The Republican candidate has won at least 277 Electoral College votes, per The Associated Press.
Donald Trump has been elected to return to the White House as the 47th United States president.
The vote was called for the Republican candidate by The Associated Press news agency early on Wednesday. His victory has been met by international congratulations but is likely to add further uncertainty to a turbulent geopolitical situation.
Results showed Trump beating Vice President Kamala Harris in a race far less tight than expected as he triumphed in key battleground states.
Victory in Wisconsin after earlier triumphs in Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania saw the former president clear the threshold of the 270 Electoral College votes required to clinch the White House in Tuesday’s election.
Trump’s victory in those swing states currently sees him with 277 electoral votes against 224 for Harris. Polls had predicted a much tighter race, but it appears that anger fuelled the Republican’s remarkable comeback from defeat in 2020 and widespread condemnation of his refusal to accept the result.
That refusal sparked a violent insurrection at the US Capitol, and Trump was also convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts.
However, his campaign, which has seen him demonise his political opponents, immigrants and many minorities, tapped into the frustrations of many voters in a bitterly polarised nation.
Speaking to his supporters as he declared victory, Trump claimed he had won “an unprecedented and powerful mandate”.
Anger and resentment
Scott Lucas, a professor of international politics at the University of Dublin, told Al Jazeera that Trump’s victory stemmed from frustrations that have been bubbling within the US public for years.
“There is anger and resentment in the US, which has been there for quite some time. It’s been a trauma since 9/11. It’s been there with the financial crash in 2008-2009. It was there in 2016 when Trump exploited it, and he exploited it again,” Lucas said, adding that Trump was able to do that because the “political system is damaged”.
Concern over the economy, and inflation in particular, under President Joe Biden was a major focus of the campaign.
That also encouraged opposition to the support Washington is giving to Ukraine in its war against Russia. Meanwhile, the failure to rein in Israel’s wars on Gaza and Lebanon has angered Muslim and liberal voters.
Those complex geopolitical issues will test Trump, who is known for his simplistic claims of being capable of quickly solving such issues.
He has promised to end the war in Ukraine in a day, an idea that has Kyiv wary that it could face pressure to strike a deal to hand over territory to Russia. NATO allies, meanwhile, fear Trump will weaken the alliance’s mutual defence guarantees.
Trump is also a strong supporter of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has boasted he will end the war with Hamas in Gaza in hours.
“Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America. This is a huge victory!” Netanyahu said in a statement after Trump declared victory.
The enthusiasm in Israel also stems from the incoming president’s hawkish approach to Iran, which he is likely to reassert.
China is also braced for a more confrontational relationship with the US under Trump, who is expected to revive staunchly nationalistic trade policies, putting both allies and rivals on edge.
‘Much more dangerous era’
However, at home, supporters will look to Trump to put the focus on the welfare of US citizens while following through on promises to enact an agenda that would transform nearly every aspect of American government.
That will include plans to launch the largest deportation effort in the nation’s history and use the Department of Justice to punish his enemies.
The result is that “we are going into a much more dangerous era for Americans and for the world because this will not be a coherent US policy for America but one pursued for Trump,” Lucas said.
WATCH : Sen. Tim Scott joined “The View” on Monday and it did not take long for the gloves to come off
South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott joined “The View” on Monday and it did not take Iong for the gloves to come off.
The show began fairly light-hearted with Scott speaking about his 2024 presidential campaign, but ended up sparring with co-host Sunny Hostin after she pressed him to define “systemic rac ism.”
The conversation began when Alyssa Farah Griffin asked Scott about his optimistic message and his running on his Iife story of having overcome great adversity to live the American dream. Then, Hostin hijacked the conversation and attempted to spar with Scott over his positions.
The interview got so tense at one moment that Goldberg asked the crew for help when she was demanding Scott stop talking so they could cut to commerciaI.
Below is a partial transcript of the exchange:
HOSTIN: I am actually happy that you’re here. We — we — we have some things in common. You grow up — you grew up in a singIe-family household, single-mother household, I grew up with both of my parents but raised in the Bronx projects amidst a lot of poverty and — and — and violence. And you were the first black senator elected in the south since the reconstruction, that would be about — I think, about 114 years. Yet you say that your life disproves left—leftist lies. And — and —
Scott: Yes.
HOSTIN: my question to you is, I’m the exception, right? You’re the exception. Maybe even Ms. Whoopi Goldberg is the exception but — but —
HAINES: She is definitely the exception.
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