Conservative culture is raging in a contest against high-minded ideals, and former President Donald Trump is returning to power riding the wave of discontent with America's political left.

Many are stunned and wondering how this could have happened, but no one should be surprised. The signs were there for months.

While the polls showed the race was dead, something else was happening just beneath the surface: For the first time in decades, more Americans identified as Republicans than as Democrats. Just as the leader of the Republican Party was convicted of 34 felonies, held liable for sexual abuse and frequently lapsed into apparent incoherence on the party stump, Americans consistently and in record-breaking numbers increasingly identified with his party. In places like Pennsylvania, the longstanding advantages of Democratic voter registration eroded significantly.

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It's hard to argue that the GOP has suddenly become more attractive. In fact, favoritism for both parties remains relatively low. And Trump has not presented the country with a compelling or serious plan to solve his party's problems. Instead, it offered them an opportunity to reject the perceived leftward shift of progressivism and lay claim to a conservative culture.

In this way, it is perhaps the most asymmetrical campaign of our lifetime.

The losing Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, followed a traditional political plan: strengthen the base and then appeal to swing voters. There were few obvious errors. Their debut provided a burst of energy. The campaign orchestrated a flawless convention. She killed her opponent in their only debate. And it was based on the middle that Trump had long abandoned. It wasn't good enough.

Of course, any loss is borne by the candidate to a certain extent. Although Harris has improved greatly since her brief presidential run in 2019, she is still not an exceptional political talent, and her interviews and unscripted moments left much to be desired. And perhaps voters didn't buy her appeal to the political center after years of being seen as a hard-line progressive. It wasn't a natural fit.

In contrast, there was no question about who Trump is and where he stands. He again rejected our conventions for assembling a majority coalition and created a new one, creating new voters, often young and male, who found him entertaining and the Democrats boring. His campaign was a rejection of the traditional formula and was instead focused on grievances and cultural appeals. He was a man full of lies and always remained true to himself.

Still, it is important to understand that Trump's victory should not be viewed as a comprehensive endorsement of his person or his program. Millions of people who voted for Trump don't like him very much. It's no secret to many Trump supporters that he lacks the character and discipline to be president. Of course, Trump has his passionate fans, but a vote for Trump was also a message rejecting the perceived leftward shift in American institutions – not just our politics, but also in the media, entertainment and universities.

A vote for Trump was not only a vote for border security, but also a vote against borderless multiculturalism. It was a vote against journalists angry that their newspaper did not support Harris. It was a vote against camps on university campuses. It was a vote against what they see as boys-on-girls sports, no matter how exaggerated the issue is. It was a vote against anti-Trump Republicans who they say support the left.

In response, Democrats accused Trump of being a fascist. Unsurprisingly, after nearly a decade of similar allegations, this rhetoric has failed to persuade voters. Warnings against authoritarianism and speeches in defense of democracy are noble, but they were not a convincing message. Voters care more about how your plans will noticeably improve their lives.

They also care about their way of life, as Trump understood. The late conservative hothead Andrew Breitbart famously said that politics is secondary to culture. It's an ethos embodied by Trump's campaign. I detest culture war politics. But especially in times of national division and unrest, it's a formula that works – and Trump has proven it once again.

With an election so close and a nation so evenly divided, it is foolish to declare the war won. Democrats could easily overlook the lessons of this loss and choose to lash out at Trump voters rather than seriously consider the party's damaged brand. But that would mean that they overlook where their weakness lies.

Trump or not, the Democratic Party suffers from a problem that goes beyond the individual candidate. Culture is just as important as politics, and they would be wise to recognize that now if they hope to stem the onslaught of people who call the Republican Party — even this one — home.