Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox
Get our free Inside Washington email
Donald Trump has won a historic second term in the White House in a shocking political comeback four years after leaving office.
Trump surpassed the magic number of 270 Electoral College votes early on Wednesday after winning key battleground states. He also won 51 percent of the popular vote.
Counting is still underway in Arizona and Nevada but those results will not alter the outcome.
The president-elect took to the stage with his family and running mate JD Vance promising a “golden age for America” and hailing “the greatest political movement of all time”.
Republicans have also likely taken control of the Senate, having been in the minority there since 2021.
Kamala Harris called Trump to congratulate him on his victory. She spoke of the importance of a peaceful transfer of power and being a president for the whole country.
In her concession speech at Howard University, the vice president said that while she concedes the election, she does not concede the fight that fueled her campaign.
“The fight for freedom, opportunity, fairness, and dignity of all people, and ideals at the heart of this nation… that is a fight I will never give up.”
Mapped: Trump’s 2024 election win
Donald Trump has clinched victory in the 2024 presidential election, sweeping several critical swing states to secure 292 Electoral College votes in a dramatic and historic night for America.
Olympian Simone Biles calls on Biden to take action before term ends
US Olympic champion Simone Biles has a message for President Joe Biden following Donald Trump’s win over Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
I need you to stand up, straighten your back and make some things shake before your departure
xoxo the women in america 💙
Absent from family photo, Melania speaks out for first time since Trump’s election win
Former First Lady Melania Trump commented publicly for the first time since her husband’s election victory.
Hours after President-Elect Donald Trump clinched enough electoral votes for a second term, Melania posted on X on Wednesday evening about the former first couple’s coming return to the White House.
Despite being by her husband’s side to vote and as he claimed victory, she was absent from a family photo of “the whole squad” that even included Elon Musk.
Kelly Rissman reports.
China’s Xi Jinping reacts to Trump win
State media in China reports that President Xi Jinping said of Donald Trump’s win that the international community expects “both countries will respect each other, coexist peacefully, and achieve win-win cooperation”.
He added that US-China cooperation is a long-term goal and reiterated “both countries gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation”.
With reporting from Reuters
Despite little open support for it, Californians may vote to keep forced prison labor
California voters unexpectedly look set to reject a proposed constitutional amendment that would end involuntary labor in state prisons, despite the proposition facing little public opposition and coming to the ballot with strong support from state leaders.
As of Wednesday evening, nearly 55 percent of voters were in support of rejecting the amendment, compared with just over 45 percent in favor of supporting it, with over half of the estimated vote total reported, according to The New York Times.
The lack of enthusiasm comes as something of a surprise in deep-blue California.
Josh Marcus reports from San Francisco.
What is South Korea’s 4B movement?
Olivia Hebert explains what it is…
Kinzinger says he’s ‘doubling down’ to protect democracy
Adam Kinzinger, the anti-Trump former congressman who joined Liz Cheney as the only other Republican on the House select committee investigating January 6, is not done yet, despite Donald Trump’s election win.
He wrote on X this evening: “After last night, I have taken a long look and made a decision: I’m doubling down. We will protect our democracy, and never give up.”
“NEVER,” he added.
He later followed up with a video statement on his Substack:
Watch: Lara Trump floats ‘blanket federal election process that every state abides by’
Democrat anger as blame game begins for Kamala Harris’ devastating loss
Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party lost the White House, lost the Senate, and still may lose the House. The Supreme Court has a conservative majority that handed Trump a presidential “get out of jail free” card for almost anything he does in office between 2025 and 2028.
So, who is to blame?
Melania Trump says new administration will ‘safeguard the heart of our republic – freedom’
Source: independent.co.uk
