New York, United States:

Elon Musk, the tech billionaire closely allied with US President-elect Donald Trump, met Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in a bid to defuse tensions between Tehran and Washington, The New York Times reported Thursday.

The newspaper quoted anonymous Iranian sources as describing the meeting between the world’s richest person and Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani as “positive.”

The two met for more than an hour at a secret location on Monday, the newspaper said.

Neither the Trump transition team nor Iran’s mission to the United Nations immediately confirmed the encounter, with the Iranian mission saying it had no comment.

The meeting, if confirmed, could offer an early indication that Trump is serious about diplomacy with Iran and not choosing the more hawkish approach favored by many conservatives in his Republican Party as well as Israel.

It would also show again the extraordinary influence of Musk, the owner of Tesla and X who has been a near constant presence at Trump’s side, reportedly joining him on telephone calls with world leaders.

Trump in his last term in office tore up a deal on Iran’s nuclear program negotiated under his predecessor Barack Obama, instead pursuing a policy of “maximum pressure” that included working to force other nations not to buy Iran’s oil.

But Trump has cast himself as a great dealmaker and during his latest campaign has voiced an openness to diplomacy, despite his avowed support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has ordered military strikes on Iran in tandem with Israel’s war on Hamas.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, considered a moderate within the clerical state, on Thursday told the visiting head of the UN nuclear watchdog that Tehran wanted to clear up doubts about the country’s “peaceful” nuclear program.

Iran’s ambassador also urged Musk in their meeting to seek US sanctions exemptions and conduct business in Tehran, the Times said, citing an Iranian Foreign Ministry official.

Along with foreign policy, Trump has put Musk and another wealthy entrepreneur, former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, in charge of a new “Department of Government Efficiency” tasked with overhauling the federal bureaucracy.

The new initiative has raised questions about conflicts of interest given the extensive interactions between Musk’s businesses and the government.

An account for the program has been created on X, formerly Twitter, where it asked applicants to apply through a direct message.

“We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting,” said a post on X, adding that “Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The world view of many countries, especially the US has definitely changed with this week’s election results. Donald Trump, US’s 45th President will now also be its 47th President come January. We will discuss the broad shifts we expect, and how India will be affected by them.

But first, Donald Trump led the Republican Party to one of its best ever results in House, Senate and a large majority of Governors.

This means 3 things for the US:

The Trump administration will have an easier time pushing through laws it wants.

Trump will have less trouble passing a budget.

And Trump will be able to choose more judges in his tenure- which has perhaps the most lasting legacy.

 
In terms of US foreign policy, here are 6 things he is expected to do:

The most immediate impact will be felt by Ukraine, as Trump does not intend to increase US defence funding, and unlike Biden, he will engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin- Putin hailed Trump as a courageous man for his response to the assassination attack, said he is ready for talks.

The second place he will be watched is for the Israel war in Gaza and Lebanon, and while he has fully supported Netanyahu, has said he will seek an end to the war there. But will get tougher on Iran.

He is likely to turn America inward on manufacturing, more protectionism and jobs for Americans, as well as tougher strictures on immigration, both legal and illegal.

He is expected to get tough with China on trade, has promised 60% tariffs, and this could wreck China’s growth, but also increase inflation across the board.

However, he may not put as much US resources into Indo-Pacific strategies like the Quad, Quad plus, AUKUS etc, and demur from military confrontation with China.

He will probably change US commitments to climate change transitions, pushing for fossil fuels, what he calls liquid gold- said drill baby drill was his motto.

What does this mean for India and its neighbourhood? Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to call and congratulate him, and they recalled their times together during his first tenure, with 2 public rallies in Houston and Gandhinagar, and promised to work together. Trump is expected to return to India in 2025 for the Quad summit, but they could meet earlier.

The positives for the government:

Relief on Russia, and a possibly larger role for Modi in peacemaking, if Trump is able to force Ukraine to the table for a ceasefire.

Trump’s intervention in West Asia could help revive the IMEEC.

Less US pressure on democracy, minority rights, press freedoms

More muted comments on the Pannun-Nijjar issue, and given Trump’s tensions with Trudeau, less worry that India-Canada ties could affect India-US ties.

More push on trade, technology transfer, access to US military hardware.

In South Asia, New Delhi is likely to see a greater alignment with Washington, as Trump is expected to take a tough line on the interim regime in Bangladesh and Professor Muhammad Yunus, and not take too much interest in Pakistan, post-US pullout from Afghanistan.

What then are the negatives New Delhi should watch out for:

Trump’s trade policies will clash with the Make in India project, his tough rhetoric on tariffs will be a problem. Remember he withdrew India’s GSP status in Trump 1.0, and will push for a Free Trade Agreement on America’s terms. And his ringing praise for Elon Musk means he will push for India to give tariff concessions for Tesla’s EV project in India.

More transactional – only both bilateral cooperation and strategic ties, Trump will look for a quid pro-quo, will want more Indian investment in the US and more Indian deals like his push for Petronet to invest $2.5 bn in US company Driftwood for LNG.

On the Indo-Pacific, Trump 2.0 will be more exacting of its expectations from India on the counter to China- esp in the Indian Ocean.

Trump’s style of public messaging, twitter diplomacy and revealing details of private conversations with leaders has upset New Delhi and embarrassed PM Modi more than once, and this will be a worry.

Trump’s tough talk on immigration will affect thousands of Indians, including those already working in the US.

Trump will use sanctions to enforce his policies- as he did in making India cancel oil imports from Iran, so expect strong-arm tactics.

Worldview Take: 

India must brace for impact, as in his hard fought for second term, Donald Trump will hit the floor running with his top agenda items on trade, tariffs and immigration. It is important not to conflate his positivity for India and personal ties with PM Modi with his geopolitical calculus. While taking advantage of Trump’s tenure to further Indian interests, New Delhi must keep its eye on the long term benefits of India-US ties, which will outlast the next four years of Trump’s tenure.

Reading recommendations:

War by Bob Woodward

At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House by H. R. McMaster, NSA to Trump

Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love by Mike Pompeo, SecState to Trump

Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine by David Petraeus

Editing: Shibu Narayan and Sabika Syed

Beijing:

After Donald Trump first entered the White House eight years ago, rattled Chinese leaders responded to his tariffs and fiery rhetoric with force, resulting in a trade war that plunged ties between the globe’s largest economies to multiyear lows.

This time around, Beijing has been preparing for Trump’s return by deepening ties with allies, boosting self-reliance in tech, and setting aside money to prop up the economy that is now more vulnerable to fresh tariffs already threatened by Trump.

While some retaliation to those moves might be unavoidable, China will focus on exploiting rifts between the US and its allies, experts say, and aim to lower the temperature to help strike an early deal to cushion the blow from trade friction.

Zhao Minghao, international relations expert at Shanghai’s Fudan University said China probably wouldn’t replay the playbook from the first Trump presidency when Beijing had a very strong reaction to Trump’s moves on tariffs.

He pointed out Chinese President Xi Jinping’s message to Trump from Thursday, in which Xi called for “cooperation” and not “confrontation,” emphasising “stable, sound and sustainable” relations between the two superpowers.

“Trump is not a stranger to Beijing at this time,” Zhao told Reuters. “Beijing would respond in a measured way and make efforts to communicate with the Trump team.”

While Chinese tech giants are now far less reliant on US imports, the economy – hit by a massive property crisis and saddled with unsustainable debt – is in a weaker position than in 2016, struggling to eke out 5% growth compared to 6.7% then.

To make things worse, Trump has pledged to end China’s most-favored-nation trading status and slap tariffs on Chinese imports in excess of 60% – much higher than those imposed during his first term.

Fudan’s Zhao said Beijing has this scenario gamed out but expects tariffs to come in below the level pledged on the campaign trail because “that would significantly push up the inflation in the US”.

Still, that threat alone has unnerved producers in the world’s largest exporter because China sells goods worth more than $400 billion a year to the US and hundreds of billions more in parts for products Americans buy elsewhere.

Li Mingjiang, a scholar at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said that as a result, the Chinese economy might require even more stimulus than the $1.4 trillion expected on Friday.

“It’ll be a very serious blow to China’s international trade that will affect jobs and government revenues,” said Li. “China will probably have to come up with a much bigger stimulus package domestically.”

CHARM OFFENSIVE

To boost global trade, China has been on a diplomatic blitz, shoring up alliances, mending fences with foes, and continuing difficult talks with the European Union, even after the bloc imposed stiff tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.

Last month China ended a four-year military stand-off with India on their disputed border; in August, it resolved a two-year spat with Japan over the discharge of radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant; and Premier Li Qiang in June visited Australia – the first such trip in seven years.

Also last month, both Xi and Li attended separate summits of BRICS – which now accounts for 35% of the global economy – and the 10-state Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, as China deepens ties with the Global South.

“The first Trump administration did not show a lot of interest in robust engagement in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, which provided the Chinese a lot of latitude to operate in these markets largely uncontested,” said Eric Olander, editor-in-chief of the China-Global South Project.

In Europe, trade tensions with China could be counterbalanced by worries over Trump’s potentially reduced role in the Ukraine war and his economic policies, creating an opening for Beijing, say some experts.

“China will carry on reaching out to Europeans, the British, the Australians and even the Japanese, not only to try to drive a wedge between the US and the countries of the north,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, an expert at Hong Kong’s Baptist University.

“But also as part of its mission to rebalance its foreign trade in favour of the Global South,” he said.

TECH PUNCHLINE

During the first trade war, Trump banned high-tech exports to China and sanctioned companies including China’s largest chipmaker SMIC, prompting its tech sector to become domestic-focused and self-sufficient.

Winston Ma, a former managing director for the China Investment Corporation (CIC), China’s sovereign wealth fund, said a major trigger for this shift was Trump’s ban on the sale of components to Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE in 2018.

That was “really scary from a China perspective, so they began to prepare. It was the start of that sort of defensive thinking,” added Ma.

Soon after, Xi urged the nation to boost self-reliance in science and tech, pushing China to build-up crucial industries including AI and space.

The result: Eight years ago, China had only four government procurement projects worth over $1.4 million, replacing foreign hardware and software with domestic alternatives. That number has exploded to 169 such projects this year, data show.

Despite these strides, chipmakers “definitely feel the tightening – these Chinese companies couldn’t supply to global clients and can’t have access to the latest chips,” said Ma.

Nazak Nikakhtar, a Commerce Department official under Trump who knows his advisers, said she expected Trump to be “much more aggressive about export control policies towards China.”

She anticipated “a significant expansion of the entity list,” that restricts exports to those on it to capture affiliates and business partners of listed companies.

Ma, the ex-CIC executive, said the restrictions will have an impact for some time as the US expands the sanctions regime to overseas suppliers.

“I think the punchline is that the coming years are the most critical for this US-China tech rivalry.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

President-elect Donald Trump has named Susie Wiles as his White House chief of staff, the first woman to ever hold the influential role.
| Photo Credit: AFP

President-elect Donald Trump has named Susie Wiles, the manager of his victorious campaign, as his White House chief of staff, the first woman to ever hold the influential role.

Wiles is widely credited within and outside Trump’s inner circle for running what was, by far, his most disciplined and well-executed campaign, and was seen as the leading contender for the position. She largely avoided the spotlight, even refusing to take the mic to speak as Trump celebrated his victory early Wednesday morning.

She was able to do what few others have been able to: help control Trump’s worst impulses — not by chiding him or lecturing, but by earning his respect and showing him that he was better off when he followed her advice than flouted it.

“Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again,” Trump said in a statement. “It is a well deserved honor to have Susie as the first-ever female Chief of Staff in United States history. I have no doubt that she will make our country proud.”

Trump went through four chiefs of staff — including one who served in an acting capacity for a year — during his first administration, part of record-setting personnel churn in his administration.

Successful chiefs of staff serves as the president’s confidant, help execute a president’s agenda and balance competing political and policy priorities. They also tend to serve as a gatekeeper, helping determine whom the president spends their time and whom they speak to — an effort Trump chafed under inside the White House.

The chief of staff is “absolutely critical to an effective White House,” said Chris Whipple, whose book “The Gatekeepers” details how the White House chief of staff role shaped and defines a presidency. “At the end of the day the most important thing is telling the president what he doesn’t want to hear.”

Wiles is a longtime Florida-based Republican strategist who ran Trump’s campaign in the state in 2016 and 2020. Before that, she ran Rick Scott’s 2010 campaign for Florida governor and briefly served as the manager of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman’s 2012 presidential campaign.

Chris LaCivita, who along with Wiles served as a co-manager of the campaign, posted on X, “So Happy and proud of one of the fiercest and most loyal warriors i’ve ever had the pleasure of working with !!!”

The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Thursday by a quarter-point in response to the steady decline in the once-high inflation.
| Photo Credit: Andrew Harnik

The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Thursday by a quarter-point in response to the steady decline in the once-high inflation that had angered Americans and helped drive Donald Trump’s presidential election victory this week.

The rate cut follows a larger half-point reduction in September, and it reflects the Fed’s renewed focus on supporting the job market as well as fighting inflation, which now barely exceeds the central bank’s 2% target.

Thursday’s move reduces the Fed’s benchmark rate to about 4.6%, down from a four-decade high of 5.3% before September’s meeting. The Fed had kept its rate that high for more than a year to fight the worst inflation streak in four decades. Annual inflation has since fallen from a 9.1% peak in mid-2022 to a 3 1/2-year low of 2.4% in September.

Why rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve matter to world markets

In a statement after its latest meeting ended, the Fed said the “unemployment rate has moved up but remains low,” while inflation has fallen closer to the central bank’s target but “remains somewhat elevated.”

After their rate cut in September — their first such move in more than four years — the Fed’s policymakers had projected that they would make further quarter-point cuts in November and December and four more next year. But with the economy now mostly solid and Wall Street anticipating faster growth, larger budget deficits and higher inflation under a Trump presidency, further rate cuts may have become less likely.

Trump’s election has also raised the specter of meddling by the White House in the Fed’s policy decisions, with Trump having proclaimed that as president he should have a voice in the central bank’s interest rate decisions. The Fed has long guarded its role as an independent institution able to make difficult decisions about borrowing rates, free from political interference. Yet during his previous term in the White House, Trump publicly attacked Chair Jerome Powell after the Fed raised rates to fight inflation, and he may do so again.

The economy is clouding the picture by flashing conflicting signals, with growth solid but hiring weakening. Consumer spending, though, has been healthy, fueling concerns that there is no need for the Fed to reduce borrowing costs and that doing so might overstimulate the economy and even re-accelerate inflation.

Financial markets are throwing yet another curve at the Fed: Investors have sharply pushed up Treasury yields since the central bank cut rates in September. The result has been higher borrowing costs throughout the economy, thereby diminishing the benefit to consumers of the Fed’s half-point cut in its benchmark rate, which it announced after its September meeting.

Broader interest rates have risen because investors are anticipating higher inflation, larger federal budget deficits, and faster economic growth under a President-elect Trump. Trump’s plan to impose at least a 10% tariff on all imports, as well as significantly higher taxes on Chinese goods, and to carry out a mass deportation of undocumented immigrants would almost certainly boost inflation. This would make it less likely that the Fed would continue cutting its key rate. Annual inflation as measured by the central bank’s preferred gauge fell to 2.1% in September.

Economists at Goldman Sachs estimate that Trump’s proposed 10% tariff, as well as his proposed taxes on Chinese imports and autos from Mexico, could send inflation back up to about 2.75% to 3% by mid-2026.

Rate cuts by the Fed typically lead to lower borrowing costs for consumers and businesses over time. Yet this time, mortgage rates fell in anticipation of rate cuts but have since bounced back up as the economy has grown briskly, fueled by consumer spending. High borrowing costs not only for mortgages but also for car loans and other major purchases, even as the Fed is reducing its benchmark rate, has set up a potential challenge for the central bank: Its effort to support the economy by lowering borrowing costs may not bear fruit if investors are acting to boost longer-term borrowing rates.

The economy grew at a solid annual rate just below 3% over the past six months, while consumer spending — fueled by higher-income shoppers — rose strongly in the July-September quarter.

But companies have scaled back hiring, with many people who are out of work struggling to find jobs. Powell has suggested that the Fed is reducing its key rate in part to bolster the job market. If economic growth continues at a healthy clip and inflation climbs again, though, the central bank will come under growing pressure to slow or stop its rate cuts.

US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at Howard University in Washington, DC, on November 6, 2024. Donald Trump won a sweeping victory Wednesday in the US presidential election, defeating Kamala Harris to complete an astonishing political comeback that sent shock waves around the world. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
| Photo Credit: SAUL LOEB

Kamala Harris said Wednesday that “we must accept the results of this election” as she encouraged supporters to continue fighting for their vision of the country after her loss to Donald Trump.

The Democratic vice president said the battle would continue “in the voting booth, in the courts and in the public square.”

“Sometimes the fight takes a while,” she said. “That doesn’t mean we won’t win.”

U.S. Elections 2024 results LIVE

Harris delivered her remarks at Howard University, her alma mater and one of the country’s most prominent historically Black schools, in the same spot where she hoped to give a victory speech.

“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” Harris said.

Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, was in the audience. So were Reps. Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker, and Barbara Lee, both from Harris’ home state of California.

Before her speech, Harris called Trump to concede the election and congratulate him on his victory. She said, “We will engage in a peaceful transfer of power.”

Harris, once viewed as a potential savior for the Democratic Party after Joe Biden ‘s reelection campaign stalled, is reckoning with a profound rejection by American voters in this year’s presidential election.

She trailed in every battleground state to Trump, a man she described as an existential danger to the country’s foundational institutions. And Trump appeared on track to win the popular vote for the first time in his three campaigns for the White House — even after two impeachments, felony convictions and his attempt to overturn his previous election loss.

Biden plans to address the election results on Thursday. The White House said he spoke with Harris and Trump on Wednesday, and he invited the president-elect to meet with him soon.

David Plouffe, a top Harris adviser, said campaign staffers “left it all on the field for their country.”

“We dug out of a deep hole but not enough,” he said. “A devastating loss.”

In a bitter footnote for Harris, as the sitting vice president she is expected to oversee Congress’ ceremonial certification of the election.

It’s the same role Mike Pence played four years ago, when Trump directed his supporters to march on the U.S. Capitol. Although critics said the violent insurrection crystallized Trump’s threat to American democracy, that ultimately did not dissuade voters from electing him again.

Harris became the Democratic candidate after Biden, who was already struggling to convince voters that he could serve as president until he was 86 years old, stumbled badly in his June 27 debate with Trump.

He dropped out of the race on July 21 and endorsed his vice president, who swiftly unified the Democratic Party around her candidacy.

It was a remarkable twist of fate for Harris. Four years earlier, her own presidential campaign had flamed out and revealed the political limitations of someone once dubbed “the female Barack Obama.” Even though Biden chose Harris as his running mate, she languished in the role after taking office as the first woman, Black person or person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president.

Some Democrats started writing her off when they pondered the party’s future after Biden. But Harris found fresh purpose after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, and she became the White House’s leading advocate for abortion rights.

Harris also made a more concerted effort to network with local politicians, business leaders and cultural figures, forging connections that could serve her down the road. The moment arrived sooner than she anticipated, and she was catapulted into the presidential race with Biden’s departure only a month before the Democratic National Convention.

Harris instantly reset the terms of the contest with Trump. She was 18 years younger and a former courtroom prosecutor going up against the first major presidential candidate convicted of crimes. Her candidacy energized Democrats who feared they were destined for defeat with Biden at the top of the ticket.

But she also faced steep odds from the beginning. She inherited Biden’s political operation with just 107 days until the end of the election, and she faced a restless electorate that was eager for change.

Although Harris pitched “a new way forward,” she struggled to meaningfully differentiate herself from the unpopular sitting president. In addition, she had limited time to introduce herself to skeptical voters, who never cast a ballot for her in a presidential primary.

Democrats now face the prospect of picking up the pieces during a second Trump presidency, and it’s unclear what role Harris will play in her party’s future.

“The work of protecting America from the impacts of a Trump Presidency starts now,” wrote Jen O’Malley Dillon, Harris’ campaign chair, in a letter to staff. “I know the Vice President isn’t finished in this fight, and I know the very people on this email are also going to be leaders in this collective mission.”

President Joe Biden called Donald Trump to congratulate him on his victory on Wednesday.

File picture of Chief Adviser of Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Chief Adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, on Wednesday congratulated U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on his election victory. Bangladesh and the U.S. “share a long history of friendship and collaboration across numerous areas of mutual interest,” Mr. Yunus said in a letter.

Donald Trump becomes 47th U.S. President: Follow LIVE updates

“Excellency, aligning with our commitment to a peaceful andinclusive society, the government and the peace-loving people of Bangladesh look forward to partner and collaborate in your efforts in addressing the global challenges in the pursuit of peace, harmony, stability and prosperity for all,” said Mr. Yunus in his letter.

Leader of Bangladesh Nationalist Party Tarique Rahman, who is living in exile in the U.K., has also congratulated Mr. Trump. Despite the formal communication, commentators in and out of Bangladesh have pointed out that Mr. Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, is a well-known friend of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton — both fierce critics of Donald Trump.

Mr. Yunus had described the victory of Mr. Trump in 2016 as an “eclipse”.

“Yunus’s liberal politics, which have helped earn him the support of many top U.S. Democrats, including Bill and Hillary Clinton puts him at odds with Trump. They are far from ideological bedfellows,” Michael Kugelman of Wilson Centre stated on November 3. Ahead of the poll, Mr. Trump had slammed attacks against minorities in Bangladesh.

Donald Trump stands on stage with former first lady Melania Trump, as Lara Trump watches, at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center, on November 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida.
| Photo Credit: AP

“Freedom! Freedom! I can’t move…Freedom, cut me loose!” by Beyonce was the anthem that charged up supporters of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris at rallies where she sought to define her candidacy as a fight, primarily, for gender rights. Her opponent Donald Trump, who emerged as winner on Tuesday, also promised freedom. “We will be free again.,” he would tell his supporters, terming the U.S. an “occupied country”, promising to “rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered”, by undocumented immigrants.

Freedom and liberty are the most used words in American political campaigns for centuries — and they can be carriers of many meanings. In 2024, Mr. Trump’s ideas of freedom had more resonance and this went beyond the allegory of America as an invaded country. Mr. Trump and his surrogates successfully created a narrative of ‘liberation’ from the ideological and information ecosystem patronised by the Democratic Party that dominates the country’s popular culture and political views.

Donald Trump becomes 47th U.S. President: Follow LIVE coverage

TV anchor-turned-Trump supporter Tucker Carlson told one of the campaign rallies: “He’s liberated us in the deepest and truest sense, and the liberation he has brought to us is the liberation from the obligation to tell lies… Donald Trump has made it possible for the rest of us to tell the truth about the world around us.” He went on to question Democratic views on transgender rights, global wars, Ukraine and Russia, trade deals and immigration, terming them all ‘lies’. Another key Trump ally, Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign appearances addressed young voters specifically: ‘My message to Gen Z: you want to be countercultural today? Get married. Have children. Defend free speech. Pledge allegiance to your nation. Show up on your campus and call yourself a conservative… or whatever you actually are. Give it a try, I bet it’ll be pretty liberating.”

Democrats have a strong grip over the U.S. mainstream media. As per a 2022 ABC News/Washington Post poll, in 2022, 36% of U.S. journalists identified themselves as Democrats when the proportion for the general population was 27%. This was the highest proportion of Democrats in the media in the last half a century. The proportion of Republican journalists shrunk, meanwhile — between 2002 and 2022, from 18% to 3%. The portrayal of Mr. Trump as a liar, and his politics as ‘post-truth’ became the mainstream wisdom of American discourse.

Transgender politics appears to have damaged the Democrats significantly. Mr. Trump and his surrogates made coming out possible for a large number of transgender sceptics who chose silence over social ostracisation. On Wednesday —Joe Scarborough, a strident critic of Mr. Trump and morning host on left-leaning MSNBC, cited the Democratic transgender agenda as a key reason for the party losing a lot of its traditional voters. Mr. Trump’s campaign ads in the concluding days put the spotlight on this question. “Kamala is for they/them,” one widely circulated ad said. “Trump is for you.”

All of Mr. Trump’s speeches and ads referred to an undefined “they/them” as those who were against the nation and people, and the concept was tied to transgender politics in these ads. Democrats realised gender and immigration issues were eroding their own votes, and Ms. Harris sought a course correction, but it did not help as it turned out.

Burden of Biden

Democratic strategy for the past 10 years has been centred on Mr. Trump’s personality. It began as a good enough reason to unite various factions within the party, and its diverse social constituents. In 2020, this approach worked well, as all other primary contenders quickly fell in line behind Mr. Biden. In 2024, the party elite tried a repeat of that by fielding Ms. Harris even without a primary and replacing the ageing incumbent.

Mr. Trump who was training his guns at Mr. Biden quickly changed tack — he turned soft on the sitting President, and focussed his ire entirely on Ms. Harris. Mr. Trump even suggested he might pardon Hunter Biden — the President’s son — who is facing investigations. Half in jest, Mr. Trump repeatedly said Mr. Biden wants him to win the election. The attack line against Ms. Harris that she is a radical progressive stuck. The more she tried to define herself, the more she fell into talking about Mr. Trump and the dangers posed by his term in office. As it turned out, she inherited all the deficiencies of Mr. Biden and none of his advantages.

U.S. Rep. John Curtis speaks to supporters, on Tuesday (November 5, 2024) in Provo, Utah.
| Photo Credit: AP

U.S. Rep. John Curtis will succeed Mitt Romney in the U.S. Senate after the Republican breezed to victory over his Democratic opponent in deeply red Utah.

Also Read: U.S. Elections 2024 results update

Mr. Curtis defeated Democrat Caroline Gleich, a mountaineer and environmental activist from Park City, in a race that often centered around each candidate’s climate policies. The incoming senator leads the Conservative Climate Caucus on Capitol Hill and has developed a reputation for pushing back against party leaders such as Donald Trump, who falsely claim that climate change is a hoax.

He will succeed one of Washington’s most prominent centrists and an outspoken critic of Mr. Trump.

Mr. Curtis took the stage with his wife, children and grandchildren at a lively watch party Tuesday (November 5, 2024) night in Provo, the city where he was once mayor, to speak to supporters after his victory.

“You elected me to legislate, to advocate and represent you,” Mr. Curtis said. “My agenda will be your agenda. My voice will lift your voice. My vote will reflect your values. And, together, we’ll make Washington more like Utah.”

“I hope that you’ll see in my actions the dignity of working together and of unity,” he added. “As Utah’s senator, I will make this model my mandate.”

Mr. Curtis, 64, began his political career as a county-level Democratic Party official. He is the longest-serving member of Utah’s U.S. House delegation and is viewed as a moderate in the manner of Mr. Romney.

The incoming senator said he plans to carve out his own brand of conservatism in the post-Romney era of Utah politics, with a focus on bringing Republicans to the table on issues involving climate change.

Mr. Romney congratulated Mr. Curtis on his win Tuesday (November 5, 2024) night, calling him a man of honor and integrity who puts others before himself.

“John Curtis has admirably represented the interests of Utahns in the House, and I have no doubt he will continue to do so in the Senate,” Romney said in a statement on the social media platform X. “Our country needs more leaders like him.”

In the June primary, Mr. Curtis emerged from a crowded pool of candidates to defeat a Mr. Trump-backed mayor. He said Tuesday (November 5, 2024) night that he voted for Mr. Trump, sticking with his early pledge to vote for the ultimate Republican presidential nominee.

His climate caucus takes a market-based approach to environmental issues, countering Democratic policies with proposals that Mr. Curtis has said aim to lower emissions without compromising American jobs and economic principles. Ms. Gleich had accused him of pandering to the fossil fuel industry instead of supporting policies she said are needed to protect public lands, air and water.

At his watch party, Mr. Curtis treated friends and family to live music and local food vendors. On their way out the door, each attendee received a pair of socks picturing Mr. Curtis with Utah’s iconic Delicate Arch in Arches National Park.

The state has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1970.

Ms. Gleich congratulated Mr. Curtis in a statement while saying she was proud of the campaign she ran and looked forward to working with Mr. Curtis to help protect the environment.

“While the result was not what we had hoped, we focused on critical issues: climate action, public lands and reproductive freedom,” Ms. Gleich said.

Mr. Curtis told reporters that Ms. Gleich is one of the hardest working people he has met in the Utah, and he commended her for putting so much heart into her campaign.

Moderate Republicans like Mr. Curtis tend to prevail in statewide elections in Utah.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who make up about half of the state’s 3.4 million residents, have been a reliably Republican voting bloc for decades. But many have been hesitant to embrace Mr. Trump and his allies, saying the former president’s brash style and comments about immigrants and refugees clash with their religious beliefs.