Former President Donald Trump won a second term in office, overcoming an intense level of political opposition — as well as doubts over his fitness for office — by driving home a message that he would be the best candidate for Americans' pocketbooks.
Fox News called the race early Wednesday morning. A little under four hours later, CNN, NBC News, CBS News, and ABC News also called a Trump victory after the result in Wisconsin put Trump over the 270 electoral votes he needed to win the presidency.
In defeating Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump will return to the White House after voters ousted him from office in the 2020 election.
As of Wednesday morning, Republicans had retaken the Senate, though it is still not known who will control the House of Representatives.
Trump had essentially been running for president since his 2020 loss. He sought to overturn Joe Biden's victory and was impeached by the US House of Representatives for "incitement of insurrection" over his role in the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. (He was later acquitted by the US Senate.)
In November 2022, Trump launched his presidential campaign on the heels of a disappointing night for the GOP, as the party failed to retake the Senate and only barely won back a House majority. But he used the head start to hammer potential GOP primary opponents and gradually reaffirmed his standing as the party's leader.
Trump easily dispatched top figures like Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the UN, in the 2024 GOP primaries, which further strengthened his hand as he eyed a general-election rematch against Biden.
But Biden's exit from the race — following a disastrous debate against Trump in June — paved the way for Harris' candidacy. The vice president quickly consolidated Democratic support and attracted the sort of donor base that was able to compete directly with GOP megadonors.
Still, Trump continued to hold a polling advantage on the economy throughout the general-election race, which for many voters overrode concerns over his behavior while in office.
And despite Harris' strong start and her robust campaign apparatus, she was still unable to overcome Trump's enduring level of support from his conservative base.
Addressing his supporters in West Palm Beach, Florida, early Wednesday morning, before the race was called, Trump said his election victory would usher in the "golden age of America" and vowed to "help our country heal."
"America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate," he added.
Trump's return to the White House is also poised to have profound effects on the judiciary.
Should either Associate Justices Clarence Thomas or Samuel Alito retire from the bench within the next four years, Trump has the potential to name at least one more conservative jurist to the court. And if he is able to appoint two additional justices, it means that a majority of the court would consist of his appointees — a stunning level of influence that could have reverberations for generations.
