A New Page in American History

The 2024 US presidential election on November 5 marked an important turning point in the country's political history.

By November 6 (Vietnam time), the election results were final with Republican candidate Donald Trump winning.

This result not only affects the internal situation of the United States but also has a profound impact on America's foreign policy and position in the international arena.

America turns a new page

According to preliminary vote counts, Mr. Trump won at least 270 electoral votes, surpassing the statutory threshold of 270 votes and thereby defeating Democratic candidate Kamala Harris to become the 47th president of the United States.

The decisive victory took place in the battleground state of Pennsylvania with 19 electoral votes. This is also Mr. Trump's second term as the owner of the White House, after the first term from 2016-2020.

Immediately after the results were announced, President-elect Donald Trump gave a celebratory speech to a large crowd of supporters in Palm Beach, Florida. He said: "This is truly going to be the golden age of America. This is a great victory that will help us make America great again."

The Electoral Colleges are scheduled to meet on December 17 to cast their official electoral votes to elect Donald Trump as the next president of the United States. Mr. Trump will be sworn in at Capitol Hill on January 20, 2025.

The 2024 presidential election results have opened a new page in American history. With his victory, Mr. Trump became the first US president to win non-consecutive terms in more than a century.

Next in the ballot, voters will decide the composition of the next US Congress. In the Senate, 34 seats are up for grabs, with Senators serving six-year terms.

Republicans have taken control of the Senate, a victory for the party that has been without a majority in the chamber since 2021, according to the Wall Street Journal. Republicans are now preparing to decide the fate of the next president's agenda.

“As the new Republican majority in the Senate, our focus will be on implementing an agenda that reflects America’s priorities — lower prices, less spending, secure borders, and American energy dominance,” said Sen. John Barrasso, who chairs the Senate Republican Conference.

In the House, according to CNN, Republicans are defending a narrow majority and it could be a week or more before control is formally determined.

It can be said that the results of this election will have a significant impact on the direction of the US and important policies in the future.

In the run-up to the election, American politics has become more polarized than ever. Issues such as immigration, gun rights, minority rights, climate change and abortion rights have become hot topics, deeply dividing the electorate.

The economy is also an important factor after this election. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US economy is facing many challenges such as rising inflation and disrupted supply chains.

During his campaign, Mr. Trump focused on domestic economic and immigration issues, calling on voters to support his "America First" policy.

When he returns to the White House as “Trump 2.0,” Trump is not expected to be a moderate president. Instead, he will see his unlikely return as a mandate to govern on the radical agenda he campaigned on.

Central to Mr Trump's designs is a plan to centralise federal government power in the Office of the President.

During his campaign, Mr. Trump made it clear that his most ambitious proposals would be implemented through a series of executive actions: closing the southern border and initiating mass deportations of migrants; imposing broad tariffs on imported goods.

In addition, Mr. Trump also expressed his view that he would "radically change" the federal administrative apparatus by firing civil servants at will, and he would aim to neutralize the spending power of "Capitol Hill" by controlling funds allocated by Congress.

To advance his vision of increased executive power, Mr. Trump is expected to appoint supporters to his administration, pledging to remove barriers that persisted during his first term.

“The president has never had a policy process designed to get him what he really wants,” said Russ Vought, Mr. Trump’s former director of the Office of Management and Budget who now heads a team preparing for Mr. Trump’s second term. “There have been a lot of institutional obstacles.”

Shaping the world

Trump’s re-election will not only shape the future of the United States but also have a profound impact on the global political and economic landscape, especially since Trump has expressed views that could fundamentally change the foreign policy of this superpower.

Geopolitically, Mr Trump's comments about NATO are causing concern among traditional allies. He has said he will not defend member states that do not contribute enough to the common defense budget.

Notably, former National Security Advisor John Bolton also predicted that Mr. Trump could completely withdraw the US from this alliance.

On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Mr. Trump has repeatedly expressed his sympathy for Russian President Vladimir Putin and promised to end the war within a day of taking office. His choice of Senator JD Vance, a well-known opponent of aid to Ukraine, as his “vice president” further reinforced this view.

As for the Middle East, the official 2024 Republican Party platform doesn't say much about foreign policy in the Middle East beyond "supporting Israel" and "restoring peace in the Middle East."

According to the Middle East Institute, the Trump 2.0 administration could continue previous policies from 2017-2021, such as the “maximum pressure” approach to Iran, focusing on economic sanctions, strongly opposing diplomacy with Iran on the nuclear deal; promoting the achievement of a US-Saudi Arabia-Israel agreement similar to the 2020 Abraham Accords that opened formal relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Morocco.

In short, with Washington's great influence over the past 80 years, the above changes after the US election not only reshape the position of this superpower but can also fundamentally change the current world order.