Donald Trump has pulled off an astounding political comeback and regained the White House after being declared the winner of the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
He becomes the first president in over 130 years – and only the second in history – to win a non-consecutive second term.
His defeat of Vice President Kamala Harris marks a remarkable return for a twice-impeached president, who left office in 2021 on the back of claims that he had incited an assault on the U.S. Capitol building, and who was convicted earlier this year on multiple counts of business fraud.
The 78-year-old Trump will also become the oldest president ever inaugurated, beating President Joe Biden‘s record by five months.
He pulled off his remarkable victory on a night reminiscent of 2016, sweeping the key swing states of North Carolina, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
Associated Press called Wisconsin at 5.34am (ET) Wednesday and the race just three minutes later.
Harris never conceded the race. Instead former Rep. Cedric Richmond – her campaign co-chair – said after midnight Wednesday that the vice president would not be addressing supporters until ‘tomorrow.’
The pivotal moment came when North Carolina was called for Trump at 11:19pm (ET).
Then, the quiet crowd at the official Republican watch party, held in a convention center in Florida’s West Palm Beach, erupted in a release of nervous energy.
At the same time, the mood at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort – where he was sat amid friends and family watching the results roll in – switched from cautious optimism to ‘a sense of destiny’, one attendee said.
Later at the convention center in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Trump was joined on stage by his jubilant family and campaign staff, as he addressed his adoring fans and declared: ‘We’re going to help our country heal.’
‘This was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time,’ he said. ‘This is a magnificent victory for the American people, that will allow us to make America great again.’
Certainly, Trump’s resounding win brings an end to a tumultuous 2024 campaign – punctuated with Biden’s dramatic withdrawal from the race in July, as well as two shocking attempts on Trump’s life.
