Trump wins White House with political comeback based on appeals to disappointed voters

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump He was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday; It’s a remarkable comeback for a former president who four years ago refused to concede defeat, led a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts.

Trump with victory in Wisconsin 270 delegates cleared the vote It was necessary to clinch his presidency. He won Michigan on Wednesday afternoon and swept the “blue wall” along with Pennsylvania; Once Democratic-leaning, swing states, they tilted toward Trump in 2016 and toward President Joe Biden in 2020.

Democratic rival for Vice President Kamala HarrisHe called Trump Wednesday afternoon accept the race And I congratulate him. Shortly after, Biden called Trump to congratulate him and invite the president-elect to the White House, officially starting the transition process before Inauguration Day, the White House said. Biden also called Harris.

Foreign leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron, also called Trump.

The victory confirms Trump’s bare-knuckle approach to politics. He attacked Harris in deeply personal—often misogynistic and racist—terms, while proposing an apocalyptic picture of a country overrun by violent immigrants. Vulgar rhetoric paired with an image of extreme masculinity Resonated with angry voters – especially men – in a highly polarized country.

“I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president,” Trump told cheering supporters in Florida even before his victory was certified.

While Trump did better in every state than he did in the 2020 election, Harris did not fare as well as Joe Biden did when winning the presidency four years ago. When Trump takes office again, he will work with the following names: The Senate will now be in Republican handsControl of the House had not yet been determined.

“We’ve been through a lot together, and today you showed up in record numbers to achieve victory,” Trump said. “This was something special and we will repay you,” he said.

US stock market, Elon Musk’s Tesla, banks and bitcoin They were all bullish on Wednesday as investors were bullish on the election going smoothly and Trump returning to the White House. In his second term, Trump has vowed to pursue an agenda focused on dramatically reshaping the federal government and seeking revenge against those he perceives as enemies.

The results cap a historically turbulent and competitive election season that also included two assassination attempts targeting Trump and Trump. switch to a new Democratic candidate Just one month before the party’s congress. Trump will inherit a host of challenges when he takes office on January 20, including increasing political polarization and global crises that test America’s influence abroad.

Her victory over Harris, the first black woman in a major party, marks the second time she has defeated a female opponent in a general election. Current vice president Harris tops list After Biden left the race amidst alarm about his advanced age. Despite an initial surge of energy around his campaign, he struggled on a tight timeline to convince frustrated voters that he represented a break from an unpopular administration.

The vice president, who has not been publicly identified since the race was announced, was scheduled to speak at Howard University on Wednesday afternoon; The results were still in doubt as supporters here gathered for a viewing party Tuesday night.

Trump becomes the first former president to return to power since Grover Cleveland regained the White House in the 1892 election. He is the first person convicted of a serious crime to be elected president, and at 78, he is the oldest person ever elected to the office. The vice president, 40-year-old Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, will be the highest-ranking millennial in the U.S. government.

Trump will be much less scrutinized when he returns to the White House. He has plans to quickly implement a comprehensive agenda that will change nearly every aspect of American government. GOP critics in Congress have largely been defeated or retired. Federal courts are now filled with judges he appointed. The US Supreme Court, which includes three justices appointed by Trump, issued a decision this year granting broad immunity to presidents.

Trump’s language and behavior during the campaign have led to growing warnings from Democrats and some Republicans about the shocks to democracy his return to power would bring. The dictator has repeatedly praised leaders, warned that he would deploy the military to target political opponents whom he described as “enemies from within,” threatened to take action against news organizations for negative coverage, and suggested suspending the Constitution.

Some in the White House, including Vice President Mike Pence and Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff, John Kelly, have either refused to support him or issued dire warnings about his return.

While Harris focused much of her initial message on themes of joy, Trump channeled a strong sense of anger and resentment among voters.

He discussed frustrations over high prices and fears about crime and immigrants entering the country illegally under Biden’s watch. He also noted the wars in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to preside over and encourage Democrats to preside over a world in chaos.

It was a formula that Trump perfected in 2016, when he saw himself as the only person who could solve the country’s problems and often borrowed the language of dictators.

“In 2016, I declared that I am your voice. Today I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your revenge,” he said in March 2023.

This campaign has often turned absurd, with Trump amplifying outlandish and debunked rumors that immigrants were stealing and eating domestic cats and dogs in an Ohio town. At one point, he began the rally with an elaborate story about legendary golfer Arnold Palmer, praising his genitals.

A defining moment came in July when a gunman opened fire on a building. Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A bullet grazed Trump’s ear and killed a supporter. Trump, his face covered in blood, stood up and raised his fist in the air, chanting “Fight!” Fight! Fight!” Weeks later, second assassination attempt That operation was thwarted when a Secret Service agent noticed the barrel of a gun sticking out of the green while Trump was playing golf.

Trump’s return to the White House seemed unlikely when he left Washington in early 2021 as a diminutive figure sparked by lies about his defeat. A violent insurrection at the US Capitol. He was so lonely at the time that few people other than his family bothered to attend the send-off he organized for him at Andrews Air Force Base, complete with a 21-gun salute.

Democrats quickly control the US House blamed him for his role in the uprisingThis makes him the only president to be impeached twice. He was acquitted by the Senate, where many Republicans argued that he no longer posed a threat now that he had left office.

But at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump tried to maintain political relevance with the help of some elected Republicans. California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who later led his party in the U.S. House of Representatives, visited Trump shortly after leaving office and confirmed his continued role in the party.

As the 2022 midterm elections approach, Trump has used the power of his support to assert himself as the undisputed leader of the party. His preferred candidates almost always won primaries, but some suffered defeat in elections they thought were in Republican hands. These disappointing results were driven in part by the backlash to the Supreme Court decision, with the support of Trump-appointed justices, that struck down women’s constitutional right to abortion. The midterm elections have raised questions within the GOP about whether Trump will remain party leader.

But if Trump’s future was in doubt, that changed when he faced Trump in 2023. a wave of state and federal indictments for his role in the insurrection, his handling of classified information, and his interference in elections. He used the accusations to portray himself as the victim of an overreaching government; This argument resonated with the GOP base, which has become increasingly skeptical — if not outright hostile — of institutions and established power structures.

Special counsel Jack Smith was reflecting on Wednesday how to calm down Two federal criminal cases filed against Trump.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is challenging Trump for the Republican nomination, complained that the indictments “sucked all the oxygen” out of the GOP primary. Trump easily secured his party’s nomination without participating in a debate against DeSantis or other GOP candidates.

As Trump dominates Republican race, New York jury finds him Convicted of 34 felonies in May He was involved in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election by paying hush money to a porn actor who said the two had sex. Although he faces punishment this month, his victory raises serious questions about whether he will face punishment.

He was also found liable in two other civil cases in New York: one inflates his assets and the other for sexual abuse advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996.

Trump will face additional charges in a deadlocked election interference case in Georgia. He is being indicted federally for his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election results and improperly handling classified materials. When Trump becomes president, he could appoint an attorney general who would expunge federal charges.

As he prepares to return to the White House, Trump has vowed to quickly implement a radical agenda that will change nearly every aspect of American government. This includes plans to launch the largest deportation effort in the nation’s history, use the Justice Department to punish its enemies, dramatically expand the use of tariffs and retake a zero-sum approach to foreign policy that threatens to upend long-standing foreign alliances. Including the NATO pact.

When Trump arrived in Washington in 2017, he knew little about the levers of federal power. His agenda has been blocked by Congress and the courts, as well as by senior staff who act as guardrails.

This time, Trump said he will surround himself with loyalists who will carry out his agenda, no questions asked, and who will come armed with hundreds of draft executive orders, bills and in-depth policy documents.

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Colvin reported from West Palm Beach, Florida.

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