This is In Conversation from Apple News.

I'm Shemita Basu. Today, why Americans morning, Donald Trump was declared the winner of the 2024 presidential election.

In the hours and days since, we're getting more detailed results.

As of Thursday, when we're recording this episode, Trump is on track to sweep all of the swing states.

Republicans have taken control of the Senate and are favored to take the House too.

In his victory speech, President-elect Trump referenced his broad coalition, the widest and most diverse Republicans have had in decades.

They came from all quarters, union, non-union, African American, Hispanic American, Asian

American, Arab American, Muslim American.

We had everybody, and it was beautiful.

It was a historic realignment.

This week, I wanted to talk to someone who could analyze what this outcome says about what people are wanting in this moment.

And why, for so many, they're betting on Trump to get us closer to it.

George Packer is a staff writer for The Atlantic, an author, and a historian.

His work stands out because he has spent lots of time having conversations with Americans

of all walks of life all over the country.

And he told me that this week's results are consistent with what he's been hearing all year.

I'm not particularly surprised.

It seemed like it could go either way, but we know that Donald Trump has a perennial appeal

for almost half the country.

So there was no way this was going to be an easy win for Kamala Harris, nor was it going

to be an easy win for Donald Trump.

People are talking as if it was a landslide.

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