'Trump's America': Resounding win signals a different kind of country

In her closing rally on the Ellipse last week, Kamala Harris scorned Donald Trump as an outlier who did not represent America. "That is not who we are," she declared. In fact, it turns out, that may be exactly who we are. At least most of us.

- PETER BAKER

The assumption that Trump represented an anomaly who would at last be consigned to the ash heap of history was washed away on Tuesday night by a red current that swept through battleground states – and swept away the understanding of America long nurtured by its ruling elite of both parties.

No longer can the political establishment write off Trump as a temporary break from the long march of progress, a fluke who somehow sneaked into the White House in a quirky, one-off Electoral College win eight years ago. With his comeback victory to reclaim the presidency, Trump has now established himself as a transformational force reshaping the US in his own image.

Populist disenchantment with the nation's direction and resentment against elites proved to be deeper and more profound than many in both parties had recognized. Trump's testosterone-driven campaign capitalized on resistance to electing the first woman president.

And while tens of millions of voters still cast ballots against Trump, he once again tapped into a sense among many others that the country they knew was slipping away, under siege economically, culturally and demographically.

To counter that, those voters ratified the return of a brash 78-year-old champion willing to upend convention and take radical action even if it offends sensibilities or violates old standards. Any misgivings about their chosen leader were shoved to the side.

As a result, for the first time in history, Americans have elected a convicted criminal as president. They handed power back to a leader who tried to overturn a previous election, called for the "termination" of the Constitution to reclaim his office, aspired to be a dictator on Day 1 and vowed to exact "retribution" against his adversaries.