Donald Trump, you’re rehired: resurrected President promises US ‘golden age’

Donald Trump delivered a crushing victory over Kamala Harris, handing him a second term in one of the greatest political comebacks in history.

He’s back … US president-elect Donald Trump at the Palm Beach County Convention Centre in Florida on Wednesday. Picture: Reuters

Donald Trump has promised a golden age for America as he ­delivered a crushing victory over Kamala Harris in the US presidential election, marking a dramatic revival of his MAGA movement and delivering him a second term in the White House in one of the greatest political comebacks in history.

The US president-elect declared to thousands of his supporters in Florida on Wednesday night (AEDT) that he would heal his country as he prepared to take the Oval Office back from his long-time nemesis, Joe Biden.

With votes still being counted, Mr Trump had won three of the seven swing states – Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania – and was leading in the other four: ­Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada.

He is potentially on track to sweep all of the swing states in a comprehensive victory, capped off by the Republicans regaining control of the Senate.

Referencing the July attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania, Mr Trump said he was alive today so he could “save” the US and make it great again. “Many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason,” he said. “And that reason was to save our country and to restore America to greatness and now we are going to fulfil that mission together.”

The Republican, who will be only the second president to serve two non-consecutive terms, ­described his win as the greatest in his country’s history.

“It’s time to unite, success will bring us together … I will not let you down,” he said.

Mr Trump – who was on the verge of winning the popular vote for the first time in his three presidential campaigns – said he now had a mandate to deport millions of illegal immigrants, and rip up Mr Biden’s climate and business regulations and “stop wars” around the world.

“I will fight for you for your family, and your future,” Mr Trump said. “Every single day I will be ­fighting for you, with every breath in my body.

“I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve.

“This will truly be the golden age of America. This is a magnificent victory for the American ­people that will allow us to Make America Great Again.”

Vice-President elect JD Vance – who could succeed Mr Trump as he is constitutionally barred from serving a third term – said that “after the greatest political ­comeback in American history, we’re going to lead the ­greatest economic comeback in American history”.

Exit polls pointed to a sharp drop in support for Ms Harris from traditional Democrat voters, including Latino and black men, who joined millions of younger males across the country in voting for the former president.

JD Vance. Picture: AFP

The expected strong female vote for Ms Harris did not emerge. Exit polls suggested that her margin with women was no better than Mr Biden’s in 2020 – despite her focus on abortion and women’s reproductive rights – but Mr Trump had performed better with women than he did four years ago.

Anthony Albanese said he looked forward to meeting the ­incoming president and that the alliance was secure. “Our government will work closely with the new Trump administration to ­realise the benefits of our strong economic partnership,” the Prime Minister said. “The United States has long played a leadership role in the stability and security of the Indo-Pacific. Australia will strive to strengthen the co-operation ­between our two nations.”

The only president to regain the White House after ­losing the previous ­election was Democrat Grover ­Cleveland in 1893.

After a bitter election, Mr Trump struck a more unifying tone and said he wanted to move past the divisions of the past four years. He did not mention either Ms Harris or Mr Biden in his speech.

“I’m asking every citizen all across our land to join me in this noble and righteous endeavour – that is what it is,” he said.

“It is time to put the divisions of the past four years behind us. It is time to unite and we are going to try, we have to try and it is going to happen. Success will bring us together, I’ve seen that. I saw that in the first term when we became more and more successful.”

Kamala Harris. Picture: Reuters

Mr Trump’s election victory will likely put a stop to the multiple federal investigations into his role in the January 6, 2021, riots on Capitol Hill, and will likely effect his sentencing on November 26 over his conviction for falsifying business records in New York.

The president-elect used his speech to praise his wife Melania, who played a limited role in the campaign, and tech titan Elon Musk – whose financial support and backing through his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, helped propel Mr Trump’s campaign to victory. He also singled out his campaign co-managers, Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, who are expected to play big roles in a second Trump White House.

As the night wore on and it ­became obvious that Ms Harris was heading for defeat, she chose not to make an address to her ­supporters at Howard University in Washington where she was watching the results roll in. Speaking after midnight, Ms Harris’s campaign co-chair, Cedric Richmond, said that “we still have votes to count” and that “we still have states that have not been called yet”, although he did not express any confidence about a possible victory. Ms Harris was expected to comment on the result overnight (AEDT). As the polls were closing, sources close to Mr Biden told CNN the 81-year-old President was still certain he could have defeated Mr Trump had he stayed on to contest the race instead of withdrawing in July.

While all eyes were on the White House race, hundreds of congressional elections will determine how much of the next president’s agenda gets enacted.

Jim Justice, the 73-year-old sitting Republican governor of West Virginia, emerged as an easy victor over his Democrat challenger in the Senate race to replace retiring moderate Joe Manchin.

Ohio then moved into the ­Republican column after longstanding Democrat senator Sherrod Brown, 71, was defeated by Bernie Moreno, a Trump-­endorsed businessman and the son of a one-time high-ranking Colombian government official.