Former senator Tom Daschle says Trump is ‘the new norm’ in American politics, but he still sees brighter days ahead

Tom Daschle said we need to accept the reality exposed by the 2024 election: This is what we have become.

“Donald Trump is now who we are. He is not an aberration or an anomaly. He is the new norm,” Daschle told me in an email exchange after the results were known. “We need to prepare to live in a different America.”

The former Senate Democratic leader, who considered presidential runs in 2004 and 2008, said this year’s election was different from what we are used to experiencing every four years.

“This was a very historic election for many reasons: One has to go back to 1892 when Grover Cleveland, who had lost to Benjamin Harrison, came back in the next election to win,” he said. “Both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris brought many historic firsts to this election: First African-American/Asian-American woman to run as a major party candidate. First time a major candidate had only three months to wage a campaign.”

And one more notable exception, Daschle said.

“First time we have elected a convicted felon,” he said.

Trump has been convicted of 34 felonies for falsifying business records in an effort to obscure the affair he had with a porn star. Other criminal and civil cases have been filed against him, but some charges have been dropped since he was elected to a second term.

Daschle served eight years in the U.S. House of Representatives and 18 years in the U.S. Senate, rising to become the leader of the Senate Democrats. He served as both majority leader and minority leader until he was defeated by John Thune in a high-profile Senate race in 2004.

Thune was elected this past week as the Senate majority leader, leading Republicans, who hold a 53-47 edge.

While Trump and Thune celebrate victories, Vice President Kamala Harris is left wondering what she could have done differently.

While Trump ran up a sizable victory in the Electoral College, the national vote was close. Trump won by less than 2 percent.

“Kamala Harris ran an excellent race,” Daschle said. “She was nearly flawless and only had three months to bring it all together. I have great admiration for her.”

He said the election results were about more than a choice between two very dissimilar candidates.

“It wasn’t the first time, but this was, in many ways, a referendum on our democracy … and to a large extent, a character test for our nation,” Daschle said.

He said many voters supported Trump because they felt abandoned. In many ways, he doesn’t blame them.

 “For the majority of people, democracy hasn’t delivered,” Daschle said. “Seventy-five percent of the voters said they wanted change. This was largely a referendum on the last four years and the Biden administration.”

Because of that, they were willing to disregard Trump’s many flaws and misdeeds, the former South Dakota senator said.

“By a clear majority, voters chose to overlook character and maybe even the Constitution and rule of law, to vote for a convicted felon and someone who openly asserted that he would be a dictator because he personified change,” he said. “That was true for almost every demographic group except Black women.”

It is a troubling time. Many Americans feel lost, wondering what has happened to the United States that voters would support a man like Trump.

In the end, Daschle remains optimistic about the country. Yes, this is a troubling time, he admits.

“But there is no alternative to persevering. It does not require one to feel good. One can keep walking whether it is raining or sunny,” Daschle said. “That is true for Democrats in South Dakota and the nation. We have been through dark times in our history many, many times … and we have survived and even flourished. We will, once again.”

Fourth-generation South Dakotan Tom Lawrence has written for several newspapers and websites in South Dakota and other states for four decades. He has contributed to The New York Times, NPR, The London Telegraph, The Daily Beast and other media outlets. Do not republish without permission.

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