Former President Donald Trump, alongside former First Lady Melania Trump, greeted supporters during an election night event on November 6 in West Palm Beach, Florida.
On Wednesday, Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States, completing one of the most remarkable political comebacks in history. Despite being a convicted felon, twice impeached, and leaving office in disgrace just four years ago, Trump regained the presidency in a decisive victory in one of the most contentious elections in modern times.
In defeating Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump managed to unite an unlikely coalition of supporters, including people of color and younger voters, all while championing an America-first agenda.
With his victory all but assured early Wednesday morning, Trump told cheering supporters at a convention center in West Palm Beach, Florida, that “this was a movement like nobody's ever seen before.”
“Frankly, this is, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time—there’s never been anything like this in this country, and maybe even beyond,” Trump said. “And now it’s going to reach a new level of importance because we’re going to help our country heal.”
Throughout his campaign, Trump outlined a stark vision for America’s future, promising mass deportations of migrants and veiled threats of retribution against political adversaries. Voters embraced this vision, even as Trump spent the days leading up to the election laying the groundwork for contesting a loss, asserting that the only way he could be defeated would be through Democratic cheating.
Despite the pollsters and the media predicting a tight race, with Harris outspending Trump by a significant margin, the results began to favor the former president as states reported returns. Trump won traditional GOP strongholds and key swing states like Georgia and North Carolina, securing the 270 electoral votes needed for victory once Pennsylvania and Wisconsin were called in his favor early Wednesday morning. By 5:41 a.m., Trump had also surpassed 50% of the popular vote.
Trump's victory is historic in several ways. He is the first president in over a century to lose a reelection bid as an incumbent and then come back to win a second term. Additionally, he is the only president-elect in modern history awaiting sentencing. And, of course, there were his two apparent assassination attempts.
Presidential historians and election experts will spend the coming days analyzing the forces behind his win, but one undeniable truth stands out: America remains a deeply divided nation, with political leaders offering starkly different visions for its future.
Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned on unity, promising to be a president for all Americans, and built a coalition that included prominent Republican supporters. However, while Trump called for putting divisions "behind us" in his victory speech, he has frequently referred to Democrats as "the enemy from within." Harris pledged to expand abortion access, while Trump took credit for the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Former Trump administration and military officials warned voters against reelecting him, citing concerns over his authoritarian tendencies.
Yet, none of these issues seemed to resonate enough with voters to sway the election. Trump’s branding of himself as the solution to the country’s problems ultimately triumphed. His loyal base, steadfast and energized, remained unwavering, and as the election approached, Trump capitalized on widespread anxiety over rising costs of living, a faltering economy, and public distrust of U.S. immigration and border policies. He successfully laid the blame for these issues at President Joe Biden’s feet, specifically targeting Harris’s record as vice president.
Trump’s political ascendancy has also reshaped the Republican Party, aligning it more closely with his own brand. He has cultivated a coalition of loyalists, billionaires, and young conservative lawmakers who continue to back him, and he easily dispatched Republican presidential primary challengers. Even critics who once despised him, including his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio—a former “Never Trumper”—have come back into his fold.
Trump's win was especially surprising considering the prominence of abortion rights as a key issue in this election. After the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which overturned the constitutional right to abortion, Democrats had hoped to rally voters with pro-abortion ballot measures in 10 states. With abortion becoming a driving factor in this year’s midterms, high turnout in support of Harris was anticipated. But in the end, Trump’s message about the economy, immigration, and national security proved more compelling.
Abortion rights advocates won contests in six of those states. But in the wake of a race that prominently featured women’s rights, it’s notable that across Trump’s three presidential campaigns, he beat two women and lost to a man.
Harris was expected to speak to supporters and the nation at Howard University on Wednesday, after not doing so on election night. Her campaign co-chair, Cedric Richmond, said the campaign would “continue overnight to fight to make sure that every vote is counted, that every voice has spoken.”
Trump is scheduled to be sworn in on Monday, Jan. 20.