America, where do we go from here? Trump’s victory by the numbers.

In the 2024 U.S. presidential election, America split along political divides. Trump won 76,485,124 popular votes versus Harris’ 73,807,365, or 50 to 48.2 percent. In terms of the electoral college, he swept the stage, but the popular vote margins remained thin. Numerous demographic categories within the American electorate sat within a five-percentage point spread, or just a hair outside it.

Where divergence occurred the most, it proved stark. According to AP Vote Cast post-election data and NBC News exit polls, the largest gaps in the American electorate emerged in race, geography, and sexual orientation. The widest spread included black women and LGBTQ+ individuals who voted for Harris. Just behind them were black men, urban voters, and Latino women.

Celebrating their victory, on the other hand, were 63 percent of rural voters and 60 percent of white men who voted for Trump. The margins remained narrower elsewhere. About 53 percent of white women voted for Trump versus 46 percent for Harris. Of people with a college degree, 56 percent voted Harris and 43 percent Trump. In the suburbs, 52 percent voted Harris and 47 percent for Trump. Income level was barely even a gap. Harris had a tiny edge in the lowest and highest income levels. Trump had a similarly small edge in the middle.

In another surprise, Muslim and Arab Americans moved toward Trump, breaking from their history of voting democratic. They cited Harris’ unwavering support of Israel and Trump’s assertion he will stop wars and bring peace. They saw Trump as a more viable candidate to bring an end to suffering in Gaza and Lebanon. As the dust settles, it seems safe to say that (a) white men and rural folks won it for Trump, coupled with (b) many small leads in a lot of other categories.

What motivated over half of America to vote Trump?

Most pundits say Harris lost on issues; that the American people grew tired of high grocery prices, not to mention housing and insurance costs. They felt angered at what became, under Biden, an open border. They want wars around the world to end and for America to crush the cartels. Trump spoke to safety and prosperity. He promised with fervor to close the border, end the wars, beat back prices, and “make America great again.”

The pundits also say Harris lost because of “culture wars” and the “woke” mindset. They say people just aren’t ready to accept the transgender movement, sensitivity training, critical race theory, climate change, or defunding the police, for example – all of which they associate with Democrats. These analysts claim Harris waned because Democrats lost touch with voter’s kitchen table needs, Biden dropped out too late, and Harris lacked the political will to say anything to offend her party’s “fringe” voters.

To many Trump voters who say they voted on issues, not character, the juice was clearly worth the squeeze. If he can be the one person to finally disrupt American government for the better, they will accept his behavior and off-color comments. Some classify his criminality as political persecution and frankly, January 6^th became a non-issue. In other words, solving issues at the border, the economy, and global conflict became the most important problems they want government to solve in the next four years. They believe Trump is the person to do it.

Legitimate concerns or fringe, woke, leftist extremism?

For nearly half of America, Trump posed more of a threat than a solution. According to Pew, 56 percent of black Americans live in the south and 29 percent live around major city centers including New York, Atlanta, Chicago, D.C., etc. Among Black U.S. households in 2022, 49 percent earned less than $50,000.

Meanwhile, the official poverty rate of the U.S. Black population reached a historic low of 17.1 percent in 2022 under Biden. Harris promised to continue that trend. Many reports also revealed an increase in hate speech and racial discrimination under Trump the first time.

Likewise, a Census Bureau report revealed that respondents from the LGBTQ+ community reported higher rates of food-insecurity than non-LGBTQ+ respondents, and greater loss of employment income during COVID, a period associated with Trump. After Trump’s election in 2016, the trans community saw the murder rate of trans people in America double.

Anti LGBTQ+ and anti-trans legislation skyrocketed in the states. Trolling on social media of LGBTQ+ and trans folks took on apocalyptic levels. Their votes reflected their legitimate fear that a Trump administration will make their lives worse. Since election day, that fear seems rooted in reality.

On Saturday, November 16, neo-nazis marched through Columbus, Ohio shouting racial and antisemitic slurs. One neo-nazi shouted the “N” word again and again. Within 24 hours of Trump winning the election, Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes posted “Your body, my choice,” on X garnering over 90 million views and 35,000 reposts.

The Trevor Project – a national LGBTQ+ youth support agency – announced that demand for crisis services increased nearly 700% the day after the election. Meanwhile, the FBI launched an investigation into mass texts in the U.S. threatening black, LGBTQ+, and Latino Americans by name with deportation, enslavement, and “reeducation.”

Building a unified America: legislation versus culture wars

Inevitably, a Trump administration backed by a Republican House and Senate will enact legislation which certain communities in America will suffer under. Political action groups, non-profit organizations, advocates, and activists are and will take on the hard work of fighting for protections. But what about Americans themselves? What will Trump voters do now in light of their vote and how will they create the unified America they call for?

Having an opinion on policy is one thing. Furthering hate speech or ignoring it when it occurs is another. MAGA won. Trump won. What will they do with that win? A phrase made famous by Peter Parker’s uncle Ben in Spiderman comes to mind: “With great power comes great responsibility.” The winners now have the power.

Is it time to shed culture war words like “woke” and “fringe” when referring to real human beings with real lives? Will people begin rejecting inflammatory posts and social media trolls who turn fellow Americans into caricatures for clicks? Will you get to know your gay, trans, black, disabled, and immigrant neighbors through a lens of love and kindness? Can we become a better America than the one the world witnessed during the elections?

The answer to all these questions seems clear. Only time will tell. As America moves forward into the next four years, we will either witness a race to the bottom, becoming an America we never aspired to be, or we will evolve into a better version of ourselves.