At 78 years old, Trump appeared set for an Electoral College victory, surpassing Vice President Kamala Harris, as he successfully flipped key battleground states—Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—that had eluded him in 2020. His stronghold in rural and working-class white communities remained intact, while he made notable strides with ethnic minority voters, widening his appeal across the country.
Former President Donald Trump has officially won the 2024 presidential election.
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has been declared by Fox News as the next President of the United States during an election night event at the West Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.
AFP via Getty Images
Trump’s victory marked the highlight of a significant night for Republicans, who were also projected to regain control of the Senate after four years in the minority.
The fate of the House of Representatives was too close to call early Wednesday, with the majority not likely to be determined for several days.
In a haunting echo of Election Night 2016, thousands of supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris gathered at Howard University, her alma mater, to watch the results unfold. But as it became clear that Harris could not secure the win, the mood turned somber, with many in tears.
In the end, it was not Harris but her campaign co-chair, Cedric Richmond, who had to address the disappointed crowd. “We still have votes to count … so you won’t hear from the vice president tonight,” Richmond, a former Louisiana congressman and Biden White House official, told them. “She will be back here tomorrow.” His words, along with the chant of “Go HU and go Harris,” lingered in the air as the reality set in.
Trump, 78, had shown unwavering confidence in the final stretch of the campaign, especially in appealing to male voters and hitting the campaign trail hard with rallies and media appearances, even making a surprise stop at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s. Harris, on the other hand, downplayed her potential to make history as the first female president and downplayed her racial identity as a child of Jamaican and Indian immigrants. Instead, she presented herself as a fierce advocate for small businesses and the middle class, distancing herself from many progressive stances she had previously taken during her time as a district attorney, California attorney general, and senator.
Trump’s victory marked a historical milestone, making him the second president to be elected in non-consecutive terms, following Democrat Grover Cleveland, who served as the 22nd president in 1884 and the 24th in 1892, with Republican Benjamin Harrison serving in between.
The race had remained tight throughout the election season, with both candidates facing challenges and media controversies. Rhetorical missteps from both sides only added to the drama of a race that was widely considered a toss-up until the very end.
Both Trump and Harris faced the American electorate in an unusual way, each as incumbents in their own right. Trump, having been rejected by voters after his first term in 2020, was seeking a political comeback, while Harris was thrust into the Democratic nomination only after President Biden’s surprise announcement on July 21 that he would not seek a second term.
On October 27, a massive Trump rally at Madison Square Garden turned into a media frenzy when comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made a controversial joke, referring to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage,” a remark that immediately sparked outrage.
Just days later, Biden undercut Harris’ message of “joy” and bipartisanship with a fiery remark, calling Trump’s supporters “garbage.” The comment was quickly edited by White House aides, who discreetly modified it without consulting the official stenographers, leaving the incident to simmer quietly behind the scenes.
The 81-year-old Biden sometimes hindered his former running mate’s campaign with messaging that risked alienating swing voters, especially when he made forceful statements about the perceived dangers of a second Trump administration.
“We gotta lock him up,” Biden declared at a Democratic campaign office in Concord, NH, just two weeks before Election Day, before quickly walking it back with a correction: “Politically, lock him up — lock him out, that’s what we’ve got to do.”
Biden also exhibited some unusual behavior after he had already abandoned his own 2024 bid. One striking moment came when he wore a red “TRUMP” cap at a fire station in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, following a 9/11 memorial event, leaving many questioning his focus and message in the final stretch of the race.
