In a country founded by religious puritans, Obama bloomed as a righteous statesman, describing his defeat of Hillary Clinton to win the Democratic nomination as “the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal”.

In a stirring sermon to crowds in St Paul, Minnesota on June 3, 2008, he continued: “This was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment ... when we came together to remake this great nation”.

At a time of deep national anguish, Obama made Americans feel good about themselves.

While Trump is considered one of the most divisive presidents in modern American history, his campaign tapped into the same religious impulses and belief in American exceptionalism that run through the country’s bloodstream.

At his victory speech on Tuesday night, Trump said: “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.”

While commentators fixate on the racist rhetoric of Trump, the sheer magnitude of his victory and his appeal to minorities, including black and Latino men, requires a better take. Many of the 73 million people who voted for Trump also voted for Obama. Why?

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As it was in 2008, the United States is mired in malaise. On the world stage, there is a sense of a loss of standing. President Joe Biden’s image as a doddering octogenarian, stumbling through speeches and falling off his bike, was an embarrassment to Americans. Add to this Gaza, Ukraine, inflation, soaring housing costs, the culture wars and scenes of chaos at the border – and you have the perfect storm.

Yard signs for Trump read: Trump: Secure Border ~ Kamala: Open Border. While some may deride the messaging as racist, consider Obama’s position on immigration at the Democratic National Convention in Colorado in 2008: “I don’t know anyone who benefits when … an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers.”

In the same way that the Trump campaign appealed to working-class voters, Obama appealed to the dignity of working Americans who have been left behind: “This country is more generous than one where a man in Indiana has to pack up the equipment he’s worked on for 20 years and watch it shipped off to China.”

Even Trump’s criticism of the federal handling of Hurricane Helene, which ravaged the south-east last month, was reminiscent of Obama’s attacks on the Bush administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina.

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“We are more compassionate than a government … that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes,” Obama said at the Democratic National Convention.

Towards the end of this election, there was a mood shift in the Trump and Harris campaigns. While Vice President Kamala Harris started out on an upbeat note of hope and change, she closed with dark warnings about the dangers of Trump. Trump’s campaign worked in reverse. Front-loading with negative messaging, towards the end of the race, a new sign appeared at his rallies reading: DREAM BIG AGAIN. In his victory speech, Trump explored this theme, describing the successful launch of Elon Musk’s Starship booster – the largest, most powerful rocket in the world – which wowed audiences when it returned to its tower in Texas three weeks ago and was captured by giant tweezers.

While it might make Australians sneer, the idea of American exceptionalism is very much alive in the US. The idea that America can pick itself up again, that anything is possible, and in the words of former president Ronald Reagan, America remains a “shining city upon a hill”.

The world may not like Donald Trump. He’s a racist, a sexist, even a fascist to some. Yet, these names are meaningless to everyday Americans who saw in the MAGA movement something resembling hope and change.

Sarah Smiles Persinger is a former Age journalist. She lived in the United States from 2009-2023.

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