Trump Won: Kamala Harris Makes it Official.

It was poignant and, to many, painful, watching Kamala Harris preside over the counting and the certification of the electoral votes that, in eight days, will once again elevate Donald Trump to the Presidency of the United States of America. Harris, of course, as Vice President, was simply doing what the Constitution required of her. Mike Pence performed the same pro forma task four years earlier, but only after a failed insurrection, for the first time in American history, attempted to negate an American election and install a failed candidate as President. Thankfully, the attempted insurrection four years ago failed.

In eight days, the formerly failed candidate who stood by after urging on the insurrectionists four years ago will assume the Presidency of the United States of America, having rightfully won the presidential election last November with 49.97 of the popular vote. The irony is extraordinary. Donald Trump, who did nothing as he watched his supporters violently attempt to overthrow a presidential election he clearly lost four years ago, will assume the presidency in eight days, having won the popular vote fair and square last November.

Just before the certification of the 2024 election last week, President-elect Trump posted on his social media platform that it will be “A BIG MOMENT IN HISTORY. MAGA!” He is, of course, correct. It will be a significant moment in history, just as was the failed attempt to violently overthrow the results of the presidential election win in 2020. Both events are indelibly etched in our country's historical record. That Donald Trump has been returned to the presidency following a failed attempt to elevate him to the presidency by force four years ago following his loss to Joe Biden is something about which historians will be scratching their heads for years to come.

Reviewing Pew Research Center findings on the election suggests that a substantial majority of voters have greater confidence in Trump than in Harris. The difference between Trump voters and Harris voters regarding who they felt would produce the most positive change in America is quite significant. 86% of Trump supporters believe he would change Washington for the better, while 92% of Harris supporters believe Trump would change things for the worse.

Trump voters were more motivated by their views regarding the economy and immigration than by any other issues. Conversely, climate change, racial and ethnic inequality, and abortion rights were far less motivating to Trump voters than to Harris voters. Only 11% of Trump voters believe climate change is very important. Similarly, only 18% of Trump voters felt ethnic inequality was an important issue, and barely a third of Trump voters considered abortion rights to be a major issue.

Similarly, 90% of Trump voters feel that gun ownership increases their safety, while less than 20% of Harris voters think that way. Less than a quarter of Trump voters believe that slavery has had a negative effect on Black Americans today. In contrast, 80% of Harris voters believe that slavery has had an enduring negative impact on Black Americans. The difference between Republican and Democratic voters on many other issues is striking.

The Pew research data highlights other substantial differences in how Republicans and Democrats see the world. For example, over 80% of Trump voters believe the criminal justice system is not tough enough on lawbreakers, while less than 40% of Harris voters feel that way. Sixty percent of Trump voters think that getting married and having children should be a major priority for couples. In contrast, according to Pew Research, less than 20% of Harris voters feel the same high priority for marriage and children. The most significant difference between Trump and Harris voters on the issues studied relates to the issue of trans couples. Sixty percent of Harris voters believe people can change the sex assigned to them at birth, while only seven percent of Trump voters share that view. The area in which Trump and Harris voters are in closest agreement relates to the progress women have made in America, with relatively few Harris or Trump voters expressing the view that the gains women have made in society have been at the expense of men.

The Pew Research data confirms what most of us probably already knew. We may all be one nation indivisible regarding our identity as Americans. Still, when it comes to the competing issues with which we as Americans must contend, we are a collage, if not a jumble, of diverse, if not contentious, points of view. That is our challenge. It is also our strength.

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Recent podcasts have featured my commentary on Liz Cheney’s book, “Oath and Honor,” as well as my commentaries regarding:

U.S. Representative Jim Jordan,

Brian Kemp and Those Republicans of Georgia,

The Trump Indictments,

The Fox Corp Settlement,

The CNN Trump Town Hall,

The Hunter Biden plea deal,

The New American Cult of Personality,

and my interviews with William Bratton, Retired Chief of Police in New York City, Los Angeles, and Boston;

Rikki Klieman, Attorney, Network News Analyst, and best-selling author;

John Thoresen, Executive Director, Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center;

Katherine Gehl, co-author of The Politics Industry and founder of the Institute for Political Innovation;

Jazz artist Ann Hampton Callaway;

Outlander author Diana Gabaldon;

AI Data Scientist Lawrence Kite;

Ryan Clancy, Chief Strategist of No Labels;

Former Senator Barbara Boxer;

Former Senator Joe Lieberman;

and former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan.

Novels by Hal Gershowitz