In today’s newsletter, Trump comes back to power and then:

Photo: Charly Triballeau / AFP / Getty

Ian Crouch
Newsletter editor

“What a night it was in America. “It’s a long, long night” Vinson Cunningham wroteWhat appeared to be a tight contest between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris quickly turned out to be a dominant victory for the former President and his fellow Republicans. As the results came in, our writers tried to make sense of what was happening and predict what might happen in the future.

How did so many election analysts misjudge Trump’s popularity? Like Isaac Chotiner explained“The polls appear to be more accurate than in 2016, especially in 2020. Yet they underestimated Trump’s support.” Trump’s stance as well as his economic promises appeared to be largely successful. “When people are alienated and still COVID “In this period (a period that clearly deserves more political analysis than it has received), the most comforting solution for many has proven to be snarling power.” Evan Osnos noted. He added that Democrats face a precipice ahead: “One thing we can say for sure: The Democratic Party will not be the same a year from now.”

While Harris’ fundraising and ground game received widespread coverage ahead of the election, Trump’s preparations appeared haphazard. But it was his voters who rose. “There’s something I’m thinking about” Cunningham wrote“whether this election foreshadows a radical shift in campaign tactics away from ‘the field’ and, even more fervently, towards the Internet, and what we now mean by ‘television’.” In other words, he asked: “Are podcasts, social media, and Twitch streams the political battlegrounds of the next few decades?”

As for what else the future of politics might look like, the rise of tech leaders, especially Elon Musk, the billionaire in Trump’s orbit who could play a role in the future administration, will lead the country down an uncharted path. “Whatever role Musk wants to play in the coming years, we’ve never had an oligarchic arrangement like this.” Osnos wrote. “Not only does he have wealth, he also has a social media machine and it looks like there is now a direct line to the world’s most powerful military. The mind is shaken.

Considering the larger problem of the upcoming Administration, the scope of the threat extends to existential proportions. “We can look forward to the next four years with great trepidation.” Benjamin Wallace-Wells wrote of the upcoming Trump Presidency. “His party will unite behind him and the guardrails will be removed.”

Read more from last night’s news:

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“You’ll find out if you’re right or not,” Nigel Pickford said of the identification of the wrecks. “That doesn’t happen very often in history.”Illustration by Owen Pomery

Shipwreck Detective

Nigel Pickford spent his whole life searching for sunken treasure; and without leaving dry lands.