MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, will be the 47th. Trump addressed supporters gathered in Florida around 2:30 this morning.
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DONALD TRUMP: This was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time. There's never been anything like this in this country and maybe beyond. And now it's going to reach a new level of importance because we're going to help our country heal. We're going to help our country heal.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
So much to discuss in the hours, days and months ahead. In a moment, we'll ask a Democratic pollster what went wrong for Vice President Harris. First, we check in with our correspondents.
MARTIN: Franco Ordoñez has been following the Trump campaign, and he's on the line with us now from Florida. Good morning.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: And Deepa Shivaram has been following the Harris campaign. She's in Washington, D.C. Hi, Deepa.
DEEPA SHIVARAM, BYLINE: Hey there.
MARTIN: We're going to start with Franco. Franco, a strong showing for the former president and now president-elect. What did he say in his remarks?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, I mean, it was a more positive speech than we're kind of used to from him, certainly recently. I mean, we did not hear the grievances and promises of retribution that we've kind of come to expect these last few days of the campaign trail, or the last few weeks. He did not mention his opponent, though, Vice President Kamala Harris, in his speech. Instead, he thanked voters for the honor of electing him, and, as you just heard there, he said it was time to heal the nation. He also boasted of his diverse coalition of supporters and what it would mean for how he'd lead.
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TRUMP: America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate. We have taken back control of the Senate. Wow, that's good.
ORDOÑEZ: He took credit for those victories, actually, saying they were part of his movement.
MARTIN: So let's go to Deepa now. You were at the Harris event at Howard University last night, which is here in Washington, D.C. When did it become clear that things were not going her way?
SHIVARAM: You know, I would say it was around 11 p.m.-ish. And, you know, the night before that started off really exuberant, and, you know, before the results really started rolling in, there was dancing and singing and just a lot of anticipation for this, you know, potential that Kamala Harris could come to Howard, her alma mater, and make remarks. And then, yeah, at around 11 p.m. - I think it was even before North Carolina was called for former President Trump - you know, the campaign had these big TV screens at their watch party, and folks were - you know, it was about a couple thousand people there, but it was very quiet. And people were just aptly watching the TV screens and, you know, just in a very hushed way. The morale got really low, I would say. The energy got really low. And at one point, you know, the crowd started shouting for the DJ to turn the music back on. So they muted CNN. They started blasting music, but it was sort of this jilted kind of atmosphere. And, you know, I'll tell you, people started leaving the events, streaming out well before, you know, the campaign told folks that Harris wouldn't be speaking that night.
MARTIN: This was a big sweep for Trump in the key states. He is set to be very empowered as he returns to the White House. So, Franco, talk about what resonated with his voters. I mean, you spent a lot of time on the campaign trail. What do you think resonated?
ORDOÑEZ: You know, for a lot of people, it was the economy, but for others, it was absolutely the persona. I mean, he kind of had two tracks in this campaign. There was the policy message about the economy, about the border. She broke it; I'll fix it - you know, those comments. But the second track was a much darker one. It was the unscripted one. It was so bent on grievances and losing the 2020 election and seeking retribution against political enemies, who he described as the enemy within. You know, over and over, you know, the supporters who I talked to told me that what appealed to them was how he spoke, that he wasn't politically correct, that he wasn't a, quote, "politician." It was the policy positions, though, that helped with the more moderate voters. You know, they may not have appreciated the rhetoric, but the more immediate concern they had was their pocketbooks.
MARTIN: We've talked a lot about this, Franco. You spent a lot of time on the campaign trail. You spent a lot of time with the former president. Now that he's returning to office, wow do you think you're going to remember this moment?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, I'll think about, you know, his speech today, talking about the mandate, how he's kind of portraying this victory and what it means to him. You know, here's more of what he said, actually.
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TRUMP: Many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason, and that reason was to save our country and to restore America to greatness.
ORDOÑEZ: You know, big picture also is just how stunning of a political comeback this was. I mean, his career was supposed to be over after the January 6 attack. Then there were the multiple indictments. And now he's about to walk back into the White House as the first convicted felon to take office. I mean, he was really able to tap into something so profound that Americans just looked over all the other stuff.
MARTIN: And not only that - the fact that so many people who worked closely with him went public to say that they did not believe that he should be returned to office is also kind of truly remarkable. Deepa, before we let you go, just briefly, is there a moment that stands out to you from your time with the Harris campaign?
SHIVARAM: I would say I think it was her closing message, right? She really almost, you know, kicked off her campaign that was so short, only 107 days, with this feeling of trying to bring back some joyfulness into politics. And then the campaign got really serious, of course, with a lot of policy issues and policy ideas that she talked about. But at the end there, I really think she ran the race as herself. She talked about her story, her history and, you know, why she was in the race and ended making it about her, rather than about Trump, and that really stood out to me.
MARTIN: It's just - it's going to be a lot to talk about, but just a truly remarkable and extraordinary moment in American politics. That's NPR's Franco Ordoñez and Deepa Shivaram. Thank you both.
ORDOÑEZ: Thank you, Michel.
SHIVARAM: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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