Why has Donald Trump triumphed?

Donald Trump has become the only person – other than Grover Cleveland (president 1885–89 and 1893–97) – to serve non-consecutive presidential terms in the USA.

This has occurred less than four years since the apparent collapse of his political fortunes in the aftermath of January 6th, when it looked like the Republican Party might turn its back on the Trump years and reinstate a more familiar kind of conservative politics. But the reliance on the Make America Great Again (MAGA) base (whose support for Trump remained strong) proved too valuable to risk alienating. So, they were reconciled to Trump.

So, why has Trump now triumphed? The most obvious answer is that old jobs and economic ‘certainties’ no longer exist for many in the USA, as jobs have been lost to other nations. The ‘American Dream’ has apparently faltered, while many consider themselves marginalised by political elites. Racial divisions and inequalities add another painful component to the national scene. At the same time, changing patterns of modern life have left those with a traditional faith and cultural outlook feeling increasingly ignored. They often claim that their identity is mocked or dismissed. There are also unprecedented levels of migration, asylum seeking and undocumented incomers which have unsettled US society.