Donald Trump is the winner of the 2024 presidential election, declared by the Associated Press at 5:30 am Eastern time on November 6th after he won the battleground state of Wisconsin, and officially earned 276 electoral votes.
The key swing states went to Trump, though Arizona and Nevada took the longest to be called, not being announced officially until November 10th. Republican candidates also won the majority of the House of Representatives and the Senate, resulting in all branches of the government having a Republican majority.
A Republican lead was kept the entirety of the night, despite predictions before the race seeing Vice President Kamala Harris taking the lead. Harris has 48% of the popular vote and 226 electoral votes, while 50.4% of the popular vote and 312 electoral votes went to Trump. He won both the popular and electoral votes, and discussed the strength and power of his campaign in the victory speech made shortly after the results of the election were declared.
“This is, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time. There has never been anything like this in this country, and frankly maybe beyond,” Trump said.
The speech also addressed some of the key issues the President-Elect looks to change, such as immigration. Much of the Trump campaign focused on his immigration and economic plans, as they are popular among even some democrats compared to a lot of his more social policies.
“We’re going to help our country heal, we have a country that needs help, and it needs help very badly. We’re going to fix our borders, we are going to fix everything about our country. We made history for a reason tonight,” Trump said.
Kamala Harris presented her concession speech at Howard University Wednesday afternoon. She kept a hopeful approach, thankfully addressing her family, her team and her running mate Tim Waltz. Harris also mentioned having called Trump to congratulate him on the victory, and encouraged her supporters to remain optimistic.
“The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for. But, hear me when I say the light of America's promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up, as long as we keep fighting,” Harris said.
Several news and political organizations cover the election, but the Associated Press (AP News) is the official source, as it gets information directly from states and public officials, rather than other sites. This information is publicized through their website, and is said to make declarations using mathematical strategies, rather than predictions or historical facts. Because of this, many other news outlets use the declarations made by AP news to report on the facts of the election.
“The AP has a long history of providing election results and making calls. We don't have a decision desk with statisticians here like the AP or other TV networks, so NPR won't be making calls, but we will report and follow what the AP does. So when you hear calls that are made on the air, we'll always attribute them to the AP,” NPR senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro said.
The response from the American people has been divided, with people seeing all sides to the results of the election. Concerns from Harris voters focus on a lot of social issues that Trump has historically handled controversially, such as abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and climate change. Though some also believe even his popular policies for the economy and foreign policy will not work out as expected, and they fear things will get worse in that department as well.
“I’m not looking forward to seeing what's going to happen with this, I don't think it will turn out well. I'm worried about the federal abortion ban he could pass, people keep saying he won't pass it, but knowing him and his former policies I do think that it could happen. Even if it's not a ban, stricter policies and restrictions on reproductive health care seem very possible, and definitely scare me,” NHS senior Angela Wennerholm said.
Others are happy about the results, and believe that a second term from Trump will be productive for the US. Many feel little change has been made during Biden's presidency, and are optimistic about new policies Trump plans to enact, especially regarding the border and economic status. Supporters have been active on social media, expressing their excitement over the Trump win. Newtown High School students have shared celebratory posts featuring Trump and Vance, highlighting quotes from his victory speech and his place as the 47th president.
Trump held the lead for the whole night, despite predictions that it would be a very close race that would take a long time to fully count. Some were surprised by this, and speculated it could be a result of the media's coverage of the election, while others believe it is just a clear showcase of what citizens want.
“I was surprised that he won all of the swing states, and that he won the popular vote. But I do think it's a statement from the American people that this is what they wanted. Because we were expecting a tie, we were expecting close, we were expecting to continue counting into next week, and it wasn't that. People came out and said this is what we want, and that's that,” NHS Social Studies teacher Candace Dietter said.
Trump will officially be inaugurated and begin his second term on January 20, 2025. Harris has encouraged her supporters to accept these results, but continue to advocate for their wants and desires in the future and during the course of his presidency. Trump has continuously stated that he will begin by working to reinstate his border policy, and strengthen many other policies from his first term.
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