Expert offers early analysis on Trump’s 2024 win
WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - After Donald Trump’s victory came into clear view on Wednesday morning, some experts began offering early analysis on how he won.
Professor and Director of Political Management at George Washington University Todd Belt said he believes much of the 2024 presidential election came down to the fact that voters wanted someone who was different, who was not tied to the current istration.
“This was a change election. And Donald Trump didn’t have to do much to be the change candidate. He just had to not be the incumbent candidate,” said Belt. “And once the Democrats decided that Joe Biden wasn’t going to be their nominee anymore and Kamala Harris stepped in, she was still tethered to the istration.”
President Joe Biden’s popularity rating was a challenge for Democrats during this election cycle. It dropped to 36 percent shortly before he withdrew from the 2024 race, according to a Gallup poll.
Another challenge for the Biden turned Harris ticket was the economy. Polling throughout the election season showed voters trusted Trump more on handling the economy than Harris and it was often cited as the number one issue for them.
“Overall, this was a message on the economy and the message of the incumbent and the vice president wasn’t enough to say, stick with us,” said Belt.
Looking ahead, Belt said some of Trump’s proposed economic policies could benefit a few different groups of people.
“If Donald Trump is able to enact the agenda that he has promised, he’s going to legislation that will resume the tax cuts that he had,” he said. “Particularly, that will help high earners and corporations. He’s really promised to reduce the corporate tax break. And so that’s going to help those people as well. He did talk a little bit about reducing taxes on tips and on overtime pay. So that may help some workers as well. But for the most part, the lion’s share of the economic benefit will be to the wealthy.”
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