RICHMOND, Va. — With Donald Trump projected to win the 2024 presidential election, Scripps News deputy political director Joe St. George joined CBS 6 This Morning to discuss the significance of a Trump second term.
"There's been projections in five of the seven swing states, all for [Trump], and he's leading in the remaining two, Arizona and Michigan," St. George said. "He could be doing a clean sweep of the seven battleground states over performing where he did four years ago, in urban areas, rural areas, suburban areas in many parts of the country."
With the overwhelming victory, St. George said Trump's camp now believes he has a mandate to lead.
"I think a big question in a Trump 2.0 is, well, does he have the House of Representatives? We know he has the Senate. Are Democrats able to flip that? We still haven't been able to call who's going to control the House. That will be a big question mark," St. George said. "If Trump has a trifecta, he's going to be able to move through a lot of his agenda items a lot easier now, because he has a lot of loyalty in the leadership ranks in the Republican Party. If Democrats are able to flip the House, that's a check on his power."
St. George admitted there are a lot of questions about what Trump 2.0 will look like for the United States and Virginia.
"I'm thinking of things like the Department of Education. Virginia has a lot of federal workers, especially on the northern edge of our viewing area in the Richmond media market. They're wondering, well, what will Elon Musk do, who's talked about shrinking the size of the federal government," St. George said.
He added the outcome has led to soul-searching within the Democratic Party, with questions about the timing of President Biden's exit from the race and the performance of Vice President Harris on the campaign trail.
"There will be criticism of the Biden-Harris administration. What did Democrats do over the course of the four years that ultimately resulted in a rejection of their policies by so many Americans in these key swing states that ultimately decide elections in our country?" he asked.
What factors do you think led Trump's victory? Email the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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