Opinion Today: What this means for America

Opinion writers take stock of what we've learned.

View in browser|nytimes.com November 7, 2024 By Laura Reston Deputy Op-Ed Editor Since Donald Trump took the stage at the Palm Beach Convention Center early Wednesday morning to deliver his freewheeling victory speech, Times Opinion's columnists and contributors have been offering their insights and reactions, explaining how we got here and what the future holds. Tyler Austin Harper argued that both political parties have fundamentally failed voters. Damon Linker wrote about what really brought Kamala Harris down. Daniel McCarthy explained how Trump met the moment, offering voters what they longed for most — change. And Miles Taylor, who served in the last Trump administration, issued a call to arms, urging principled conservatives to join the next administration, as painful as it might be for them. Trump is now on track to clinch the popular vote, and Democrats are still taking stock of the damage down ballot. But already, the contours of our new reality are emerging. Carlos Lozada delivered a trenchant column about who we are as a nation. Maureen Dowd wrote about Trump's enduring appeal. Bret Stephens laid the blame squarely at the feet of a Democratic Party of "prigs and pontificators." And Michelle Goldberg wrote about an idea that's haunted me since she first told me about it a few weeks ago: vnutrennaya emigratsia — a term the Russians use to describe their "internal exiles," people so disillusioned by the chaos around them that they turn away from politics to the comfort of their family, to the refuge of books and art. These next few years will test us as a nation. They will test whether decency, empathy and restraint can survive in an era of apathy and anger. Time and again, America has been pushed to the brink — but we survived those challenges. As our editorial board put it on Wednesday, "We are a nation that has always emerged from a crucible with its ideals intact and often toughened and sharpened." For now, America has made its choice — decisively, if narrowly. And at last, we know who will lead us through this closing chapter of our first 250 years as a nation. But if history has taught us anything, it is that the next chapter is where the real story begins. Read our coverage: Guest Essay What We Just Went Through Wasn't an Election. It Was a Hostage Situation. Telling people they have no choice but to vote for you shows deep contempt. By Tyler Austin Harper Guest Essay Kamala Harris Failed to Read the Room It was the wrong time to be the defender and champion of the country's governing establishment. By Damon Linker Guest Essay This Is Why Trump Won A vote for Trump meant a vote to evict a failed leadership class from power. By Daniel McCarthy Guest Essay I Quit the First Trump Administration. Principled People Must Serve in the Second. It's our best hope. By Miles Taylor Carlos Lozada Stop Pretending Trump Is Not Who We Are If we haven't learned our lesson now, when will we learn it? By Carlos Lozada Maureen Dowd It's This Man's, Man's, Man's World You can't count him out, sadly. By Maureen Dowd The Editorial Board America Makes a Perilous Choice How American democracy can endure through a second Trump presidency. By The Editorial Board Here's what we're focusing on today: Editors' Picks Guest Essay Democrats Ignored Gaza and Brought Down Their Party The war in the Middle East has become this era's most important progressive cause. By Peter Beinart More From Opinion The Ezra Klein Show Where Does This Leave Democrats? The coalition the Democratic Party built in the Obama years has crumbled. But Democrats can choose how to respond. 37 MIN LISTEN The Opinions Democrats Had a Theory of the Election. They Were Wrong. Two columnists argue the left neglected to hear what Americans were telling them over the past four years. 18 MIN LISTEN Pamela Paul Kamala Harris Took Women for Granted Apart from promising to safeguard abortion rights, the campaign didn't do enough to address other issues important to women. By Pamela Paul Tressie McMillan Cottom The Way Harris Lost Will Be Her Legacy Her loss is a sign that the age of identity politics is not over. By Tressie McMillan Cottom Guest Essay How I Discovered I Was Stolen at Birth There could have been as many 50,000 babies trafficked out of Chile between the 1950s and the 1990s. By Jimmy L. Thyden González Guest Essay Spanish Floods Have Opened the Door to Populism Rage can be a dangerous political tool. By Paco Cerdà David Brooks Voters to Elites: Do You See Me Now? Donald Trump is a monstrous narcissist, but there's something off about an educated class that looks in the mirror of society and sees only itself. By David Brooks letters What Trump's Victory Says About America Readers express fears for the future and speculate about why he won. Bret Stephens A Party of Prigs and Pontificators Suffers a Humiliating Defeat Democrats may feel righteous, but how's that ever going to be a winning electoral look? By Bret Stephens Michelle Goldberg This Is Who We Are Now The morning after the apocalypse. By Michelle Goldberg The Dollar's Rise Isn't a Vote of Confidence in Trump His tariff policy will not make America great again. By Peter Coy Nicholas Kristof My Manifesto for Despairing Democrats Here's how to be a watchdog, not a lapdog, for the next four tumultuous years, while holding on to your sanity. By Nicholas Kristof Don't Move to Canada Stick around and find a way to keep this disaster from happening again to the country our grandchildren will inherit. By David Firestone Matter of Opinion Trumpism Is Not a Fad Why America went with Trump, again. 24 MIN LISTEN Why Were Trump Voters Laughing? It's hard to understand why so many people loved the crudest insults. By Thomas L. Friedman We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. Games Here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle and Spelling Bee. If you're in the mood to play more, find all our games here. Forward this newsletter to friends to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com. If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other issues, visit our Help Page or contact The Times. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for the Opinion Today newsletter from The New York Times. To stop receiving Opinion Today, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. 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