Put bluntly, the Democrats need to go through a reassessment of who they are, what they stand for and why they exist as a party
Trump returns to the White House, elected 47th president, Fox News projects
The Fox News Decision Desk projects former President Trump will win the 2024 presidential election.
Donald Trump’s big election victory is a repudiation of the Democratic Party, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. There is no other way to see it. With over a 2 to 1 advantage in financial resources, the office of the vice presidency and the support of financial and political elites across the country, the fact that Donald Trump has won a convincing victory, in spite of a campaign that clearly got distracted in the last week, speaks volumes about the message the American electorate was sending in this election.
Put another way, voters want a new economic policy that emphasizes smaller government, deregulation and lower taxes. They want the wall completed and illegal immigration eliminated as much as possible. And they want the crime problem addressed fundamentally and systemically.
The election results also suggest the limitations of the abortion issue as a motivating force. Put simply, the fact that the Democrats put virtually all their firepower behind the choice issue suggests the weakness of that appeal.
More generally, as a message to the Democratic Party, the return to the White House of a clearly flawed Donald Trump also represents a repudiation of Democratic woke policies. Whether it be on transgender issues, affirmative action or issues related to the role of parents and the traditional nuclear family as a central component of American life.
The Republican victory and the Senate election results, along with the very strong showing in the House, represent a message of change and rejection of the status quo.
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Put bluntly, the Democrats need to go through a reassessment of who they are, what they stand for and why they exist as a party, if they are to maximize their appeal going forward.
To be clear, a Republican victory, even one as surprisingly substantial as this one, is only half the message of these election results. The American people are looking for leadership. At home, on the economy and abroad in confronting our adversaries, whether it be in the Middle East or in Eastern and Central Europe.
As a deeply divided country, it is frankly more important that we come together around our common values and common principles than is any other specific policy initiative or aspirational goal.
It is my fervent hope that, given the strength of the Russia-China-Iran-North Korea axis, that both parties recognize the threat we are facing, which is profound and increasing, and unless our leaders come together to confront our challenges at home and abroad, the real loser will be American people, who deserve better than the polarization and campaign we have just witnessed.
Rest assured, for our adversaries, this is the beginning of a new period. A dangerous period. The interregnum between an enfeebled Joe Biden and an energized and invigorated Donald Trump creates extraordinary risk to us and an opportunity for our adversaries.
If there is one thing that is clear, it is that Donald Trump needs to reach out to Joe Biden and vice versa. Indeed, the best thing they both could do would be to agree to pardon one another and their families. Not because of the merits of the cases, but because our country deserves better. And the American people certainly deserve a lot better leadership than we have been getting.
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Douglas E. Schoen has more than 40 years of experience as a pollster and political consultant. He served as an adviser to President Bill Clinton and to the presidential campaign of Michael Bloomberg. Schoen is founder and partner of Schoen Cooperman Research.
