President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect James David Vance will begin their respective terms on January 20, 2025. Donald Trump has made history, becoming the first President to be elected to 2 non-consecutive terms since Grover Cleveland in 1892, and the first Republican President to win the popular vote since George W. Bush in 2004. Trump beat the incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris by receiving 50.5% of the popular vote, in contrast to Harris winning 47.9% of the vote. Trump received 312 electoral votes, beating Harris’ electoral vote count of 226. Trump’s victory hinged on securing the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Every four years, Americans head to the voting booths to cast their vote for the next President and Vice President of the United States, however the system is a bit more complicated than simply counting votes. Instead, the United States uses a process called the Electoral College. Each state starts with three electoral votes and is then granted more based on its population size. There is a total of 538 electoral votes across the country and a candidate must win at least 270 of these electoral votes to become the next President.

Most states award all their electoral votes to the candidate who win the most votes in that state. The exceptions to this rule are the states of Maine and Nebraska, who split their votes by district. Votes are then counted in counting centers in the different counties, and the results are verified.

The Electoral College was created by the Founding Fathers of the US as a compromise between the different delegates who wanted a direct popular vote, and those who wanted congress to elect the President. Furthermore, the Electoral College was designed to give greater representation to smaller states.

This year will likely mark the first time since 2019 where Republicans control the Presidency and both houses of congress. This result is likely because, while the Republicans won a majority in the Senate, the votes for the House of Representatives are still being counted, with the Republican Party slightly in the lead. This trifecta will allow Trump to implement much of his legislative agenda, such as deporting undocumented immigrants and implementing a 10% tariff on foreign imports.

Donald Trump is the former President of the United States and was defeated in the 2020 election by Joe Biden. Some notable accomplishments from his first term are the appointment of three judges to the US Supreme Court, tax cuts for billionaires, and federal prison reforms. He also made history by being the only President of the United States to be impeached twice.

Kamala Harris is the current vice-president and has cast many tie-breaking votes in the senate, such as in favour of the COVID-19 Stimulus Package and Inflation Reduction Act. During her time as a Senator from California, she advocated for healthcare and taxation reforms and stricter gun control laws.

The Biden administration is at an end, we should wait to see what the future holds during the second Trump Administration.