discussed the idea of eliminating the income tax in a private meeting with Republican politicians.[350] In October 2024, Trump suggested that he would scrap the income tax if he wins, pointing out that tariffs were the main sources of revenue in the 19th century.[351]
Trump's stated trade policy involves the United States decoupling from the global economy and having the country become more self-contained and exerting its power through individual trade dealings. This would be attempted largely through a universal baseline tariff,[352] set from 10% to 20% on all imports,[353][354] with increased penalties if trade partners manipulate their currency or engage in unfair trade practices.[295] Trump called for 100% tariffs on cars made outside the United States and a minimum 60% tariff on Chinese goods.[353] Trump stated his plans to urge Congress to pass a Trump Reciprocal Trade Act to bestow presidential authority to impose a reciprocal tariff on any country that imposed one on the United States.[295]The Washington Post reported in January 2024 that Trump was preparing for a massive trade war.[355] Trump's trade policies were described asprotectionist,[356] neo-mercantilist, orautarkist,[352][357] and increasing inflation became a more common critique of Trump's economic plans.[358][359][360][361] In June 2024, 16Nobel Prize in Economics laureates signed an open letter arguing that Trump's fiscal and trade policies coupled with efforts to limit theFederal Reserve's independence would reignite inflation in the United States.[362][363][364]Moody's,[365] as well as most economists surveyed byThe Wall Street Journal in July 2024, predicted that inflation would be worse under Trump than Biden, a result due in part to tariffs, a crack down on illegal immigration, and larger deficits.[366] Trump incorrectly insisted foreign exporters pay tariffs imposed by the U.S. government; American importers pay tariffs on goods upon arrival at U.S. ports, meaning tariffs are taxes that raise prices for imported products Americans buy.[367][368][369] One non-partisan analysis estimated the proposed tariffs would cost $1,700 per year for the average household.[369] TheCommittee for a Responsible Federal Budget found that Trump's plans would grow the national debt at roughly twice the rate of Harris' plan,[370] while theInstitute on Taxation and Economic Policy found Trump's plan would only benefit the top 5% of earners.[371]
Unlike previous elections, healthcare reform played a much more minor role in the 2024 presidential election.[377] Harris stated that she no longer supported asingle-payer healthcare system as she had in 2020.[378] Instead, she said she intended to protect and expand items legislated during theObama andBiden administrations. She said she would "maintain and grow" theAffordable Care Act, while Trump said that he would replace it with his own healthcare plan.[379] Harris also supported limiting yearly out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors, and expanding the $35 cap on insulin for seniors onMedicare to younger individuals in the program as well.[288] Generally, both candidates supported using the government to rein in prescription drug costs.[380] Trump suggested he was open to cutting entitlement programs, such asSocial Security andMedicare, part of an effort to "[cut] waste" as described by his campaign. During his first term, several budget proposals did suggest cuts to the programs.[381][382] Additionally, Vance and Speaker of the HouseMike Johnson suggested cuts to the ACA, including aroundpre-existing conditions, were part of Trump's plan.[383] AfterRobert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump, Kennedy advocated for his "Make America Healthy Again" agenda, pledging to combat the upward trend in chronic disease patients, with Trump saying Kennedy would "go wild" regarding policy on food and medicines.[384][385]
TheRussian invasion of Ukraine, theGaza war, andChinese expansionism were some of the main foreign policy issues of the election. Harris signaled she would generally follow Biden's foreign policy onNATO and Ukraine, supporting both in the aftermath of the Russian invasion.[240][386] A supporter of thetwo-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,[240][387] Harris was expected to continue Biden's approach;[388] she was seen as tougher on Israel and more sympathetic to Palestinians than Biden or Trump.[386] Harris advocated for "de-risking" from China, a policy that encourages reducing Western economic dependence on China.[389] Harris was expected to continue deepening American alliances in Asia and the Pacific with the intention of curbing China's rising power both economically and militarily.[390]
Trump's 2024 campaign promoted anisolationist, "America First" foreign policy.[391][392] Trump said that America's allies "treat us actually worse than our so-called enemies", and added: "We protect them and then they screw us on trade." He also vowed to imposetariffs on trade partners; economists said this could sparktrade wars.[393] He promised to "fundamentally reevaluate" NATO, shifting the country's defense spending from Europe towards Asia.[295] Although NATO members areobliged to defend any other member who is attacked, Trump said he would encourage Russia to "do whatever the hell they want" to NATO allies that did not spend enough on defense.[394] NATO Secretary-GeneralJens Stoltenberg responded: "Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security."[395] Trump vowed that even before he was inaugurated,[295] he would negotiate an end to theRusso-Ukrainian War in one day.[391] He promised to quickly cut the amount of military and financial aid to Ukraine,[396] and make Europeans reimburse the United States the cost of rebuilding its old stockpiles;[295] however, most of the money for Ukraine actually goes to American factories that make weapons and military equipment.[397][398][399] Trump previously said he might recognizeRussia's illegal annexation of Crimea,[400] and suggested the 2022 invasion could have been prevented by Ukraine giving up parts of its own country to Russia.[391] Trump was seen as more pro-Israel and less sympathetic to Palestine than Biden or Harris.[401] Trump promised a tougher stance against China,[355] and at the same time questioned whether the United States should defendTaiwan.[402] Trump suggested withdrawing troops from South Korea if it does not pay more to support American troops there.[244]
Polling indicated that the majority of voters support a ceasefire and American mediation in theGaza war.[403] According to aYouGov poll in March 2024, 52% of Americans supported stopping weapons shipments to Israel, coming largely from Americans who voted for Biden in 2020 (62% support) and people who did not vote in 2020 (60%). Republicans opposed halting weapons shipments by 25 points.[404] Republicans generally supported arms to Israel, while Democrats were divided on the issue.[405]
Harris was expected to largely continue Biden's approach to theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict,[388] although she is seen as tougher on Israel and more sympathetic to Palestinians than Biden or Trump.[386] Following the2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Harris at first supported Israel's offensive,[406][388] saying "the threatHamas poses to the people of Israel must be eliminated".[240] Since then, she criticized Israel's actions and theGaza humanitarian crisis.[386] In March 2024, Harris opposed Israel'sinvasion of Rafah,[240] called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza,[388][240] and called the situation in Gaza a "humanitarian catastrophe".[240] Harris supported continued aid to Israel and Palestine but insisted that Israel should agree toa ceasefire and hostage deal and both sides should move towards atwo-state solution.[407] In the Democratic primaries, theUncommitted National Movement led a protest campaign against Biden over the war, calling for a ceasefire andarms embargo on Israel. It received over 700,000 votes and 36 delegates.[408] Harris was seen as more sympathetic to Palestinians, and she and her campaign interacted more with Arab-American and Uncommitted leaders;[409][408] however, Harris refused to halt weapons shipments to Israel or shift policy much from Biden, saying Israel has a right to defend itself.[410][411] By October, Uncommitted encouraged its members to vote for Harris.[412]
During his first term as president, Trump consistently supported Israel.[413] He presented himself as a stronger defender of Israel than Biden, and was seen as less sympathetic to Palestine than Biden or Harris.[401] Trump was expected to continue arming Israel, likely with "no strings attached" for humanitarian concerns.[414] He voiced strong support for Israel's war on Hamas and Gaza, saying that Israel must "finish the problem".[415] Trump told donors he would "crush" pro-Palestinian protests, deport non-citizen protesters, and "set the movement back 25 or 30 years".[416][417] Trump said he would ban Gaza residents from entering the United States.[418] At times, he was critical of Israel's war in Gaza, saying Israel should "get it over with ... get back to peace and stop killing people".[419][420]
Israeli-American billionaireMiriam Adelson sought support from candidate Trump for Israel'sannexation of theWest Bank, pledging more than $100 million to Trump's campaign in exchange for U.S. recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the region.[421][422] In January 2025, theTimes of Israel reported that Adelson gave Trump's campaign at least $100 million in October 2024, making her that campaign's third largest donor.[423]
In the 2020s, conservative politicians in state legislatures introduced a growing number of bills that restrict the rights ofLGBTQ people, especiallytransgender people.[424] A strong supporter ofLGBTQ rights,[425] Harris denounced legislative attacks on transgender rights in states across the country.[426][427] Trump promised to roll back policies regarding transgender individuals.[428] Harris and Walz campaigned as supporters of LGBTQ+ rights.[429][430] Trump stated he would rescind Biden'sTitle IX protections "on day one" for transgender students using bathrooms, locker rooms, and pronouns that align with theirgender identities.[431] Trump stated he would enact a federal law that would recognize only two genders and claimed that being transgender is a concept only recently manufactured by "the radical left".[432] Trump previously withdrew Title IX provisions that allowed transgender youth to have access to the bathrooms of their choice, and he attempted to roll-back several transgender-related policies in theAffordable Care Act.[428] Trump repeated a false claim that children undergo transgender surgery while at school, without parental knowledge or consent.[433][434] According toFuture Forward PAC, a derivative of his campaign's "Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you"attack ad (with commentary byCharlamagne tha God spliced in) was one of the most effective of the campaign, shifting the race 2.7 percentage points in favor of Trump after viewers watched it.[435] However, findings from anRCT study released by Ground Media/GLAAD said that the ad did not have an impact on who viewers intended to vote for.[436][437]
On September 15, 2024, Trump surviveda second assassination attempt atTrump International Golf Club inWest Palm Beach, Florida. The perpetrator,Ryan Wesley Routh, was spotted hiding in nearby shrubbery while aiming a rifle at a member of Trump'ssecurity detail.[443] ASecret Service agent fired upon Routh, who fled the scene and was later captured inMartin County.[444] No injuries were reported. Routh was later indicted on five federal charges, including attempting to assassinate a presidential candidate. Routh pleaded not guilty to the charges, and his trial began on September 8, 2025.[445] On September 23, 2025, Routh was found guilty on all counts,[446] where he then grabbed a pen and attempted to stab himself in the neck, before being tackled by U.S. marshals.[447] Routh faces life in prison, and his sentencing is scheduled for December 18, 2025.[446]
Violence towards election workers
Since the 2020 election and continuing into the 2024 election, theelection denial movement prompted thousands ofdeath threats directed at election workers, officials, and their families, with some receiving letters laced withfentanyl.[448][449] As of March 2024, theDepartment of Justice's Election Threats Task Force had charged 20 people with threat-related crimes.[450] In September 2024, suspicious packages were sent to state election officials in several states, which resulted in evacuations. The inclusion of white powder in most of the packages mirrored the2001 anthrax attacks; the substance in Oklahoma packages was identified as flour.[451] Threats led some election workers to resign, and affected recruitment of temporarypoll workers.[452][453] In locations where funds were available,[453] efforts to protect election workers involvedactive shooter training, provision offirst aid kits andNarcan,bulletproof vests,bulletproof glass,metal detectors, armed guards,police snipers, anddrones.[452]
Violence towards voters
On October 30, 2024, an 18-year-old man inJacksonville, Florida, was arrested foraggravated assault andimproper exhibition of a dangerous weapon after brandishing a machete at two women outside an early voting center. He, along with seven other teenagers, allegedly approached and antagonized members of the opposing political party as they were demonstrating. Neither the teenager's nor the women's political parties were disclosed, although later posts by the Duval Democratic Party described the teenager's party as a "group of young men carrying Trump flags".[454] On November 1, 2024, a voter wearing a "Let's Go Brandon" hat was reportedly struck by a poll worker after a verbal altercation over his hat at anOrangeburg County, South Carolina, polling location.[455] Also on November 1, a man inBath, New York, was arrested for assaulting someone in a supermarket for wearing a Trump hat.[456]
Arson of ballot boxes
In late October 2024, multiple fires were reported at ballot drop boxes inPortland, Oregon, andVancouver, Washington. The fires damaged hundreds of ballots, requiring election officials to identify and offer new ballots to those affected by the fires. Prior to the fires, theFederal Bureau of Investigation and theDepartment of Homeland Security had issued a bulletin raising concerns that "election-related grievances" could motivate domestic extremist activity and that ballot drop boxes could potentially be "attractive targets".[457][458] InPhoenix, Arizona, a fire was started in a mail collection box, destroying some ballots and other mail. A suspect was arrested and claimed that the fire was unrelated to the election.[459]
Confident election being conducted fairly and accurately
Very confident
13
84
35
Somewhat confident
59
39
32
Not very confident
82
16
21
Not at all confident
80
18
10
Concerned about violence as result of election
Yes
42
56
70
No
69
29
28
Condition of the nation's economy
Poor
88
10
33
Not so good
52
46
35
Good
7
92
27
Excellent
11
89
5
Family's financial situation today
Worse than four years ago
82
16
47
About the same
27
71
29
Better than four years ago
14
83
24
Inflation caused family hardship within past year
Severe hardship
76
23
22
Moderate hardship
52
46
53
No hardship
21
78
24
Candidate trusted more to handle the economy
Trump
93
5
53
Harris
1
98
46
Abortion should be
Legal in all cases
9
88
33
Legal in most cases
49
49
33
Illegal in most cases
92
7
25
Illegal in all cases
88
11
5
Candidate trusted more to handle abortion
Trump
96
2
46
Harris
5
93
49
Opinion of Supreme Court
Approve
85
14
36
Disapprove
27
72
59
Most undocumented immigrants in the U.S. should be
Offered chance at legal status
22
76
56
Deported
87
11
40
Candidate trusted more to handle immigration
Trump
91
7
53
Harris
1
97
44
U.S. support for Israel is
Too strong
30
67
31
About right
39
60
30
Not strong enough
82
18
31
Candidate trusted more to handle crime and safety
Trump
95
4
52
Harris
1
98
47
Candidate trusted more to handle a crisis
Trump
95
3
51
Harris
1
97
47
Polling accuracy
Following polling inaccuracies in connection with the 2020 presidential election, pollsters took steps to avoid similar errors in 2024.[462][463] Despite these efforts, national polls underestimated Trump's support once again in 2024.[464] In 2016, national polls were fairly accurate; however, Trump overperformed the polls in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, leading to his Electoral College victory. In 2020, polls had overestimated Biden's margin over Trump by approximately 4% in competitive states.[465] In 2024, pollsters underestimated Trump's support by smaller margins than they did in 2016 and 2020,[466] and their underestimation of that support was within the realm of anormal polling error.[467][468] Going into the election, most polls showed the race to be neck and neck and within the margin of error.[469] In every swing state, Trump outperformed his final polling numbers by approximately 3%, which is in line with a typical margin of error.[470] Compared with the 2020 polls, the margin of error in 2024 in swing states was lower and high-quality national polls were more accurate.[468]
Polling averages vastly underestimated Trump's strength in both safe red and safe blue states.[467][471] Florida and Texas were both projected to go for Trump by about 7%; he won each of them by about 13%.[467] PollsterAnn Selzer released a poll in Iowa that had Harris winning the state by 3%,[472] only for Trump to take the state by 13%.[467] On the other hand, New Jersey was projected to be a safe state for Harris but most news stations waited until 90% of the vote was in before calling it for her, as she was only leading by 5%.[473][474]
Cedric Richmond, co-chair the Harris campaign, announced on election night that Harris would not be speaking as originally planned.[483][484] In the early hours of November 6, the day after the election, Trump was projected to win the election, and he declared victory at hisMar-a-Lago estate.[485] Harris laterconceded to Trump via a phone call, and publicly conceded the election to Trump that afternoon during a speech atHoward University.[486][487]
Results by vote share in each state. Darker shades denote a higher vote share for the winning candidate. This map does not depict the results in Maine or Nebraska's congressional districts, which vote by congressional district and not at-large.
Results by county, shaded by winner's vote share.[i]
Results by county flips from 2020 to the 2024 presidential election.[i]
Swing[j] in county margins from 2020 to the 2024 presidential election[539]
Trend[k] in county margins from 2020 to the 2024 presidential election.
Results by congressional district, shaded by winner.
Analysis of results
Trump's 1.5%margin of victory in 2024 (shown in chart) places his victory in the 20th percentile of presidential election victory margins since 1828.[540]Vote margin swing by state2020 to 2024. No state shifted Democratic. Relative to 2016, 28 states shifted to the right by 2024, with an average shift relative to 2016 of 1 point.[541]
Trump is the first president sinceGrover Cleveland in1892 to win non-consecutive terms.[542] 2024 also marked the first time since 1892 that the incumbent party had lost in each of three consecutive presidential elections.[543] This was the first time since1980 that the Democrats were voted out after a single four-year term. Trump is the first Republican sinceGeorge W. Bush in2004 to win the popular vote (unlike his2016 victory and his2020 defeat). Trump is also the first non-incumbent Republican to have won the popular vote sinceGeorge H. W. Bush in1988.[544][545] Trump won a 1.48% margin of victory.[546] While winning the popular vote, Trump did not win a majority of the popular vote; he is the first presidential candidate sinceBill Clinton in1996 to win the popular vote with a plurality and also the first Republican sinceRichard Nixon in 1968 to do so.[547] Trump is the first presidential candidate sinceBarack Obama in2012 to win a second term in the White House and also the first Republican since George W. Bush in 2004 to do so. Trump is also the first presidential candidate since Nixon in 1968 to successfully make a political comeback by winning an election after losing a previous one.
Trump carried 31 of 50 states.[548] Trump is the first Republican presidential candidate to win Nevada since George W. Bush in 2004.[549]
The 2024 presidential election was the first presidential election since1976 in which all 50 states and Washington, D.C. shifted towards the same party.[550][551] Approximately 90% of counties swung towards Trump between the 2020 and 2024 elections, encompassing both rural and urban areas.[552] The 2024 election was the first presidential election since1932 in which the losing candidate failed to flip a single county.[553] Even among states that voted heavily for Biden in the 2020 election, Trump's gains were significant.[554] The states ofNew York andNew Jersey swung over ten points toward Trump, and Trump also made gains in Harris' home state ofCalifornia.[539] However, relative to 2016, only 28 states shifted to the right by 2024, with an average shift relative to 2016 of 1 point.[541]
While Trump made gains among young voters compared to Republicans in recent presidential elections, especially among young men,[555] exit polls found Harris won young voters by 51 to 54 percent of voters under 30.[556] However, as voters 50 years of age or older (born in 1974 or earlier) were estimated by the exit poll to comprise 55% of the electorate,Millennials andGeneration Z constituted a minority of the voting public.[460] Almost all demographic groups (including African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Asian-Americans)[557] swung towards Trump from the 2020 election; the exceptions to this trend included non-religious voters, LGBT voters, White women with college degrees, Black women, and voters making over $100,000 a year. According to exit polls, Harris's strongest income demographic consisted of voters making over $200,000 a year; she won those voters by a margin of 52–46%.[558] Post-election research by theBrookings Institution found that while Trump made inroads with minority voters, the Republican Party had "hardly" created a multiracial coalition. Brookings argued that saying so was premature and that such support "could very well be a blip" based on economic concerns.[559]
Aged 78 on Election Day, Trump is theoldest person ever to be elected U.S. president;[542] Trump is also the first former president to win a state sinceTheodore Roosevelt in1912. This was the first election since1944 in which a presidential candidate won two elections with different vice presidential candidates; Trump replaced his 2016 and 2020 running mate,Mike Pence, with Vance.[560]
Crisis services for theLGBTQ+ community saw a sharp increase in usage during the election week.The Trevor Project's crisis lines saw a 125% increase since around midnight on election night according to a statement by CEO Jaymes Black on November 6, and followed an about 200% increase in election related conversations that had been seen between November 3–4. By November 8, it was reported that the organization saw an overall increase by 700%. TheCrisis Text Line also reported that 56% of their users reported as LGBTQ+ on election day.[561][562]
A company that assists wealthy Americans in securing foreign citizenship saw a 200× jump in inquiries following the election.[563]
Political
Harris conceded victory to Trump on November 6.
Democrats had differing views on why Harris lost the election. Vermont SenatorBernie Sanders blamed Democrats for having abandoned the working class.[564]Democratic National Committee chairJaime Harrison dismissed Sanders' criticism.[565][566] Former House SpeakerNancy Pelosi also disagreed with Sanders, blaming the party's loss on Biden's late exit and the lack of an open Democratic primary.[567]
SenatorChris Murphy (D-CT) believed that the Democrats could not connect to a large amount of voters and should embracepopulism going forward.[568][569] RepresentativeRitchie Torres (D-NY) attributed Trump's victory to public discontent over inflation and immigration; he asserted that Harris ran an effective campaign, but could not overcome a difficult electoral environment.[570]
Following Trump's victory, some Harris supporters onX sharedelection denial conspiracy theories, claiming that millions of ballots were "left uncounted" and there being something "not right" with the election. Such posts falsely claiming Trump "stole" the election peaked at noon the day after at 94,000 posts per hour, with many receiving amplification and gaining over a million views each. According toGordon Crovitz, the CEO of the media rating systemNewsGuard, the phrase "Trump cheated" received 92,100 mentions on the platform from midnight until the Wednesday morning after.[572] Besides the claims from Harris's supporters, some Trump supporters baselessly claimed the disparity between other years, the 2020 election, and a then-incomplete 2024 voting total indicated voter fraud in the 2020 election.[573][574]
One major "basis" these false claims were founded upon was a claim that Biden won 20 million more votes in his prior election bid than Harris had in hers, at the time.[573][574] American journalist and conspiracy theoristWayne Madsen commented onThreads: "I'm beginning to believe our election wasmassively hacked just like happened a few weeks ago in the Republic of Georgia."[575] At the time these claims were disseminated, votes were still being counted in many states.[572][576] An estimate around the time using the Associated Press vote percentage total found that 16.2 million votes across 20 states and D.C. had yet to be counted. Statistical analysis of voting asserted that despite continued counting, the projections were already set and new ballots would not sway the outcomes of any of the states and D.C.[576] TheCybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency directorJen Easterly refuted the false claims, and wrote in a statement that there was "no evidence of any malicious activity that had a material impact on the security or integrity of our election infrastructure".[572][575] Another false claim alleges Musk used the satellite Internet constellationStarlink to change the results of the election.Chief technology officer Chip Trowbridge of voting system manufacturer Clear Ballot dismissed the claim and added no machine used to scan voting ballots have any network connection whatsoever.[577]
Text message harassment
Numerous Black Americans across multiple states reported receivingthreatening, racist text messages the day after the election. Some of the texts referenced the incoming Trump administration, but the senders remained unknown as of November 10, 2024.[578] Days later, several Latino and LGBTQIA students also reported receiving similar harassment through text messages and emails.[579]
Media analysis
Harris's loss
Harris's loss to Trump received substantial media analysis in the aftermath of the election. Proposed explanations for the outcome of the race included inflation, theimmigration crisis, a global incumbency backlash, Biden's late exit from the race, and the lack of an open Democratic primary process. Democrats and others argued about what went wrong and how the party should move forward.[580][581]
Electoral environment
According toGallup, most factors with respect to the electoral environment favored Republicans and Trump. These included low confidence in the economy, Republicans outnumbering Democrats in party affiliation (48-45%), low national satisfaction, Republicans being favored to address the economy and immigration, and Biden's low job approval rating. Harris was viewed more favorably on character and had an advantage on some issues.[582] No incumbent party has won when a president had below a 45% approval rating, either losing reelection (Jimmy Carter in1980,George H. W. Bush in1992, and Trump himself in2020) or the incumbent party lost the White House (Hubert Humphrey in1968).[583][584]
According to exit polls, voters disapproved of Biden's performance 59-39%, and disapproved of how things were going in the United States 73-25%. Also, voters judged the economy negatively 68-32%,[585] and said that inflation had caused them hardship 75-24%.[460] AYouGov poll conducted from November 6–7, 2024 found that if Biden had been the Democratic nominee, Trump would have won the popular vote 49-42%.[586] Nonpartisan election forecasters, includingThe Cook Political Report andSabato's Crystal Ball, stated before the election that Biden would have been almost certain to lose.[587][588]
Harris did improve compared to Biden among voters making over $100,000 a year.[558]NBC News found that Trump made larger gains in counties with tougher housing markets.[589]
Almost every incumbent party worldwide facing election in 2024 lost vote share, including inSouth Africa,India,France, theUnited Kingdom, andJapan.[590][591] Among democracies, over 80 percent saw the incumbent party lose support compared to the last election.[592] This is the first time this has ever happened since 1905 (when data was first recorded) and the first time in thehistory of democracy, asuniversal suffrage began in 1894.[593][594]
All 50 states and the District of Columbia shifted rightward compared to 2020. Trump's gains in nearly all geographic areas and among nearly every demographic group provides strong evidence of anti-incumbent backlash.[595][596] The shifts toward Trump were much less in the swing states where both campaigns focused compared to safe states. The two states with the largest shifts toward Trump, New York and New Jersey, were both won by Harris. Harris had very little room to fall in the swing states, given that Biden had won most of them by very small margins in 2020.[597]
Statistician and election analystNate Silver argued before the election that the national electoral environment was difficult for Democrats.[598] This view was also shared byThe New York Times political analystNate Cohn.[584] After the election, Silver felt that Harris was areplacement-level candidate who did much better than Biden would have, but was unable to separate herself from Biden's record and was negatively perceived byswing voters due to her previous positions.[599]Amy Walter, editor of the nonpartisanThe Cook Political Report, also argued that the electoral environment was inherently difficult for Harris because the top issue for voters was inflation during the Biden-Harris administration.[600]
An analysis released by Democratic-leaning data firmCatalist in May 2025 found that Trump's victory rested on support from voters who were less engaged with politics, as well as weakened support and turnout for Harris from a range of Democratic-leaning groups. Nearly half of the 2024 electorate cast ballots in the previous four federal elections, representing an increase of nine points from 2020 and seven points from 2016, and Harris won under 50 percent of these voters, outperforming Biden's andHillary Clinton's respective performances. In contrast, Harris won 48 percent of voters who only voted in two or fewer of the previous four federal elections, underperforming Biden and Clinton, both of whom won at least 54 percent of those voters. Harris also won less than half of voters who did not cast a vote in 2020 but did so in 2024, compared to Biden and Clinton each winning roughly 55 percent of new voters in their respective elections; Catalist considered this Democratic underperformance to be unprecedented in their history of election analysis. Jennifer Agiesta ofCNN reported that new and infrequent voters in 2024 were more likely to be from Democratic-leaning groups but also less likely to have college degrees, a trait increasingly tied to Republican support.[602][603]
Analyst assessments
Bar plot of the percentage of the population with a bachelor's degree in the electoral jurisdictions won by Harris in the election[604]
The Independent'sJon Sopel wrote that the most pressing issues that decided Harris's defeat were matters Biden had been perceived as a failure at by the American public; these included the fact that, as part of the global2021–2023 inflation surge, inflation went up by 20% andreal wages had not adjusted to match, and the state of theMexico–United States border. Sopel said that by "embracing the Biden agenda, [Harris] was simply tying herself to his unpopularity".[605]
In aTime piece, Henry M. J. Tonks tied the result to the party's prioritization ofprofessional class workers and suburbs over working class,blue-collar voters. He argued the shift away from working-class voters had been occurring since the late 1960s in response to theVietnam War and the growth of thetech industry.[606] Of the electoral jurisdictions that Harris won – 19 states, DC, and Nebraska's second congressional district – all except New Mexico had above-average educational attainment.[607]
CNN's Edward-Isaac Dovere felt that some of Harris' problems, such as difficulties with her staff, could have been solved, but other problems such as her ties with Biden could not. Dovere mused that had Biden stepped down earlier, the Democratic Party might have had the time to launch a proper primary campaign. He also mused that Walz was chosen because he could not "outshine" her, and that this reflected her "newfound confidence and her long-standing insecurity".[608]The Economic Times cited surveys showing "broad negative sentiment" about the economy, and Harris being "relentlessly hammered" by Trump during campaigns about this.The Economic Times citedUniversity of Richmond School of Law professor Carl Tobias' appraisal of Trump's stance on immigration winning over Harris', and mentioned how Trump had increased his support from Hispanics, especially near the Mexican–American border and in areas impacted by recent immigration.[609] Harris campaigning at multiple events with former Republican representativeLiz Cheney has been suggested as a contributing factor as to why she lost.[610][611][612]
Los Angeles Times's Noah Bierman felt Harris could not overcome being the "turn the page" candidate, and cited former presidentBarack Obama's lead strategistDavid Axelrod, who said: "If you're the vice president of an administration people want to fire, you're way behind the eight-ball to start." Bierman wrote that besides criminal context, Trump "never followed a script, scoffed at the rules and spoke directly to the economic and cultural anxieties of the country".[613] InThe New York Times, Timothy Shenk argued that Democrats failed to articulate a vision for the future other than being against Trump and did not lean into a message ofeconomic populism that polled best with swing voters, but also that the election looked more like a rejection of Biden than the embrace of Trump.[614] In anotherNew York Times article,Nate Cohn analyzed exit polls showing Trump's gains among non-white and young voters, suggesting Trump's populist message resonated with many voters previously considered part of the Democratic Party's base.[615]Jen Psaki, who served as Biden's firstpress secretary, suggested that Harris focusing onAnti-Trump Republicans was not a winning strategy.[616]
Charlie Cook, founder of the nonpartisanThe Cook Political Report, said that swing voters broke in favor of Trump due to anger over inflation associated with the Biden-Harris administration, causing Trump to sweep the swing states. However, Democrats did better in down-ballot races, meaning Trump did not have a strongcoattail effect.[617]The Atlantic'sRonald Brownstein argued that the Democratic Party's success in the2022 midterm elections, when Trump was not on the ballot, had led them to underestimate Trump's support. Democrats also performed better than Harris in down-ballot races, suggesting voters likely assigned their blame over the economy on the Biden-Harris administration rather than the Democratic Party at-large.[618]
TheBBC's Courtney Subramanian said Harris "couldn't shake the anti-Biden sentiment that permeated much of the electorate", that she "failed to deliver a convincing argument about why she should lead the country", did not state a strategy to combat economic frustrations, and failed to address widespread concerns over immigration.[619]Vox's Nicole Narea highlighted inflation outpacing wages in certain industries, risingunemployment, and risingconsumer debt and falling savings as key economic indicators that Democrats "may have missed".[620] In anotherVox article, Andrew Prokop argued Harris suffered from a worldwide backlash to incumbents over inflation, as well as her struggles unifying the party over Gaza, failing to be a change candidate, and her difficulty in defending or abandoning positions she took during her2020 presidential run.[621]
Trump's victory
Although many conventional metrics indicated that the American economy had recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic (wages increased and inflation was in check), and although migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border had declined significantly since earlier in the Biden administration, an AP article stated that Trump was able to convince voters to support him in 2024 by promising to fix the economy and block the flow of immigrants at the border.[622] According to exit polls, voters whose top issues were the economy and immigration largely voted for Trump.[585]
Time's Eric Cortellessa wrote that the thesis of Trump's campaign boiled down to this simple slogan: "Max out the men and hold the women". To accomplish this goal, Trump "relentlessly" emphasized the economy and immigration. Cortellessa also mentioned Trump's minimization of his numerous controversies and his success in having his criminal trials postponed until after the election. He said that Trump's "advanced age and increasingly incoherent trail rhetoric" were taken in stride by voters, and that "much of the country read Trump's legal woes as part of a larger corrupt conspiracy to deny him, and them, power".[623]NPR wrote that "Americans have continued to chafe at higher than pre-pandemic prices and the lack of affordable housing", and that much of the voter placed the blame "squarely" on the Biden administration. NPR said demographics played an important role in the election, withWhite voters going up as a share of the electorate from 67% to 71% and Trump winning 46% ofLatinos. NPR also noted that polls underestimated Trump's level of support in battleground states and across the nation.[624]
The New York Times asserted that "[Trump] made one essential bet: that his grievances would become thegrievances of the MAGA movement, and then the G.O.P., and then more than half the country. It paid off."The Times added that Trump's several setbacks actually benefitedhis public image and approval, as "his mug shot became a best-selling shirt. His criminal conviction inspired $100 million in donations in one day. Theimages of him bleeding after a failed assassination attempt became the symbol of what supporters saw as a campaign of destiny."[435]
NBC mentioned a Democratic strategist's contention that male voters' belief that they were "being left behind, that society doesn't have a place for them" was a major factor in men's support for Trump. The network said that Trump's approval ratings among non-college-educated and middle-income voters, especially among Latinos and young men, showed that he had made strides in his promise to assemble a multiracial, working-class coalition.[625] Trump increased his support from Hispanics from 2020 to 2024, especially near the Mexican–American border and in areas impacted by recent immigration.[609]
Several observers pointed to shifting habits in how Americans consume media and a growing lack of trust in mainstream news outlets.[626][627] Trump embraced alternative media through podcasts and online streamers such asJoe Rogan,Adin Ross,Theo Von, and theNelk Boys.The New York Times reported that such avenues "presented a way for Mr. Trump to sidestep more confrontational interviews with professional journalists, where he might face tough questions, fact-checks and detailed policy debates. The influencers he met with rarely challenged Mr. Trump, and often lavished him with praise."[628] Observers also highlighted Trump's courting of the "manosphere",[629] a collection of whatThe Guardian described as "malepodcasters, influencers and public figures" that "marketed themselves asfree-thinking pundits who evaded the bounds of political classification".[630] Post-election research showed that nearly 40% of young voters got their news from social media influencers, and that a majority of those influencers leaned right.[631]
The New York Times reported that Trump's super PAC had joined a long list of presidential campaigns that made a "technological leap or innovation" while targeting key voters.The Times highlighted the use oftargeted advertising of individual undecided voters onstreaming video platforms that allowed the PAC to save money, while Harris largely targeted ads on streaming platforms by geography. It reported the Trump team's findings that the undecided electorate was younger, black, and Hispanic, and that such voters largely used streaming media over traditional broadcast television.[632]
JournalistElizabeth Spiers argued that Trump's strong support among young white men could be attributed to his campaign "channeling what psychologists call 'hegemonic masculinity'". Spiers added that "For men unhappy with their status, this view offers a group of people to blame, which feels more tangible than blaming systemic problems like rising economic inequality and the difficulty of adapting to technological and cultural changes."[633]
Viewership
Legend
Cable news network
Broadcast network
Total television viewers, 8:00 to 11:00p.m.EST[634]
^Percentage point difference in margin from the2020 election.
^The District of Columbia is not a state or a county, but a district with three electoral votes.
^Petersburg, Virginia is not a state or a county, but an independent city.
^Baltimore, Maryland is not a state or a county, but an independent city.
^InMaine andNebraska, electoral votes are allocated by congressional district, with two votes going to the state at-large. The insets in those states illustrate this distribution and have no geographical significance.
^Bordoff, Jason (December 2022)."America's Landmark Climate Law".International Monetary Fund.Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. RetrievedJanuary 16, 2024.
^Woolley, John T.; Peters, Gerhard, eds. (November 6, 2024)."Presidential Election Margin of Victory". The American Presidency Project (University of California).Archived from the original on March 29, 2025.
Whipple, Chris (April 8, 2025).Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History. Harper Influence.ISBN978-0063386211.
Dawsey, Josh; Pager, Tyler; Arnsdorf, Isaac (July 8, 2025).2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America. Penguin Press.ISBN978-0593832530.
Wolff, Michael (February 25, 2025).All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America. Crown.ISBN978-0593735381.
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![Results by county, shaded by winner's vote share.[i]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a2024_United_States_presidential_election_results_map_by_county.svg)
![Results by county flips from 2020 to the 2024 presidential election.[i]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a2024_Presidential_Election_by_County_Flips.svg)
![Swing[j] in county margins from 2020 to the 2024 presidential election[539]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aU.S._Presidential_Election_Swing_by_County_from_2020_to_2024.svg)
![Trend[k] in county margins from 2020 to the 2024 presidential election.](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a2020_-_2024_Presidential_election_trend.svg)
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