United States Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump, 78, claimed victory in West Palm Beach, Florida on Wednesday morning during a victory speech. Trump secured the key battleground state, Pennsylvania, delivering a substantial blow to Vice President Harris’ energetic campaign. Former President Donald Trump, who served as the 45th president, earned 19 electoral college votes in the state while edging closer to returning to the White House as the 47th president.
“This was a movement like nobody’s ever seen before. And frankly, this was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time. There’s never been anything like this in this country, and maybe beyond. And now it’s going to reach a new level of importance because we’re going to help our country heal. Help our country heal. We have a country that needs help, and it needs help very badly. We’re going to fix our borders. We’re going to fix everything about our country. We made history for a reason tonight, and the reason is going to be just that we overcame obstacles that nobody thought possible, and it is now clear that we’ve achieved the most incredible political thing,” Trump said while thanking supporters.
Trump also told supporters that “the magnificent victory for the American people will allow us to make America great again.”
Ahead of officially winning the presidency, Trump referenced winning the battleground states of North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, then proceeding to win in more states such as Michigan, Arizona, Nevada and Alaska, “which would result in us carrying at least 315 electoral votes.”
Trump’s supporters cheered as he added, “We also have won the popular vote. That was great.”
He also said that “It looks like we will be keeping control of the House of Representatives” and he further stated that Republicans have taken back control of the Senate.
“America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate,” Trump asserted.
In the wee hours of November 6, Trump officially leapfrogged ahead in the presidential race, outpacing his opponent. The Associated Press (AP) officially called the race by the time Trump won 277 electoral votes, pushing him ahead of Vice President Harris who had 224. However, 270 votes were needed to win the presidential race. The AP stated that Trump’s Wisconsin win pushed him beyond the 270 electoral vote threshold needed to win the 2024 presidential race.
“When AP makes a race call, we back it up with transparent reporting into the research and analysis that led us to say with certainty who has won,” according to the AP’s website.
“Donald Trump has been elected the 47th president of the United States, an extraordinary comeback for a former president who refused to accept defeat four years ago, sparked a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts,” the AP reported.
During his victory speech, Trump vowed to fight for every citizen during his second presidential term.
“I will fight for you, for your family, and your future. Every single day I will be fighting for you. With every breath in my body, I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve. This will truly be the Golden Age of America,” he remarked.
Vice President Kamala Harris had not conceded as of press time on November 6. It was reported that she canceled a planned speech at an election night watch party that was scheduled to be held at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Cedrick Richmond, co-chair of the Harris-Walz campaign, provided remarks to the crowd instead.
“We still have votes to count. We still have states that have not been called yet. We will continue overnight to fight to make sure that every vote is counted, that every voice has spoken, so you won’t hear from the Vice President tonight, but you will hear from her tomorrow. She will be back here tomorrow to address not only the HU (Howard University) family, not only to address her supporters but to address the nation,” said Cedrick Richmond, co-chair of the Harris-Walz campaign.
Later in the day, Vice President Harris called Trump to concede and congratulate him on his victory. “I told him that we will help him and his team with that transition, and we will engage in a peaceful transfer of power,” she stated on her X account.
Harris also made an appearance at Howard University and shared lengthier remarks with the nation. She thanked supporters for putting trust in her, while including optimistic thoughts during her concession speech.
Vice President Harris further stated that the “outcome of the election was not what we wanted,” but “the light of America’s promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up, and as long as we keep fighting.”
Although Harris accepted the election results and conceded, she noted that she does “not concede the fight that fueled this campaign.”
“We must accept the results of this election,” she also said.