Tens of millions of voters supported Republican nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday, securing the US presidency in a comeback triumph four years after he was defeated in the presidential election. Trump's style of leadership is expected to put democratic institutions at home and ties overseas to the test.
Following two assassination attempts and a late Democratic decision to field Kamala Harris after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race in July, Trump, 78, easily regained the White House following a campaign characterized by divisive rhetoric that widened the nation's rift.
At approximately 4 p.m. (2100 GMT), US Vice President Harris would hand over the election to Trump, a source told Reuters. Her speech would take place at approximately 6 p.m., according to prior sources.
Trump exceeded the 270 Electoral College votes required to win the presidency with his win in Wisconsin, a battleground state. With some states still to be counted, he had won 279 electoral votes to Harris' 223 as of 11 a.m. ET (1600 GMT).
"America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate," Trump declared in front of a boisterous throng at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in Florida early on Wednesday.
Despite consistently poor approval ratings, Trump was elected. He faced four criminal indictments, was impeached twice, and was judged civilly accountable for defamation and sexual assault.
When a New York jury found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal hush money paid to a porn star in May, he became the first US president to be convicted of a crime.
On January 6, 2021, Trump's supporters stormed the US Capitol in a futile attempt to overthrow his government over his fabricated allegations of election fraud, seemingly ending his political career.
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