The bombastic ballots brought down the 'Blue' barrier, sweeping every one of the much-analysed "swing" states by two or three percentage points in a historic all-time triumph to deliver a second term to US President-elect Donald Trump. It made him only the second president in US history to win non-consecutive terms after being defeated at the end of his first term — the first was Grover Cleveland in 1892.
This election, where Trump not only won the electoral college but also 51% of the popular vote, signals a significant shift in American society. Trump received surging support from across the US and its various communities, securing 20% of the African-American vote, large segments of the US Latino population — which comprise nearly 20% of the United States' population. Around 36.2 million Latinos, who were mostly born in the USA, leaned more towards the Republicans in this election than they did in 2020, despite comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's controversial statement calling Puerto Rico — a US territory — a "floating pile of garbage", and the simmering sentiments of Haitian immigrants evoked by US Vice President-elect JD Vance, who labelled Haitians as being fond of devouring cats and dogs.
Trump's return to the White House as the 47th president of the United States, along with a majority in the US Senate, marks a roaring rise for the Republican party. The Republicans won most of the 33 Senate seats, which were up for grabs in the upper chamber of the US Congress, ensuring that the US Senate would turn red after spending some years as blue. Here, too, there was a mammoth shift by the public as the Republicans recorded key Senate victories in West Virginia and Ohio.
But even as the Republicans bask in their electoral victory, the million-dollar question remains: will this political victory wash over Trump's criminal convictions? Will Trump prove to be the man with nine lives?
The 'Land of Opportunity' has never faced a situation where the president-elect carries a conviction and is facing the prospect of being sentenced even before he is sworn in. He has already been convicted on 34 counts of felony related to falsifying business records in New York. A jury also found him guilty on charges of hush-money payments to a porn star. The sentencing in that case is set for November 26. Should a prison sentence be imposed, Trump's legal team is expected to promptly file an appeal, arguing that incarceration would interfere with his ability to fulfil official duties. Such an appeal could drag the case for years if pursued, potentially delaying any enforcement of the sentence for the foreseeable future.
In the Georgia Election Interference Case, Trump is accused of attempting to alter the 2020 election results. Then, there is a clear case of conflict of interest against District Attorney Fani Willis; Trump is also shielded by the Supremacy Clause and the duties associated with the presidency, and the case will likely be deferred until Trump's current term concludes.
Would Trump face his court cases while sitting on Capitol Hill? Or he will hide behind his presidential immunity as have our heads of state
Similarly, in the case of the classified documents, his handpicked appointees, Judge Aileen Cannon, had initially dismissed the charges in July, arguing that the Department of Justice had improperly appointed Jack Smith to lead the case. Smith has since filed an appeal against Judge Cannon's dismissal. The Department of Justice is likely to move to dismiss the classified documents case appeal in the Eleventh Circuit, citing procedural or immunity-based grounds. A similar fate is expected to befall the Capitol Hill Attack Case.
Owing to constitutional immunity for the president, it is established that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted. Hence, it is likely to lead to the potential dismissal of the election fraud case. Such legal questions have never been raised before, and he is the first US president to have been criminally convicted.
Would Trump face his court cases while sitting on Capitol Hill? Or he will hide behind his presidential immunity as have our heads of state.
Trump's court cases and criminal convictions carry a sharp melancholic mimicry with cases and convictions of politicians in the 'Land of the Pure', Pakistan. The political and government leaders in Pakistan, who did not hide behind their constitutional immunity, went on to face the music in appalling, inhuman conditions, which international human rights associations have repeatedly questioned.
If the US takes some tips from friends from across the Atlantic on prosecuting potentially corrupt and criminal politicians, the newly-elected American president could dismiss Special Prosecutor Jack Smith if he refuses to drop the case. This move was teased in an October radio interview, where Trump stated he could have Smith removed "within two seconds" if given the chance.
Washington has its own witch hunt. On election night, viewers watched a story on Russia's English language news channel (RT), which reported that the US elections were a mess
In a striking similarity of sweepstakes from the superior judiciary, where the courts have come to the rescue of the powerful be it Pakistan or America, the US Supreme Court ruled that the former president was partially immune from criminal prosecution for actions undertaken within official duties, therefore potentially upon his reelection as president, his criminal cases may "effectively end."
There is much talk of similarities surrounding political power plays in both countries, such as foreign interference and electoral fraud.
Be it Washington or Islamabad, controversies and conspiracy theories surround both capitals, especially on the eve of elections. Political problems in both countries have striking similarities, almost having a Polaroid presentation buzzing with rumours of the Russians playing roulette with the Republicans or talk of supposedly compromised voting machines, which the Land of Opportunity has, and we in the land of 'Have Nots', were denied by the powers that be. Ballot boxes are left unattended in the backs of cars or the middle of the streets in the Land of Opportunity while our ballot boxes, under the influence of extra-terrestrial powers, present non-plausible tallies between forms 45 and 47s. Last, but not least, there is controversy regarding President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, his laptop and the quid pro quo.
The only items on the list of political melodrama that the 50 states of the US lack are the mind-boggling internet disruptions. Sharks have come to the rescue of the election commission, chewing on the underground internet cable, bringing down almost every election management system that the election commission has mustered in Pakistan during recent elections. From the Result Management System (RMS) in 2013 (GE), the Result Transmission System (RTS) in 2018 and the Election Monitoring System (EMS) which died in 2024, the sharks have undermined the democratic facade of Pakistan's general elections. Somehow, sharks like to feed on the deep sea internet cables, much to the wonder of the humans of this state, which is systematically steered by slithering shadows.
Washington has its own witch hunt. On election night, viewers watched a story on Russia's English language news channel (RT), which reported that the US elections were a mess, with officials in states like Michigan, Arizona, and Maryland allegedly faking tech issues to flip Trump votes over to Harris claiming that the "Deep people against a deep state" situation, predicting a civil war in what he called a "dysfunctional state."
For many Americans, the economy feels like it's hanging by a thread – they're dealing with price jumps they haven't seen since the '70s, and it's hitting hard
Meanwhile, the FBI reported that over 50 election sites across five swing states got hit with bogus bomb threats on election day. Emails from four of these states traced back to a Russian domain. However, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the Russian Embassy in the US fired back, calling the FBI's claims "malicious slander."
Amidst slander and controversy drawing parallels from our Land of the Pure, it seems the poem "Zauq" had coined his iconic poetry for this very moment in every nation's journey toward self-realisation.
“zabān-e-ḳhalq ko naqqāra-e-ḳhudā samjho”
As Americans, hit hard by their economic plight, exercised their right to franchise for their 47th president, many people in the US felt like they were in a worse spot than they were four years back. For many Americans, the economy feels like it's hanging by a thread – they're dealing with price jumps they haven't seen since the '70s, and it's hitting hard.
Abortion as an electoral issue was never really going to outshine topics like the economy because money's the main thing folks are struggling with every single day. The same goes for immigration – it didn't pack the punch in votes that some thought it would. So, in the end, the economy took centre stage over the two big issues each side was betting on.
Be it domestic or foreign front, the 47th President of the United States will have his plate full. It remains to be seen whether Trump's reelection would propel America in a new direction. Donald Trump's return to the White House promises to shake up US foreign policy to its core, bringing some potentially wild changes even as parts of the world deal with wars and widespread unrest.
We can only guess where Donald Trump is headed in his second term. He's made it loud and clear his goal is to end the endless wars and cut back on the drain of America's resources overseas
On the campaign trail, Trump threw out big-picture promises without digging into specifics, sticking to his "America First" game plan, leaning toward non-intervention and tough trade stances. But his victory marks one of the biggest shake-ups in DC's foreign policy playbook in years, right in the middle of a global crisis cocktail.
Based on his past remarks and what actions he undertook while in office from 2017 to 2021, we can only guess where Donald Trump is headed in his second term. He's made it loud and clear his goal is to end the endless wars and cut back on the drain of America's resources overseas.
Trump, the dealmaker behind the "Abraham Accords," which brought Israel and several Arab and Muslim countries together, is now promising to bring "peace" to the Middle East. He's hinting he'll tackle the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon head-on.
We wish Washington and its 47th captain Godspeed for "Novus Ordo Seclorum".