The Republican candidate becomes only second in the US history to make a comeback to the White House after a gap of four years
Washington: Donald Trump was Wednesday elected the US president for a second term in one of the greatest political comebacks in American history, four years after an election loss in 2020 that sparked a violent insurrection at the US Capitol.
The 78-year-old Republican leader, convicted of felony charges and awaiting sentencing in a hush-money case in New York, defeated his Democratic rival Kamala Harris in a bitterly fought election.
After President Grover Cleveland (1885-1889 and 1893-1897), Trump is the only person to return to the White House for another term after a gap of four years. Trump served as President from January 2017 to January 2021.
According to races called by the Associated Press up to 7 pm (IST), 277 electoral votes had gone to Trump and 224 to Harris.
Trump, the oldest person in US history to be elected president, crossed the halfway 270 votes-mark in electoral college votes with victory in the battleground state of Wisconsin.
Addressing his supporters at West Palm Beach in Florida, Trump declared his victory in the presidential election, calling the mandate "unprecedented and powerful".
"Many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason," Trump said, referring to the two assassination attempts on his life during the election campaign this year.
Trump declared that this will be the “golden age” of America.
"This is a magnificent victory for the American people. This was a movement like nobody's ever seen before, and frankly, this was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time. There's never been anything like this in this country, and maybe beyond. And now it's going to reach a new level of importance because we're going to help our country heal. We'll help our country...we have a country that needs help, and it needs help very badly," he said.
"I will fight for you, for your family and your future."
Heartiest congratulations my friend @realDonaldTrump on your historic election victory. As you build on the successes of your previous term, I look forward to renewing our collaboration to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership.
Narendra Modi, Prime Minister
Every single day, I will be fighting for you and 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.
Donald Trump, President elect, US
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