Opinion Today: America moves into uncharted waters

Voters have selected Donald J. Trump as the next president of the United States.

View in browser|nytimes.com November 6, 2024 By Kathleen Kingsbury Opinion Editor America has spoken. Donald Trump will return to the White House. Times Opinion, and especially our editorial board, has repeatedly raised the alarm about how unfit a leader Trump has shown himself to be. Enough voters obviously, ultimately disagreed. Many did so because they are angered by high prices, or fearful of immigrants, or hopeful that the president-elect would cut their taxes. Opponents of Trump are just as certain that he poses a particular danger to the rule of law, the Constitution, democratic norms and the need for stable, predictable government. What is clear, as this board wrote before the election, is that Americans should believe that Trump will want to act on some of his most extreme, anti-democratic ideas — because he has done so before. It's also essential, though, to remember that America knows Donald Trump. Americans know how to stand up to Trump's worst instincts. "Civil servants, members of Congress, members of his own party and people he appointed to high office often stood in the way of the former president's plans" in his first term, the editorial board writes, "other institutions of our society, including the free press and independent law enforcement agencies, held him accountable to the public." Defeatism and despair cannot be the answer. Read the full editorial here. Damon Winter/The New York Times The Editorial Board America Makes a Perilous Choice How American democracy can endure through a second Trump presidency. By The Editorial Board Ask us anything: What should the country expect next? Times Opinion writers will be going live on Wednesday at 12 p.m. E.T. on Reddit to answer your questions about the election. Submit your questions beforehand here. Here's what we're focusing on today: Editors' Picks 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 More From Opinion Bret Stephens To Whom It May Concern Some tips for whoever ends up winning. By Bret Stephens 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 Maureen Dowd It's This Man's, Man's, Man's World You can't count him out, sadly. By Maureen Dowd Guest Essay Trump Offered Men Something That Democrats Never Could A set of easy answers that's a formula for more alienation and anger By Elizabeth Spiers Our Columnists and Writers on the Election Results Opinion journalists are in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina and New York analyzing the presidential race and key Senate and House contests. The Opinions 'If We Care About Justice in America, There's Going to Be a Lot of Work to Do' Two Opinion writers consider a second term for Donald Trump. 14 MIN LISTEN Could a Trump Victory Offer an 'Unlikely Opening to American Renewal'? By Ross Douthat and Ezra Klein Frank Bruni North Carolina Breaks Democrats' Hearts After several furious months of action, Harris came up short, and Trump came out on top. By Frank Bruni Michelle Cottle The Hyper-Close House Race That Could Make All the Difference If Democrats have any hope of taking control of the House, they need to win races like this one. By Michelle Cottle 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. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018