'Unfettered power' - North East academics react to Donald Trump's election win

Academics in the North East believe Donald Trump will wield huge power following his election victory over Kamala Harris.

Mr Trump will become the 47th president of the USA after winning 277 electoral votes compared to the Vice President's 224. It is the first time in more than 125 years a president has returned after leaving office.

While Prime Minister Keir Starmer has congratulated Mr Trump on his "historic" victory, there are fears around the President-Elect's foreign and trade policies which could have major impacts around the world.

Northumbria University's Dr Patrick Andelic, whose research focuses on US politics and history, explained why he believed Mr Trump had been victorious.

Dr Andelic said: "It's very striking that it wasn't just that Donald Trump won, it seems to be a pretty massive rejection of the Democratic party and the Biden-Harris administration.

"We have seen a lot of governments struggle with high inflation and lose elections. Donald Trump was able to stand on what he persuaded voters was a very good record.

"The Democrats have gone backwards in states like Minnesota and New York. Trump was the first Republican in 20 years to win the popular vote.

"The Democratic strategy over the last eight years has been disqualifying Trump as a politician - a threat to democracy and unsuitable to be president. There is a majority of Americans where that has not cut through."

Newcastle University's Dr Martin Farr, a Senior Lecturer in the history department, stressed the significance of Mr Trump's comeback.

He said: "It's the biggest comeback since 1892, which was the last time a president - Cleveland - returned after leaving office. Nixon in 1968 is the closest recent example.

"But it's of incalculable significance not only because it's a comeback, but because of what the president intends to do with their second term, which is to be transformational.

"The first Trump administration in 2016, was unexpected, largely unprepared, and incompetent. Trump and his supporters did not believe in the legitimacy of the 2020 election which removed them, and spent the entirely of the Biden presidency preparing to return, and to avenge their defeat by 'mainstream media' and the 'administrative state'.

"As the Republicans also yesterday won the Senate, and likely the House, Trump will have at least two years of almost unfettered power. The world waits."

And Dr David Anderson, an associate professor in US Politics at Durham University, said the election would change America "forever".

Dr Anderson said: "The results of the US election and the strong re-election of Donald Trump will have huge consequences across America and the globe.

"Trump has promised to reshape American government and public policy and now has the mandate to do that. Whereas in 2016 his political opponents argued that he won a narrow election and had never provided a clear, realistic agenda, this time he was clear about how he intended to govern and what he would do.

"He will return to the presidency, again, with the Supreme Court, US Senate, and - likely - the House of Representatives united under Republican control, so there are no real checks upon his power. Further, he has much greater control over his own party and has purged any real resistance from its ranks.

"Whatever he wants to do, he will not only be able to accomplish but will be assisted by the other branches of government. Over the next four years, he will change the institutions of American governance, its domestic and foreign policy, and the tenor of its politics.

"This was an election that will change America forever, as well as its place within the world."

Meanwhile, politicians across the North East have remained tight-lipped about the result. The Local Democracy Reporting Service made several requests for comment, but did not receive any responses.

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