UNITED STATES — Donald Trump claimed victory as the 47th President of the United States around 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 6, as electoral college votes continued to be finalized in the 2024 election.
READ MORE: Trump speaks about border policy, inflation at Wilmington rally
By press, Trump was nearing the 270 electoral votes needed to secure the election. One more state would cinch the win, after securing multiple swing states, including Georgia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
Trump took the Tar Heel State by 50.83% of the vote, with 99.85% of precincts reporting statewide by 1:19 a.m. According to the state board of elections, 5.6 million voters turned out from the 7.7 million registered this year; results will be canvassed in North Carolina on Nov. 15.
It was also projected Trump would win other battleground states, such as Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada.
Though nothing was official and most outlets, including the Associated Press, had yet to call the election, Trump also is expected to win the popular vote.
Unlike his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris — who called it a night and announced she would speak Wednesday — Trump addressed a crowd near his Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach.
“Winning the popular vote was very nice,” Trump said. “A great amount of love is in this room.”
He was speaking to crowds who were chanting “USA! USA! USA!”
Trump told them early Wednesday morning: “This was a movement like no one’s ever seen before. And, frankly, I believe this was the greatest political movement of all time. And it’s going to reach a new level of importance to help our country heal.”
Trump’s potential second presidency comes after a rocky campaign. He endured two assassination attempts in the last four months, was charged with 34 felony accounts earlier in the year and faced a Democratic candidate switch from President Joe Biden to Harris only 100 days before the election.
Trump would become the first president since Grover Cleveland to lead the White House non-consecutively, four years after losing the office to Biden. He also would be the oldest president elected at age 78.
Trump reiterated his promise to fix the border, a focus of his campaign in the last year. He has vowed to deport illegal immigrants, as well as seal the border.
He called his re-election a time to usher in the “Golden Age of America.” In addition to his presidential win, Republicans also will take control of the U.S. Senate with 51 seats, after flipping West Virginia and Ohio.
“They were won by the MAGA movement,” Trump said.
He was joined by his extended family and campaign workers onstage, as well running mate, Vice President elect JD Vance.
“He’s a feisty guy, isn’t he?” Trump said. “He goes into the enemy camps … CNN, MSNBC. He just goes in and obliterates them.”
Vance took to the podium to give brief remarks, thanking Trump for his bout of trust.
“We just witnessed the greatest comeback in the history of the Unites States of America,” Vance said, adding the administration would lead the best economic comeback as well.
The economy has been a major push of the campaign, with Trump vowing to reduce taxes, including ending them on tips, overtime pay and social security. Vance has proposed a $5,000 child tax credit, while Trump also has floated the idea to reduce the corporate tax rate to 15% from 21%.
He has also proposed tariffs on imports; though that would lead to a tax on Americans, according to many economists. Countries don’t pay tariffs, rather it is passed onto the prices of imported goods, covered by consumers.
At the podium, Trump ran down a host of gratitude for his supporters, including Elon Musk, who has attended rallies and donated $119 million through his American PAC to get Trump elected. Trump also took credit for asking Musk to provide Starlink internet service to Hurricane Helene survivors, who were cut off from communications due to devastation the storm left behind in the western part of North Carolina.
“It was great, it saved a lot of lives,” Trump said. “We have to protect our geniuses, we don’t have many of them.”
The president also thanked Robert Kennedy Jr., who was running as a third-party presidential candidate before dropping out of the race in August and endorsing Trump. Trump said Kennedy would be working to “make America healthy again,” hinting at a position in his administration.
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