The votes have been counted and verified—Donald Trump is returning to the White House.
Despite facing an assassination attempt during his campaign, 78-year-old Trump emerged victorious after a tight race against vice president Kamala Harris, who took over the Democratic campaign from Joe Biden.
Overnight, Trump surged to a decisive lead, and by morning had surpassed the 270 electoral votes required, securing his position as the 47th president of the United States.
Kentucky was the first state to declare Trump the winner, but the tipping point came when Florida followed suit an hour later. Trump also carried key battleground states, including North Carolina, Georgia, and Wisconsin.
Harris held on to states like New York and New Jersey but has not yet conceded or addressed her supporters. Dejected crowds left her watch party in Washington, D.C., even before the final results were announced.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer were among the first to congratulate Trump, now the oldest person elected to the office. Starmer said, “I look forward to working with President Trump in the years ahead. From growth and security to innovation and tech, I know the UK-US special relationship will continue to thrive on both sides of the Atlantic.”
In his victory speech, Trump said: “We have thousands of friends in this incredible movement. And frankly this, I believe, was the greatest political movement of all time in this country and maybe beyond.
“Now we’re going to help our country heal. We have a country that needs help. We’re going to fix our borders. We made history for a reason. We overcame obstacles that nobody thought possible, and look what happened, is this crazy? This will be the golden age of America.”
Trump gave a special mention to Elon Musk, CEO of X, calling him a “new star” of the Republican Party, while his running mate, JD Vance, described the win as “the greatest political comeback ever.”
Some of Trump’s key campaign promises included addressing inflation and making America affordable again. He pledged to increase U.S. energy production and open areas like the Arctic for oil drilling to reduce energy costs. Trump also proposed trillions in tax cuts, largely extending those he enacted in 2017, aimed at the wealthy, which he claims would be funded by higher growth and tariffs on imports.
On immigration, Trump reiterated his commitment to securing the U.S.-Mexico border, completing his previously promised wall, and enacting what he described as the largest mass deportation of undocumented migrants in U.S. history.
