As Donald Trump was named America’s 47th president-elect, the world’s news outlets reacted rapidly – and in a multitude of ways.
American media were anxious about the future of democracy
Uncertainty was the prevailing mood in the American news. The New York Times suggested Trump’s win this morning will begin “a new era of uncertainty for the nation”, and CNN went further, calling it “a moment of historic consequence for American democracy”.
Reuters said a Trump presidency would “test democratic institutions at home and relations abroad”.
Many outlets felt Trump’s victory was an unlikely comeback from his 2020 loss to current President Joe Biden. USA Today said: “Four years ago, Donald Trump by most measures was a political pariah. Now he’s a president in waiting.”
British media were explosively split along political lines
The Guardian, who also called Trump’s victory a “stunning resurrection”, led with the fact that Trump is the first convicted criminal to win the White House.
Whilst the American media seemed hesitant to editorialise, the British media on both the left and the right had no such hang-ups. The Daily Star’s explosive headline quoted a body language expert, saying: “Manbaby Trump’s ‘childish’ body language shows he knows ‘he’s got away with something.'”
By contrast, the Spectator’s political commentator Brendan O’Neill wrote: “So now we know what happens when you sneer at voters as ‘garbage’” – referring to Joe Biden’s gaffe last week in which he appeared to call Trump supporters just that.
A similarly triumphalist Daily Mail headline read: “Sore loser American liberals lose their minds over Trump’s victory”. GB News so as far as to ask: “Can Nigel Farage replicate the Trump win in Britain for Reform?”
The Times’ US editor David Charter speculated on why America voted the way it did.
Charter wrote: “In the end Americans voted narrowly to reinstate a man they believed ran a better economy and a better border than the Democrats. Harris could not match their appeal despite trying to sell the biggest idea of all – saving American democracy.”
The Telegraph’s coverage broadly praised Trump, with editor Chris Evans writing in his editor’s letter: “Tim Stanley writes that Trump’s success was built on the promise of economic and emotional renewal after malaise under the Democrats, while Camilla Tominey argues that Kamala Harris ran the worst presidential campaign in modern American history.”
The Express was most interested in how Trump’s victory will affect the stock market. Its top headline read: “Stocks up, Bitcoin up, inflation up, Euro crashes! Here’s what Trump means for your money.”
The rest of the world weighs in
Spanish newspaper El País was strongly critical of Trump, calling his political message “apocalyptic, authoritarian and xenophobic”.
German newspaper Bild chastised losing electoral candidate Kamala Harris, saying she “gambled away the victory”. Its article listed the campaign mistakes it believed Harris had made, including talking too much about Trump, not distancing herself enough from her predecessor Biden, and neglecting key issues of jobs, prices and immigration whilst over-focusing on women’s issues.
Bild also said: “The Republican candidate appeared to be down to earth: Trump at the deep fryer, Trump in the garbage truck. And Harris? She smiled in the fine cashmere suit from the Vogue cover.”
Marwan Bishara, senior political analyst at Qatar-funded outlet Al Jazeera, said: “We are talking about a president of the United States, his party is in control of the Senate, and he has his judges at the Supreme Court.
“This man, Donald Trump, is going to be able to do things that were unthinkable for most presidents since the Second World War.”
Featured image: United States Senate-Office of Dan Sullivan via Wikicommons