News Mania Desk / Piyal Chatterjee / 6th November 2024
Four years after being thrown out of the White House, Donald Trump’s election as president completed an incredible comeback and ushered in a new American leadership that will probably put both American democratic institutions and relations overseas to the test. After a campaign of divisive rhetoric that widened the nation’s rift, Trump, 78, regained the White House on Wednesday by obtaining more than the 270 Electoral College votes required to win the presidency, according to Edison Research’s projection.
The former president crossed the threshold after winning in Wisconsin, a battleground state. With a number of states still to be counted, Trump has 279 electoral votes to Harris’ 223 as of 5:45 a.m. ET (1045 GMT). In the popular vote, he was ahead of Harris by almost 5 million votes. Trump made the statement, “America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate,” in front of a boisterous gathering of supporters at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in Florida early Monday.
When Trump’s baseless accusations of election fraud prompted a crowd of supporters to assault the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an unsuccessful attempt to overturn his 2020 loss, it seemed as though his political career was gone. However, by leveraging voter fears about high costs and what Trump claimed—without proof—was an increase in crime as a result of illegal immigration, he swept away opponents within his Republican Party and defeated Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
Supporters gathered at her alma mater, Howard University, but Harris did not address them. After midnight, Cedric Richmond, her campaign co-chair, spoke briefly to the throng and announced that Harris would give a public speech later on Wednesday. His words were, “We still have votes to count,”
During her brief 15-week campaign, Vice President Harris was unable to rally enough support to defeat Trump, who held the White House from 2017 to 2021, or to soothe voters’ fears on immigration and the economy. Harris has cautioned that Trump was a threat to democracy and sought unbridled presidential power. According to Edison Research exit polls, nearly three-quarters of voters believe that American democracy is in danger, highlighting the polarization in a country where differences have only widened throughout a very close contest.
