Racism, men and 'garbage' Ten key waypoints of winning campaign

Donald Trump's shock return to the White House has delighted his tens of millions of supporters in the US but stunned the rest of the country and much of the world.

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Few would have imagined such a scenario when Trump left office in disgrace in January 2021, in the aftermath of the attack on the Capitol in Washington DC and facing a long list of legal travails.

But his campaign has won back the Oval Office. It was possibly one of the most extreme campaigns in recent history, dogged by racist language, violent rhetoric and a profound sense of grievance. But it resonated with enough people in America to carve out a second Trump term and take the US into unexplored political terrain.

Here are some key issues and events from the campaign.

A low-energy beginning

When Trump launched his campaign from his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, it surprised many with its low-key feel - and it certainly did not entirely presage the fury and resentment that came to define it as the campaign played out. Trump's speech and demeanour were low-energy. "Trump has done this schtick so many times before that he seemed bored by the text," the news website Axios noted.

Immigration (and racism) become the centrepiece

Continuing from the themes of his presidency, Trump's campaign made immigration and the US border with Mexico a central plank of his campaign. Using racist and violent language, he and his surrogates painted America as a nation assailed by violent immigrants. This was especially true when Trump and others inflamed baseless rumours that (legal) Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, were killing their neighbours' pets to eat them. The lies sparked a civic crisis in the town. But rather than back off, the Trump campaign doubled down.

Assassination attempts and a memorable image