Pollsters were unilateral on one of the most closely-fought elections in U.S history, with Harris predicted a very minor lead nationally. Fast forward to the day after the election, and for the third time running, pollsters were wrong. Trump has won the popular vote and the electoral college by a wide margin, including all seven swing states.

So, what went wrong for Harris?

A disastrous and unfocused campaign is my answer. If it were not so, she could have gained an historic victory, rather than being beaten by an impeached and convicted felon with outlandish policies and some of the most “memorable” quotes in the history of U.S. politics.

“They’re eating the dogs” has to be my personal favourite.

On a more serious note, the way the Harris campaign sealed the coffin of a Democratic win was the lack of attention to policy, focussing on trivial matters that would never push the needle enough for victory, such as celebrity endorsements, and overly provocative and continuous attacks on Trump’s character.

Of course, Trump is no better when it comes to insulting his opponent. The man lives for trash talk. The difference is, he has talked extensively about his plans for America, however controversial they may be. In almost every rally, Trump boasted about how there were “no wars” under his administration and that under the Biden-Harris administration the Middle East is in disarray and Ukraine is struggling for it’s survival.

He also promised undecided voters that he would end both the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours of election (the clock is ticking) and conflict in the Middle East. Although he has refused to explain how, many were satisfied with his promise of peace, which Harris did not deliver. On foreign policy, she presents similar policies to the incumbent President Biden, who has been unable to end both conflicts.

That brings me onto the next reason for Harris’ downfall; refusal to distance herself from the unpopular incumbent, Joe Biden.

It seems that Kamala Harris forgot the circumstances that led to Biden’s withdrawal from the Presidential election in the first place: inflation, foreign policy failures, an inability to tackle illegal migration, rapidly declining physical health and a catastrophic debate performance. Moreover, she was not chosen as the Democratic candidate by the usual ‘democratic’ process, but was essentially thrust on the debate stage with Trump after swathes of endorsements from the Party elites: including Biden, Obama the Clintons and Nancy Pelosi.

Harris’ links to Biden compromised her position as a candidate for change from the outset. If she had more overtly marketed herself as a different candidate to Joe Biden, specifically outlining how she would do things differently to bring peace abroad, tackle illegal immigration and support the economy, then things might have been different.

But, no. She doubled down on the notion that Joe Biden was an excellent President who graciously stepped down, refusing to even discuss how her administration would differ from his, expect in one with Fox News which was far too late in the race to matter.

This told American voters: “I’m going to be Joe Biden V2 and I don’t have any different ideas on policy”. The disgruntled populace chose the other side. They did not buy that Harris was the ‘breath of fresh air’ she was so desperate to be.

I also think the “Biden for Trump” conspiracy deserves an honourable mention. The President certainly did not help his running-mate’s chances by ruining many of her chances to attack the Republican opposition. Firstly, during the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, while Harris attacked Florida governor Ron De Santis for being “selfish”, Biden undermined her, praising the Trump-backed politician for his “gracious” and “co-operative” response.

In a recent gaffe, just days before the election, Biden called all of Trump’s supporters “garbage” in response to a comedian’s perceived racist joke at Trump’s flagship rally. This would have been a perfect opportunity for Harris to have a go at her opponent for his apparent closed-mindedness by allowing such a joke to be made, but Biden threw away the opportunity by attacking half of the country.

These conditions created the environment for a landslide and a remarkable Trump victory, defying all odds in his political comeback. Additionally, the need for a ‘breath of fresh air’ echoed in the Senate and Congressional races, with Republicans winning control of Congress. This makes it much easier for President-Elect Trump to pass laws.

Whilst many in the U.S. and around the world will be disappointed by this result, the beauty of democracy is that everybody has a voice, and on the fifth of November, America has spoken.