US election results 2024 as it happened: PM speaks to Trump in first phone call; Harris offers hope to supporters in concession speech

Hello, this is the moment where we put this news feed to rest and bring you a whole new one as Americans and people around the world continue to take stock of what a second Trump presidency means for them.

Thank you to everyone who has been following along, and to the spectacular team at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age for their work on bringing Australians the best angles on this historic event.

Here’s a summary of what we’ve brought you over the past 24 hours:

• Donald Trump has claimed victory in the US election, with 295 electoral college votes clearing his path to the White House. Votes are still being counted in the swing states of Nevada and Arizona, with both leaning towards Trump.
• US President Joe Biden is set to address the nation from Washington DC at 11am local time (3am AEDT), after he released a statement praising Vice President Kamala Harris, who earlier delivered a speech that struck an uplifting tone as she told supporters she conceded the election, but not the ideals of her campaign.
• European leaders are holding a summit in Budapest, where Trump’s victory will be central to discussions about the future of regional and global security.
• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has congratulated Trump in a phone call but is facing questions at home about the ability of Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, to work with the new administration, with the former prime minister scrubbing critical comments of Trump from his social media.
• A leading analyst has warned Trump’s policy agenda could spark a global financial crisis and fuel inflation, with fears Australians could be buffeted by higher interest rates and a $36 billion hit to the domestic economy.

Follow along as we continue to provide updates on our new blog here.

British newspaper front pages after Donald Trump’s US election win.Credit: AP

NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte is warning growing ties between Russia and North Korea pose a threat to the US as well as Europe.

Rutte made the comments ahead of a summit with other European leaders in Hungary, where the implications of what a second Trump presidency means for regional and global security will be central to discussions amid fears the US will withdraw support from Ukraine.

Then US president Donald Trump greets Mark Rutte as he arrives at the White House in Washington in 2019.Credit: AP

“Russia is delivering the latest technology into North Korea in return for North Korean help with the war against Ukraine and this is a threat not only to the European part of NATO but also to the US,” Rutte told journalists.

“I look forward to sit down with Donald Trump to discuss how we face these threats collectively.”

North Korean troops have in recent days joined Russian troops on the front line of the Ukraine invasion to bolster the aggressor’s military might.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has congratulated Trump, who has savaged the country for not reaching a diplomatic agreement with Russia even before the war began. Trump has been critical of NATO, accusing European members of spending too little on defence.

Earlier, congratulating Trump on his election, Rutte said: “two-thirds of Allies now spend at least 2 per cent of their GDP on defence, and defence spending and production are on an onward trajectory across the alliance.”

With Reuters

The makeup of the US House of Representatives is teetering between a Republican majority that would give Donald Trump sweeping legislative power over his policy agenda, and a Democrat-controlled chamber that would hinder his ambitions.

AP reports final tallies could push the decision on the final makeup of the lower house into next week, with a few individual seats set to determine the outcome in Congress.

After Republicans swept into the majority in the US Senate by picking up seats in West Virginia, Ohio and Montana, House Speaker Mike Johnson predicted his chamber would fall in line next.

House speaker Mike Johnson, pictured with Donald Trump and Melania Trump.Credit: AP

“Republicans are poised to have unified government in the White House, Senate and House,” Johnson said Wednesday.

As US correspondent Farrah Tomazin reports, a second Trump presidency is likely to be more broad-ranging and unchecked than the first, with immediate priorities including deporting undocumented immigrants, expanding oil and gas drilling, and having the authority to fire civil servants he views as disloyal.

“America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate,” Trump said to a roaring crowd at the election party at the Palm Beach County Convention Centre.

US president Joe Biden is set to address the nation in a matter of hours in the wake of the Democrats’ crushing defeat to Donald Trump.

The White House says Biden, who stepped aside from the presidential race in July, will speak at 11am local time, which is 3am in Sydney and Melbourne.

US President Joe Biden is expected to address the country following Donald Trump’s election victory.Credit: Getty Images

In an earlier statement, Biden paid tribute to his “tremendous” vice president following Kamala Harris’s concession speech.

“Under extraordinary circumstances, she stepped up and led a historic campaign that embodied what’s possible when guided by a strong moral compass and a clear vision for a nation that is more free, more just, and full of more opportunities for all Americans,” he said.

Biden said choosing Harris as his vice president was the first, and best, decision he made during his own presidential campaign in 2020.

“She will continue the fight with purpose, determination and joy. She will continue to be a champion for all Americans. Above all, she will continue to be a leader our children will look up to for generations to come as she puts her stamp on America’s future,” he said.

Debate is now turning to Biden’s role in elevating Trump to a second presidency, with The Sydney Morning Herald publishing its view earlier tonight that while he achieved many things, his refusal to step aside earlier denied the Democrats a clear run at choosing his successor.

With Reuters

Donald Trump’s return to power and the collapse of Germany’s ruling coalition will be major talking points at a meeting of nearly 50 European leaders and an EU summit in Budapest.

European leaders have broadly congratulated Trump but face uncertainty over US backing for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, the US commitment to the NATO military alliance and the prospect of tariffs on their exports to the United States.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, pictured with Donald Trump with in 2019, is hosting the summit.Credit: AP

Adding to the uncertainty hanging over the Budapest gatherings, Germany’s three-party government has broken apart as Chancellor Olaf Scholz sacked his finance minister and paved the way for a general election.

Some officials are also nervous about the summit plans of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has been criticised by European Union peers over his trips to Moscow and Georgia during his country’s EU presidency, and said that he would pop champagne corks if Trump won.

During his election campaign, Trump has threatened anything from a trade war with Europe to a withdrawal of NATO commitments and a fundamental shift of support for Ukraine in its war with Russia — all issues that could have groundbreaking consequences for nations across Europe.

The impact of the US election result could be felt in Europe for years to come, on issues including the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as migration and climate change.

Among the leaders due to attend the European leaders’ meeting is Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is expected to make another plea for more aid as his country fends off Moscow’s invasion.

The timing is laden with significance as Trump has vowed to end the war “within 24 hours” of being elected — something leaders in Kyiv interpret as an impending evaporation of US support following Trump’s win.

Reuters with AP

Good evening all, Angus Thompson here. For those following this historic event overnight, I’ll be guiding you through all the news updates as Americans and people around the world digest what a second Trump presidency means for them.

In the coming hours I’ll attempt to bring you a mix of news and analysis, as we look at these developments from a variety of angles. But for now, here’s the rundown of what you need to know:

• Donald Trump has claimed victory in the US election, with 295 electoral college votes clearing his path to the White House. Votes are still being counted in the swing states of Nevada and Arizona, with both leaning towards Trump.
• Vice President Kamala Harris delivered an emotional concession speech at Howard University in Washington, DC, striking an uplifting tone as she told supporters she conceded the election, but not the ideals of her campaign.
• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has congratulated Trump in a phone call but is facing questions at home about the ability of Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, to work with the new administration, with the former prime minister scrubbing critical comments of Trump from his social media.

• A leading analyst has warned Trump’s policy agenda could spark a global financial crisis and fuel inflation, with fears Australians could be buffeted by higher interest rates and a $36 billion hit to the domestic economy.

US Vice President Kamala Harris departs the stage after conceding the election during a speech at Howard University in Washington DC.Credit: Getty Images

Donald Trump and his allies’ resounding election victory could hand Republicans unified control of the US Congress, paving the way for a sweeping reboot of the former president’s America First agenda as he consolidates power within the White House.

A second Trump presidency is likely to be more broad-ranging and unchecked than the first, with immediate priorities including deporting undocumented immigrants, expanding oil and gas drilling, and having the authority to fire civil servants he views as disloyal.

He has vowed to use federal law enforcement agencies to investigate or prosecute perceived enemies, including political rivals.

Among those expected to be targeted is special counsel Jack Smith, the federal prosecutor who charged Trump with trying to overturn the 2020 election.

Click here to read the full story from Farrah Tomazin.

The “Nostradamus” of US polling, Allan Lichtman, is still baffled by the US election result after he wrongly predicted winner for only the second time since 1984.

Lichtman, an American historian, initially reacted with despair at Donald Trump’s win, calling it “unfathomable” and saying: “Once democracy’s gone, it’s almost impossible to recover.”

He posted to X earlier today, saying he was taking time off to assess where he went wrong.

“My aim is to assess why the keys were wrong, what we can learn from this era, and what the election means for the future of our country going forward,” Lichtman said.

Former Trump White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, who also insisted Kamala Harris would win, reflected on his mistakes on election night.

Later, on Instagram, Scaramucci added that, as a “market participant and portfolio manager”, he was the type to “cut your losses” and admit he was wrong.

“I thought Harris was going to beat him, I thought she had momentum, I thought she had organisation,” Scaramucci said.

“But what [Trump] did, which I think was masterful ... he said to black and Latino men, ‘you’re with me, you’re here legally, and you’re in my club. Oh, by the way, I’m protecting you from the migrants.’

“[Trump is] a zero-sum transactionalist. He wanted those people to know.”

Donald Trump’s success in the seven battleground states was key to his victory.

So far, five have been called for the president-elect, with counts yet to be finalised in the remaining two: Nevada and Arizona.

The count has barely moved in the past few hours, given it is night-time in the United States.

However, as it stands, Trump leads by about 51,000 votes in Nevada with 90 per cent of votes counted.

In Arizona, he leads by about 136,000 votes with 69 per cent of the vote counted.

American publications’ front pages are slowly trickling in, with their take on Donald Trump’s stunning comeback victory.

Among the most striking, Vanity Fair released a special cover detailing the president-elect’s criminal history.

Some newspapers are yet to release their front pages given it’s night-time in the US. See some of them that have so far been published below.