Donald Trump was projected to become the 47th president of the United States early Wednesday, marking an extraordinary political comeback. At 78 years old, Trump was on track to secure an overwhelming victory in the Electoral College, reversing his 2020 losses in key battleground states like Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. He regained significant support from his base of white rural and working-class voters while also making inroads with ethnic minorities.
Trump, speaking to a jubilant crowd at the Palm Beach County Convention Center near his Mar-a-Lago resort, declared, “There’s never been anything like this in this country, and maybe beyond,” before promising to help the country heal. “We’re going to fix our borders … fix everything about our country,” he added.
The former president’s victory was part of a larger success for the Republican Party, which was also projected to regain control of the Senate after a four-year absence. The outcome of the House of Representatives remained uncertain early Wednesday, with final results likely taking days to confirm.
Perhaps the most surprising development of the night was that Trump appeared to be winning the popular vote, ending a two-decade streak of losses for Republican candidates in the national vote.
In a dramatic echo of 2016, Harris supporters who had gathered at Howard University were left stunned and in tears as it became clear their candidate was not going to win. Her campaign co-chair, Cedric Richmond, informed the crowd that Harris would not be making an appearance that night.
Trump had projected strong confidence in the final days of the race, focusing his message on male voters and holding a series of high-energy rallies, including one at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania. Harris, on the other hand, downplayed her historic opportunity to become the first female president and her background as a child of Jamaican and Indian immigrants. She focused her campaign on pro-business policies, particularly for small businesses, and distanced herself from more progressive stances she had previously held as a former prosecutor and senator.
Trump’s victory made him only the second president in U.S. history to be elected in non-consecutive terms, joining Grover Cleveland, who was president in 1884 and 1892. The race was considered a toss-up until the final hours, but exit polls suggested that Americans were seeking change and relief from economic strain, including high illegal immigration.
“I will fight for you, for your family, and your future — every single day,” Trump vowed. “I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe, and prosperous America that our children deserve.”
Both Trump and Harris were running as incumbents in a sense: Trump was seeking to reclaim the presidency after his 2020 defeat, and Harris was elevated to the Democratic nomination after President Biden announced in July he would not seek a second term.
The final stretch of the campaign turned contentious, with a Trump rally in New York at Madison Square Garden overshadowed by a joke from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe that referred to Puerto Rico in a controversial manner. Two days later, Biden, in a more divisive statement, called Trump supporters “garbage,” a remark that was quietly edited by White House staff.
In the final weeks, Biden’s campaign was rocked by his performance in a June debate against Trump, which was criticized as weak and incoherent. The Biden camp attributed his lackluster performance to a cold, but Harris avoided questions about the president’s mental state and his struggles during the debate.
Harris raised record amounts of campaign funds after Biden’s announcement, totaling over $1 billion, which fueled targeted ads positioning her as a middle-ground candidate on economic issues and border enforcement. On the other hand, Trump’s fundraising saw a surge, particularly from Democratic defectors like hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who launched a PAC to support Trump’s bid.
Despite the challenges, including unprecedented criminal indictments and threats against his life, Trump campaigned on securing the border, restoring American energy independence, and ending the conflict in Ukraine. He also proposed policies like taxpayer-funded in vitro fertilization and eliminating taxes on tips for service workers, ideas that even Harris later incorporated into her own platform.