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Niall Ferguson: The Resurrection of Donald J. Trump
Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Reading, Pennsylvania, on November 4, 2024. (Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)

Niall Ferguson: The Resurrection of Donald J. Trump

Trump’s victory is a blow to political lawfare, critical race theory, woke campuses, legacy media, and Hollywood. It’s a win for a new generation of builders like Elon Musk.

It’s tempting for me to say this isn’t a surprise.

Back in May last year, I predicted “Trump’s second act,” telling Spectator readers: “He can still win, in spite of everything.” My point was that the Democrats’ strategy of lawfare against Donald Trump was highly likely to backfire. “If Lula [da Silva] can come back from one-and-a-half-years in jail to win” the Brazilian presidency, I wrote, “Trump may have little to worry about, as there isn’t the slightest chance of his being locked up between now and Election Day next year. Indeed, the perception that Democratic operatives are using the legal system for political ends will likely help him win votes.”

“Joe Biden,” I concluded, “is in serious danger of following Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H.W. Bush into the bin marked ‘one-term presidents.’ ” 

Last week, too, I was ready to predict that Kamala Harris was destined for the bin marked “incumbent vice presidents who lost.”

Nevertheless, I am surprised by the scale of Trump’s win. 

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