Donald Trump will be returning to the White House for a second non-consecutive term after winning the U.S. presidential election.
Trump defeated Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris in one of the most remarkable and contentious campaigns in modern American history. His victory also marks an incredible comeback for a politician once seen as finished after the chaotic and violent end to his first term.
Hours before the race was called, Trump declared victory to his supporters Wednesday morning, where claimed he had won “an unprecedented and powerful mandate.”
Harris conceded the race in a phone call with Trump on Wednesday.
The Republican candidate Trump has secured 292 electoral votes to 224 for Harris, after sweeping the critical battleground states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin. At least 270 of 538 electoral votes are needed to clinch the presidency.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Trump was leading in the three states yet to be called by the Associated Press: Arizona, Nevada and Alaska.
Trump’s victory thrusts the country into an uncertain new era: one in which the commander-in-chief is a convicted felon who tried to overturn his loss in the previous election and whose former chief of staff as well as critics have called a “fascist.”
Republicans are also set to retake control of the U.S Senate and could even hold onto its slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. Full control of Congress would help Trump execute his legislative agenda.
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The rest of the world – particularly longstanding allies like Canada – have been closely watching to assess the potential impacts of a second Trump presidency.
Trump has promised blanket tariffs on foreign imports, mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, and a transactional approach to alliances like NATO. He has also stoked fears of retribution against his political opponents, who he has called “the enemy from within,” and even suggested unleashing the U.S. National Guard on protesters and other critics.
The return of Trump to the top of the Republican Party comes less than four years after hundreds of his supporters – enraged by Trump’s false claims of widespread voter fraud – stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to interrupt the certification of U.S. President Joe Biden’s victory.
Yet Trump was able to rally voters around him who were frustrated with the high cost of living brought on by high inflation during Biden’s presidency. Republicans who had once disavowed and blamed him for the Jan. 6 attack ultimately threw their support behind Trump after an uncompetitive primary.
In Tuesday’s election, Trump ate away at Democratic support across multiple demographics, particularly young men, improving on his 2020 election performance.
He also won the popular vote for the first time in three presidential elections he’s run in.
Trump has since faced four criminal indictments against him – two of them related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election – which Trump and his allies decried as “lawfare” and election interference.
He was found guilty by a New York jury in May of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for the purposes of influencing voters in the 2016 election. Sentencing in that case has been scheduled for Nov. 26, but that – and the other criminal cases against him – is now in doubt after Trump’s win.
Harris and Democrats worked tirelessly to court undecided and independent voters who were turned off by Trump’s scandals and rhetoric. She earned several endorsements from high-profile Republicans, some of whom served with Trump during his first presidency.
The result is a devastating blow for Democrats, who had put their hopes in Harris to reverse their party’s fortunes.
Trump was on track to win handily against Biden, who faced economic headwinds and mounting international crises during his presidency along with increasing concern about his age and fitness as he ran for re-election.
His poor debate performance against Trump in June, where Biden appeared frail and unable to complete sentences, sparked a panic among Democrats. Three weeks later, Biden bowed to increasing pressure to drop out of the race, and Harris was quickly named his replacement without a primary for voters.
Although Harris’ ascension boosted Democrats’ enthusiasm and raked in a record US$1 billion from donors in just three months, she faced challenges explaining how she would differ from the unpopular Biden administration she served in.
— with files from The Associated Press
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