Former US President Donald Trump has defeated Kamala Harris in a remarkable comeback victory that will return him to the White House in Washington.
It followed a roller-coaster campaign during which he was somewhat incredibly indicted four times, criminally convicted while surviving two assassination attempts.
Trump told supporters in West Palm Beach in Florida as Associated Press called Pennsylvania for him essentially ensuring an electoral win “This will truly be the golden age of America.”
“America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate,” Trump added to cheers from the self-declared MAGA movement.
Trump changed tack somewhat “It’s time to put the divisions of the past four years behind us. It’s time to unite.”
His victory will bolster executive powers and raise serious doubts around the world as to the future of American democracy.
Trump hit his major topic “We’re going to have to seal up those borders, We want people to come back in … but they have to come back in legally”
“Success will bring us together, I’ve seen that,” Trump said. “We are going to all start by putting our country first,” while never mentioning Kamala Harris or Joe Biden.
The defeated outgoing Vice-President, Democrat candidate Kamala Harris did not address supporters in the wake of a major personal defeat.
The soon to be 47th POTUS ran a campaign focused on illegal immigration, promising to be a “dictator on day one”, ensuring executive action to close the southern border and then move to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.
In moves that would obviously benefit Russian president Vladimir Putin, Trump swore to end the nearly three year war between Russia and a heavily USA and NATO backed Ukraine.
Trump is due to face sentencing in New York this month after his conviction on 34 counts related to hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016.
Trump also ran a relentless campaign against the news media, continuing his reference to journalists as “fake news” and the “enemy of the people.”
Trump’s former chief of staff, John Kelly, told the New York Times that he agreed that his former boss embraced fascism.
Trump and his allies attacked Kelly as disgruntled, but the Harris campaign seized on the remark as further warning bells coming from those who once worked for him.
Trump is the oldest person ever elected to the presidency at 78.
At a rally at Madison Square Garden, fulfilling one of Trump’s dreams, warm-up speakers made racist and sexist remarks, including comedian Tony Hinchcliffe who referred to Puerto Rico a pile of “garbage.”
Despite her clear victory over Trump in a live ABC TV debate in September, Harris was judged to have fluffed when she was asked what she would do differently from Biden. She could not think of anything — a misstep in an election where voters want change.
The Taoiseach has congratulated Donald Trump on his victory, saying the ‘people of the United States have spoken‘.
Simon Harris says Ireland will work to strengthen the ‘historic and unbreakable bonds‘ between the two nations.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin, says the Government looks forward to working with Mr Trump’s new administration in a ‘constructive manner‘, as it did during his previous administration.
Congratulations to US President-elect @realDonaldTrump on your victory. The people of the United States have spoken and Ireland will work to deepen and strengthen the historic and unbreakable bonds between our people and our nations in the years ahead.
— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) November 6, 2024
