Editorial: Trump, again: Can a second term heal the wounds of the first and the campaign?

Unlike Donald Trump’s 2016 victory, which was surprising and shocking (including to him and Hillary Clinton), his sweeping win Tuesday night was there to see when 70% of Americans were telling pollsters that the country was on the wrong track. That’s more than enough to derail any train and Kamala Harris was the conductor.

Trump won because he spoke to more people, not in terms of his rally attendance — he said at his late night victory speech that he’s held more than 900 rallies since he rode that escalator into the basement of Trump Tower in June 2015— but because he connected more effectively with voter frustration and aspirations. But he spoke with an angry voice, making threats that frightened many. That must end and he should strive to earn some trust from the people he’s alienated.

Voter discontent has given Trump a unique opportunity to have another chance. For his sake, and the country’s, we hope he avoids the problems he suffered in his first term and uses his prior Oval Office experience to have a successful second term.

Much of that voter angst that Trump rode was that prices went up a lot, the biggest jump in more than 40 years, and everyone suffered from the punishing inflation. And while the high inflation has now been squeezed out by the Fed, the price of staples like a dozen eggs didn’t come back to their old level. Neither Harris nor Joe Biden before her were able to counter that dollars and cents reality.

Biden is being blamed for not exiting the race earlier and only having his disastrous debate performance push him out. Had the incumbent president (the only person ever to beat Trump both in the Electoral College and popular vote) bowed out two years ago, the Democrats could have had a competitive nomination contest.

Instead Harris, who flopped badly when she ran for the White House last time around, had to launch this campaign from a standing start in July. Maybe a longer lead up or a different nominee would have changed Tuesday’s outcome or maybe not, but it’s just a parlor game.

The person who matters now, again, is Trump and he should savor that his second Electoral College win is also his first popular vote win, besting Harris by millions. It is also a healthier outcome to have the outdated Electoral College aligning with the will of the populace. America should still get rid of the Electoral College, but at least the minority president oddity is not being repeated and the word “mandate” is more fitting.

As to Trump’s plans, he said a lot of different things, from a new reliance on the old tool of tariffs to some of his harsher political rhetoric. He should not try to arrest his political foes or use the military domestically. Or put vaccine denier Bobby Kennedy Jr. in charge of vaccine policy or allow Vladimir Putin to do whatever he wants. Or attempt mass deportations of millions.

For the past nine years, Trump said a lot of things that weren’t true, including that the election results were rigged in 2020 (they weren’t).

Trump was a sore loser in 2020 and he refused to congratulate Biden or attend his successor’s inauguration. Biden and Harris won’t be as petty and will accord Trump the honor and respect he deserves having won.

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