Ten years after Donald Trump’s historic victory, American politics remains marked by sharp polarization, institutional conflicts and distrust. The 2026 midterm elections, in which Republicans lost control of the Senate and the House of Representatives, became a sign of the accumulated political exhaustion after a decade of populism and instability.
Trump won the presidential election on November 8, 2016, against Hillary Clinton with 306 Electoral College votes to 232, although he received fewer votes nationwide. His victory was built on the discontent of a significant part of the white working class, distrust of Washington and a sense of lost national control.
The slogan “Make America Great Again” functioned more as an emotional promise than as a detailed political program. Trump identified the political elite, the media, immigrants and international treaties as the culprits behind public discontent. From the outset, he violated established presidential norms, attacked the media as the “enemy of the people,” used social media as a governing tool and turned political disputes into battles over personal loyalty.
Migration, Tariffs and Withdrawal from Treaties
A week after taking office, Trump signed an order banning the entry into the United States of citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries. The measure was modified after legal challenges, but protests at airports turned migration policy into one of the main symbols of his presidency.
Along the border with Mexico, his administration directed federal and military resources toward building barriers and introduced a policy of “zero tolerance.” It led to thousands of children being separated from their parents, triggered international criticism and was curtailed after legal pressure.
In 2017, Trump approved a sweeping tax cut, whose greatest benefits went to corporations and high-income earners. His more recognizable economic instrument, however, remained tariffs. The trade war with China affected entire sectors of the global economy, while tariffs on steel and aluminum were also imposed on European allies.
Washington withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Paris climate agreement, the nuclear deal with Iran and the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles with Russia. At the same time, Trump insisted that European countries spend more on defense and repeatedly questioned the value of NATO.
Impeachment, Elections and the Storming of the Capitol
In 2019, a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky led to the first impeachment proceedings against Trump. The House of Representatives accused him of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over pressure on Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, then his political rival. The Republican-controlled Senate acquitted him in February 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic deepened the crisis of trust after Trump downplayed the threat posed by the virus, clashed with health experts and supported treatments without sufficient scientific justification.
After losing to Biden in 2020, Trump refused to concede the result and spread claims of widespread fraud that did not stand up in court. On January 6, 2021, his supporters stormed the Capitol to disrupt the certification of Biden’s victory. The subsequent second impeachment proceedings further entrenched the country’s division.
Ten years after the 2016 election, the Republicans’ loss of both chambers of Congress shows that Trump’s political model continues to mobilize his base, but now also carries a serious cost for his party. American politics remains transformed, while the conflict between the executive branch, Congress and society continues to shape the country’s direction.