Donald Trump has defeated Kamala Harris in the US presidential election, sealing an improbable comeback that is expected to pitch American democracy, US alliances and global markets into an era of upheaval. Trump’s resounding victory ends a volatile White House race that saw the billionaire Republican face two assassination attempts, a criminal conviction and the eleventh-hour change of his Democratic opponent after President Joe Biden abandoned his re-election bid.
The president-elect gained ground on the Democrats in 48 of the 50 states in the union, sweeping past Harris in the “blue wall” of Midwestern states she had thought could deliver her the White House. He was also on track to win the popular vote — something no Republican has done since George W Bush in 2004. Victory in the state of Wisconsin gave Trump the majority in the electoral college he required to return to the presidency, according to the Associated Press. “America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate,” Trump said in a victory speech in his Mar-a-Lago resort, predicting a “golden age” for the US under his new administration.
Republicans also took control of the US Senate and looked set to retain a majority in the House of Representatives, with nearly 60 races in the lower chamber yet to be called. Control of the US Congress would give Trump greater freedom to pursue a radical rightwing agenda in the world’s largest economy. In one of the earliest foreign reactions, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed what he described as “history’s greatest comeback” and a “huge victory” in a post on X. As investors bet that Trump’s policies would boost both economic growth and inflation, the dollar rose 1.8 per cent against a basket of rivals in its biggest surge since the 2016 Brexit referendum.
Wall Street stocks hit a record high, with the S&P 500 index climbing 2 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite up 1.8 per cent. At 78, Trump will in January be the oldest US president to be sworn into office. His running mate, 40-year-old Ohio senator JD Vance, will be one of the country’s youngest ever vice-presidents. Trump will return to the White House four years after his first tumultuous term ended with his attempt to overturn the results of an election he lost to Biden and the assault on the US Capitol by his supporters.
He will lead a sharply divided country, but voters showed they were willing to overlook his past behaviour and incendiary campaign, instead punishing Harris for the high inflation, global conflicts and a significant rise in immigration that Republicans blamed on Biden’s policies.
