The 2024 Election Post-Mortem: How Trump Beat the Odds

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Jul 7, 2025

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Join reporters Isaac Arnsdorf, Josh Dawsey, and Tyler Pager as they dissect Trump's surprising return to the presidency. They delve into the chaos of the election with insights on Biden's age-related struggles and strategic errors, as well as Kamala Harris's cautious campaign approach. The trio discusses Trump's political maneuvers, the internal dynamics of the Republican Party, and the Democrats' disconnect with voters. Expect a blend of sharp analysis and engaging anecdotes on what led to this dramatic political landscape.

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INSIGHT

Trump's Republican Dominance

Trump is extraordinarily powerful within the Republican Party, often pressuring members into conformity.
His approach wears down opposition through relentless campaigning and mobilizing base pressure.

INSIGHT

Indictments Fueled Trump's Comeback

Trump was vulnerable early in the campaign with low lawmaker support and multiple indictments.
Indictments paradoxically rallied Republican support around him, enabling his comeback.

INSIGHT

Biden's Uneasy Path to Nomination

Biden ran for reelection by default, leaving little room for primary challengers.
The Democratic base showed low enthusiasm for Biden, seeing him as too old and uninspiring.

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Despite the chaos of January 6th, 34 felony convictions, and his party’s underperformance in the 2022 midterms, Donald J. Trump is once again president.

How did he defy political gravity to win again? Why did former President Joe Biden run despite overwhelming evidence that voters didn’t want him to? Was there a coverup to conceal his decline, as Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s book, “Original Sin” alleges? Why did former Vice President Harris run such a cautious campaign and refuse to distance herself from Biden? And was she doomed by Biden’s late withdrawal, or did her own mistakes cost her the election?

As America enters its 250th year and a new political era, Kara speaks with the authors of 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America to answer these questions and understand how we got here. The trio breaks down how Trump beat back his Republican primary opponents, the Biden campaign’s fatal missteps, the Harris campaign’s stifling paralysis, and why Trump is now governing more like a king than a president.

Isaac Arnsdorf is a senior White House reporter for The Washington Post. His reporting on the first Trump assasination attempt was essential to the Posts’s 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News, and he’s the author of "Finish What We Started," about the MAGA movement post January 6th.

Josh Dawsey is a political investigations and enterprise reporter for The Wall Street Journal. Josh was part of teams at The Washington Post that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2022 for coverage of Jan. 6 and in 2024 for coverage of the role of the AR-15 in American life.

And Tyler Pager is a White House correspondent for The New York Times. In 2022, he won the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher.

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