Why Trump took back the White House
Donald Trump won a decisive victory in November, securing both the electoral and the popular vote. Although many of his policies have broad voter support, Trump himself remains a polarizing figure. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party has lost appeal for significant portions of the country, including once stalwart supporters like the working-class and minority voters.
Experts from all sides of the political aisle convened at this year’s annual Warschaw Conference on Practical Politics hosted by the Center for the Political Future (CPF) at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences to discuss why Trump’s campaign succeeded with voters, why Kamala Harris’ didn’t, and what the future might hold for the two parties.
At the conference, political commentator and host of PBS’s Firing Line Margaret Hoover conducted a taping of the program with Democratic strategist James Carville, who helped Bill Clinton take the White House in 1992, and veteran Republican strategist Mike Murphy, co-director of CPF.
The three held a wide-ranging discussion that touched on the Republicans’ successful populist makeover, what Harris’s campaign might have done differently, and whether the “Make America Great Again” camp could see schisms soon.