Since Donald Trump won the 2024 election, his campaign has labeled his victory a “landslide” and even marketed merchandise like the “Official Trump Victory Glass.” However, his win was not a landslide by any means.
According to a new report by the New York Times, Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris with one of the smallest margins of victory in the popular vote since the 19th century.
The publication’s election tally showed Mr. Trump won the popular vote with 49.997 percent as of Thursday (Nov. 21). A different count used by CNN shows him winning by 49.9 percent. His margin over Vice President Harris was around 1.6 percentage points—the third smallest since 1888.
Trump and his team are pushing the notion of a “resounding margin” (as stated by one of his aides) likely to make it seem that the president-elect is more popular than he actually is.
This perception, some believe, is also a tool to make Trump seem like a more indelible figure when it comes to pushing through a radical agenda, which includes dismantling the Department of Education and deporting illegal immigrants at alarming rates.
His Cabinet, which critics have complained comprise of unqualified loyalists, was also pushed through at lightning speed. However, when Trump nominated Matt Gaetz—a former Republican congressman from Florida who has been accused of sex trafficking—he faced immediate backlash.
Gaetz was ultimately replaced by one of Trump’s lawyers, Pam Bondi. Despite all of this and the the NYT’s report that claims Trump won by the smallest of margins, Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung in a statement remained steadfast that the former president beat Harris by a landslide.
“President Trump won in dominating and historic fashion after the Democrats and the fake news media peddled outright lies and disinformation throughout the campaign,” he said.
Trump garnered the popular vote for the first time after three consecutive attempts and became the first Republican to win it in two decades.