These pages have criticized former President Donald Trump on everything from misguided policy ideas like tariffs to his rude tone and propensity for praising the world’s dictators.

And yet, despite the outrage of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, his party stood by him, and the electorate, however divided, has opted to return him to the Oval Office in a free and fair election.

Why?

Simple question with no one answer. One key factor, certainly, is a widespread discontentment with the state of the economy.

By any objective measure, the U.S. economy is the envy of the rest of the world. But for many Americans, that’s irrelevant. They know that the sharp inflation that followed the pandemic continues to pinch their pocketbook. They are reminded every time they go to the supermarket. Yes, the inflation rate has subsided. Prices remain high, and they are not coming down.

Even worse, a generation finds itself struggling to afford shelter. Rents are high, and the dream of home ownership is increasingly distant for many young adults.

President Joe Biden, and intended successor Vice President Kamala Harris, offered policy solutions that obviously didn’t resonate with too much of the electorate.

We thought democracy would be tested once again with the threat of litigation had Trump lost.

But America has spoken. For many that is great news, for others it is not. Regardless who you voted for, the reality is that once again our nation’s election system worked. The 2024 election should put to rest any doubts that our elections remain free, fair and accurate.

Sure there were some problems on Election Day. When you have 50 states and thousands of precincts counting votes, you’re going to have issues. In some places there were issues with power outages. In some, bomb threats, presumably by foreign actors, delayed or halted voting. But in the end, it appears that everyone that wanted to and could, cast a vote.

During his victory speech to supporters, president-elect Trump spoke of “healing” our country. “It’s time to put the divisions of the past four years behind us. It’s time to unite.” But, with this being Trump’s last term as president, he’ll be coming in as a lame duck. Typically not a lot gets accomplished in a president’s second term.

As of now, we do not know what party will control the House of Representatives. We could very well have a divided government again. That could make getting anything done even harder. We hope that president-elect Trump is true to his word and works for everyone and brings people together to find real solutions and compromises to help move our country forward.

But Trump’s impending return to power leaves us uneasy, not only because of his threats to go after political opponents and people that don’t like him — or, his jabs and threats at journalists. We are uneasy because some of his policies, like tariffs on foreign goods, could do more damage to the economy.

What we do know for sure is that for now, democracy worked. No matter who you supported for president the democratic institution of voting has survived.

The Free Press (Mankato, Minn.)