Edited by maklukpenggoda at 7-11-2024 02:37 AM
When voters were asked what quality mattered most to them in a candidate, a majority said they wanted either someone with “the ability to lead” or who could “bring about needed change.” Trump dominated among those Americans, winning about 7 in 10 of their votes.
Donald Trump has been elected the 47th president of the United States, NBC News projects — overcoming polls, prosecutions and other pitfalls that appeared to be standing in his way over a two-year campaign.
His win comes after a campaign against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris dominated by debates over hot-button issues like abortion and immigration, as well as a focus on race, gender and other demographic divides that have long simmered in U.S. politics. But the balance of the evidence from the NBC News Exit Poll suggests that Trump owes his victory to more common, less polarizing factors that drive many elections year in and year out.
They include voters’ frustration with their own finances, deep dissatisfaction with the nation’s economy and persistent gloom about the state of the country — all of which fueled a desire for change:
- Nearly half — 45% — of all voters said they were worse off financially than they were four years ago. That was a higher level of dissatisfaction than what registered in exit polls in any recent election going back to 2008, when the election took place amid the financial crisis that propelled Barack Obama to victory.
- Though the economy is growing, with a low jobless rate and a booming stock market, 2 in 3 voters rated the U.S. economy poorly, a level higher than in 2020, when the country struggled to get in gear during the Covid pandemic.
- All told, the mood of the country this election was very pessimistic: About three-quarters of voters nationwide said they felt negatively about the way things are going in the country, including 29% who said they were downright angry.
The overall result: an electorate gone quite sour on the incumbent president, Democrat Joe Biden.
Voters’ assessment of his performance — 40% approved, while 58% disapproved — was far worse than Trump’s was when he ran for re-election in 2020.
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