Donald Trump Wins the 2024 Presidential Election

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By the end of January 2021, just days into Donald J. Trump’s tumultuous new existence as a former president, his world had diminished to an unbearable size. Self-exiled in Florida, he faced the reality of being a twice-impeached figure struggling with the sting of his 2020 electoral defeat, a loss he vehemently refused to acknowledge as legitimate. With his social media platforms silenced after the events of January 6, where Twitter cited “the risk of further incitement of violence” as the reason, Trump found himself isolated. His once-vibrant circle had shrunk to a handful of junior aides, who were tasked with keeping him engaged in golf and steering him away from the television screens that might fuel his frustrations.

“Get the pool,” Mr. Trump commanded at one point, referring to the swarm of reporters who had followed him during his presidency. “I want to make a statement.” However, he was informed that he no longer had a platform from which to make such statements.

As February rolled around, Mr. Trump felt it was time to break his silence. In his first public appearance as a private citizen, he accepted an invitation to a gathering of right-wing activists in Orlando. “Do you miss me yet?” he asked, spreading his arms wide, as if inviting the audience to embrace him. It had been five weeks since he had left the White House, and outside that conference room, the sentiment among most Americans seemed to be a resounding no.

Now, less than four years later, Mr. Trump has completed a remarkable journey back to power—an extraordinary revival orchestrated by a man who never truly changed. He never accepted the reality of his 2020 loss, remained acutely aware of the essence of his own magnetic appeal, and harbored no doubt that he could bulldoze anyone who stood in his path.