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Electoral college calls time on Donald Trump

Will Trumpism be back? As the electoral college gives Donald Trump the boot, many hope that his cruel brand of politics will go with him – but others fear Trumpism may be here to stay. Last night, the curtain finally fell on Donald Trump’s presidency. After weeks of legal wrangling, his loss in the electoral college was confirmed. President-Elect Joe Biden received 306 votes to Trump’s 232. Trump is set to leave office on 20 January. But it will take longer for the scars of his presidency to heal. For many millions of people, Trump’s time in office stands out as an era of unique cruelty in recent American history. During his 2016 campaign, Trump made racist remarks about Mexicans and Muslims and hurled sexist insults at his female opponent. As president, he rolled back climate protections and withdrew from the Paris Agreement – an international accord on climate change with support from 188 other countries. Despite promising to protect social security, he slashed funding for the Medicare and Medicaid health insurance programmes, making it harder for the poorest people in America to access healthcare. He brought the world closer to war by ramping up tensions with Iran. At the same time, he threatened to withdraw from Nato and abandoned the Kurdish militias who had defeated ISIS. And as a last act of spite, he is now carrying out the first federal executions in 17 years. He is set to oversee 13 executions, more than any president since 1945. But the policy that most defined the Trump era was the decision to separate migrant families at the US-Mexico border. Children and parents have been kept apart for months, often held in cages in vast detention centres, with no means of contacting each other. More than 600 children still have not been reunited with their parents. Trump’s defeat seems to have drawn a line under these policies. Biden has presented himself as a healer, ready to restore America’s soul. But is Trumpism – the set of ideas that he championed – dead? Trump has already hinted that he might run for the presidency again in 2024 and remains extremely popular with the Republican Party. Although he has not succeeded in overturning the result of the election, he has persuaded many of his followers that the election was rigged. The last few days have seen violent protests by his supporters in several US cities. Their rage could motivate them to turn out for Trump in 2024. Even if he does not run, other Republicans now think Trumpism is a winning formula. Previously, Republicans were torn between appealing to Latino voters with a softer approach to immigration, and shoring up the party’s white, right-wing base. But in 2020, Trump, with his hardline anti-immigration policies, won more Latino votes than any previous Republican candidate. Some Republicans could now think that by copying Trump’s policies, they can win Latino votes without losing older white voters. That coalition could win them the presidency in 2024. This is why Republicans are keen to align themselves with Trump. On Friday, 126 Republican representatives voted to overturn the election result and grant Trump victory. Several former Republican critics – including Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz – now publicly support him. Will Trumpism be back? Trump 2.0 Yes, say some. Trump remains an icon among American conservatives, and even out of power he will be an influential force in the Republican Party. If he does not run himself, other Republicans will be keen to win his endorsement in 2024. He has shown that Trumpism can win elections. We should expect the Republican candidate in 2024 to be a Trumpian. No, say others. Trump should have been the clear favourite in 2020: American presidents rarely fail to win re-election. Instead, he was rejected by the majority of the country. Trumpism has never won the popular vote, and it has proved extremely divisive. If Republicans are going to win over an increasingly diverse population, they will have to change their approach. KeywordsIran - A country in Western Asia, officially called the Islamic Republic of Iran. It has a population of 84 million.

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