The United States elected convicted felon Donald Trump as President

Donald Trump‘s win isn't just about beating Kamala Harris. It's about outsmarting a system that tried to put him behind bars.

Trump's likely return to the White House throws a wrench in Jack Smith‘s plans. The special counsel spent years trying to nail Trump for messing with the 2020 election and hoarding classified docs in Florida.

It also puts the brakes on that Georgia case about his 2020 election shenanigans.

And his New York hush money conviction? Trump can probably kick that can down the road now.

Basically, the president-to-be is now calling his own shots. The Oval Office is like a legal force field, shielding him from the consequences he might've faced as a regular Joe.

Even the civil cases against him will now face new obstacles. Presidents can, in some circumstances, be subject to civil penalties from private lawsuits, but Trump will surely try to use the cloak of the presidency to avoid paying the hundreds of millions of dollars he owes in judgments for sexual abuse, defamation and corporate fraud.

What To “Look Forward To” In Donald Trump's Second Term

There will be a national abortion ban. Cryptocurrency will be used to “save America's deficit.” Robert F. Kennedy will cause widespread disease and death. Donald Trump still won't know what a tariff is. Mass deportation concentration camps will appear across the United States. Prices will increase. More tax breaks for the rich. Increases in taxes for the middle class. America will enter a recession. Natural disaster response will become a disaster. The United States will leave NATO. The United States will join forces with Russia, China, and North Korea. Transgender rights will be stripped.

And the list could go on and on.

Why Kamala Harris Couldn't Clinch the Win

Harris stepped into Joe Biden‘s shoes, but the path was rockier than expected.

As Tuesday night turned into Wednesday morning, major news outlets started calling key swing states for Trump. North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin all fell into his column, securing his Electoral College victory. For Vice President Kamala Harris, the road to the White House suddenly hit a dead end.

This wasn't just about a few battleground states, though. The whole country seemed to lean more Trump-wards this time around. He even improved on his 2020 performance, potentially nabbing the popular vote for the first time ever. We'll have to wait for slow-counting states like California to know for sure, but it's looking likely.

Trump's triumph didn't stop at the presidency. Republicans snagged a Senate majority too, with Democratic incumbents losing in Ohio and Montana. The House of Representatives? That's still up in the air, and we might be waiting a while to find out.

But one thing's crystal clear: Trump won. So, how did we end up here?

Democrats will be pointing fingers left and right, no doubt. But before we start dissecting Harris's campaign strategy, let's zoom out a bit. The nationwide shift towards Trump suggests Harris was fighting an uphill battle from the get-go. Why? Two words: Joe Biden. His unpopularity and the public's thumbs-down on his time in office cast a long shadow.

Harris Inherited Biden's Baggage – And Couldn't Shake It Off

When Harris unexpectedly jumped into the presidential race last July after Biden bowed out, she faced a triple threat.

First up, there's this global trend. Since the pandemic, incumbent parties in wealthy democracies worldwide have been struggling. People are debating why, but post-reopening inflation is probably a big culprit. Harris needed to buck this trend to win.

Next, there was Biden's unpopularity. Even before that disastrous debate with Trump, the president's approval ratings were in the basement. Voters were fuming about the economy and immigration. And let's not forget foreign policy – that Israel-Gaza war split Democrats right down the middle. As Biden's VP, Harris had to figure out how to handle all this baggage.

Usually, when things look this rough for the incumbents, voters are ready for a change. In elections like these, the opposition can often point fingers at the current administration, make some vague promises about doing things differently, and ride that wave of discontent all the way to victory.

But Harris's opponent was no ordinary challenger. It was Donald Trump, the guy who'd just left the White House after a wild ride of his own. You'd think Trump's controversial term would've given Harris an edge, right? A chance to be the fresh face, promising a new direction after all the drama.

Here's where things got tricky, though. Harris had her own baggage to deal with. Back in 2019, when she was gunning for the top job herself, she'd backed some pretty progressive ideas. Now, Democrats were looking at those same policies like they were radioactive. Banning fracking? Decriminalizing border crossings? Yikes.

So, Harris had to make a call. Stick to her guns and go big on progressive change? Or play it safe and drift towards the middle?

In the end, she kind of split the difference. She didn't exactly shout about those old progressive ideas, but she didn't go out of her way to pick fights with the left either. Harris was trying to keep everyone in the Democratic family happy, you know?

When it came to Biden's record, Harris walked a tightrope there too. She didn't throw her old boss under the bus or break away from what they'd done together. Even when people were mad about inflation or immigration, Harris didn't admit to any mistakes. Instead, she tried to spin things positively, talking up the economy and blaming Trump for not backing an immigration bill. And on the Israel-Gaza situation? She held steady.

Harris was banking on the idea that she'd done enough to seem like a breath of fresh air. She hoped that when push came to shove, voters would remember how unfit Trump was – his stance on abortion, his attempt to overturn the 2020 election – and that would outweigh any grumbling about both parties.

Turns out, that was wishful thinking. In the end, folks were more ticked off about inflation under Biden than they were worried about Trump's election shenanigans.

Now, America, you've done this to yourself; it's truly time to suffer.