Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday, fulfilling his promise to shatter America性视界传媒檚 political status quo.
The Republican president-elect性视界传媒檚 victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, after an extraordinary campaign in which he was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts, was decisive: He trounced Harris in the battleground states of Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and maintained leads in Arizona and Nevada, although those races were not called.
As Trump secured 292 electoral votes to Harris性视界传媒 224, Democrats could not take comfort, as they did in 2016, from winning the popular vote. With more than 138 million ballots counted, Trump was on track to gain 4.8 million more votes than Harris.
性视界传媒淭his will forever be remembered as the day the American people regained control of their country,性视界传媒 Trump told a crowd at around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday from a stage adorned with star-spangled banners at his campaign headquarters in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump called the triumph 性视界传媒渁 magnificent victory.性视界传媒
He said the election represented a 性视界传媒渉istoric realignment性视界传媒 of American interests and was a 性视界传媒渕assive victory for democracy and for freedom.性视界传媒
性视界传媒淚 will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve,性视界传媒 he added. 性视界传媒淭his will truly be the golden age of America.性视界传媒
Jim Worthington, a top Donald Trump donor, gets a hug from Linda Mitchell after they learned Trump had won Pennsylvania early Wednesday during a watch party in Newtown, Penn. (Steven M. Falk/TNS Photo)
Harris conceded to Trump on Wednesday in a phone call before she addressed the American people. A senior Harris aide said the vice president called Trump to congratulate him on his victory and discuss the importance of a peaceful transfer of power and being a president for all Americans.
There was a significant gender gap in the results, with exit polls indicating the majority of women backed Harris and the majority of men backed Trump.
Trump made particularly significant gains with Latino men, winning their vote by 8 percentage points, according to CNN exit polls, four years after he lost them by 23 points. He also won over Black men in key battlegrounds, more than doubling his 2020 support from that cohort in North Carolina. The only bright spot for Harris was college-educated women.
Trump built his third campaign for the White House on the issues of immigration and economy, appealing to Americans who were weary of liberal elites and the status quo. He promised to secure the Southern border and deport millions of people living in the country illegally, impose tariffs that would revive the economy and restore American manufacturing, and withdraw the nation from the international stage.
The GOP candidate性视界传媒檚 closing campaign slogan 性视界传媒 性视界传媒淜amala Broke It. Trump Will Fix It性视界传媒 性视界传媒 emphasized Harris性视界传媒 role in the Biden administration and aimed to position him as the candidate of change.
Trump性视界传媒檚 win represents a bitter defeat for Harris, who sought to make history not only as the first female president but also as the first Black and Asian American female president. Instead, she became the second female candidate in eight years to become the Democrats性视界传媒 presidential nominee, only to fail to secure enough votes to win.
Harris painted her opponent as a 性视界传媒減etty tyrant,性视界传媒 an 性视界传媒渦nhinged性视界传媒 and 性视界传媒渞acist and divisive性视界传媒 figure who would destroy democratic norms and roll back years of hard-won civil rights.
性视界传媒淲e性视界传媒檙e not going back!性视界传媒 she and her supporters chanted at rallies.
When asked last month if she believed Trump was a fascist, Harris replied: 性视界传媒淵es, I do.性视界传媒
From left, Larry Silcox, Bertha Rosenberg and Chessy Engro celebrate Donald Trump性视界传媒檚 victory in Pennsylvania during a watch party early Wednesday in Newtown, Penn. (Steven M. Falk/TNS Photo)
Before noon Wednesday, the White House said Harris was receiving briefs and holding meetings with staff. She addressed the American people from Howard University later that afternoon.
Before 10 p.m. Tuesday, Jen O性视界传媒橫alley Dillon, the chair of Harris性视界传媒 campaign, sent staff a memo noting it was a 性视界传媒渞azor thin race.性视界传媒
性视界传媒淲e feel good about what we性视界传媒檙e seeing,性视界传媒 she wrote to staff, noting they had exceeded turnout expectations in Philadelphia. 性视界传媒淟et性视界传媒檚 finish up what we have in front of us tonight, get some sleep, and get ready to close out strong tomorrow.性视界传媒
It turned out to be a devastating night for Democrats.
Trump flipped Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin 性视界传媒 states Democrats won in 2020 性视界传媒 winning by clear margins of several percentage points. He kept hold of North Carolina. On Wednesday afternoon, he was ahead by five percentage points in Arizona and by four percentage points in Nevada.
Republicans also secured control of the Senate after Tim Sheehy in Montana, Deb Fischer in Nebraska, Bernie Moreno in Ohio and Jim Justice in West Virginia secured a number of contested seats.
The House remained up for grabs as election officials continued to count votes. Republicans hoped to hold their House majority. Early Wednesday, The Associated Press reported that Rep. Mike Lawler, who holds a suburban New York seat, managed to eke out a second term.
On abortion 性视界传媒 a key issue after Trump appointed Supreme Court justices who in 2022 helped overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision 性视界传媒 there were some bright spots for Democrats. Seven of 10 states, including Arizona, passed measures to protect abortion rights, according to AP. Abortion restrictions will remain in place in Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota.
Early Wednesday, morning cable TV shows and social media offered dueling interpretations of Trump性视界传媒檚 victory: Liberals 性视界传媒 including many in California 性视界传媒 argued the American people had delivered a death blow to democracy while conservatives celebrated Trump性视界传媒檚 victory as the people性视界传媒檚 revolt against technocratic elites.
性视界传媒淐alifornia will fight to protect our democracy, our freedoms & the basic dignity of all people,性视界传媒 state Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, said on X. 性视界传媒淐alifornia won性视界传媒檛 roll over for fascism.性视界传媒
Hakeem Jefferson, an assistant professor of political science at Stanford University, described Trump性视界传媒檚 win as 性视界传媒渁 dark and scary moment性视界传媒 for American democracy.
A few moderate Democrats were quick to critique the Democratic Party and the Harris campaign.
Democratic strategist Josh Lafazan, a former New York legislator, said the Democratic Party性视界传媒檚 failure to hold an open primary opened Harris up to GOP criticism that the process was undemocratic and that Harris had not won a single primary vote.
But Lafazan went further, arguing Harris wasn性视界传媒檛 a strong Democratic candidate and failed to make a robust case that the Biden-Harris administration had delivered important policy wins, such as passing the Inflation Reduction Act that had created hundreds of thousands of jobs.
When asked by a major network what she would do differently from Biden, Lafazan noted, Harris had no answer.
性视界传媒淭hat was political malpractice,性视界传媒 Lafazan said.
