Donald Trump has won the US presidential election after securing the over 270 Electoral College (EC) votes required to emerge victorious.
As of the time of this report, Mr Trump had secured 279 EC votes, while his main challenger, incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris, secured 223 votes.
Mr Trump is also ahead in the popular vote count, securing over 71 million votes to Mrs. Harris’ over 66 million.
This election is the first since 2004 that a Republican presidential candidate will secure more popular votes than a Democratic Party candidate, indicating Mr. Trump’s solid performance and the sub-par performance of Mrs. Harris.
“America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate,” Mr. Trump told a jubilant crowd in Florida Wednesday morning.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Mr Trump had already won in four of the seven crucial Swing states – North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Winscosin –and was ahead in the remaining three – Michigan, Nevada, and Arizona – BBC reports.
Apart from winning the presidential election, the Republican Party also took control of the US Senate for the first time in four years and maintained its hold of the House.
Mrs. Harris has yet to congratulate Mr. Trump as of the time of this report, nor has she addressed her supporters.
However, several world leaders, including Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, have congratulated Mr. Trump for his victory.
According to President Tinubu, Mr. Trump’s victory reflects the trust and confidence the American people have placed in his leadership, the president’s spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, wrote in a statement.
President Tinubu believes that, given President Trump’s experience as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, his return to the White House as the 47th president will usher in an era of earnest, beneficial, and reciprocal economic and development partnerships between Africa and the United States, he added.
“Together, we can foster economic cooperation, promote peace, and address global challenges that affect our citizens,” the Nigerian leader was quoted as saying.
Many other leaders posted their congratulatory messages on X, the social media platform whose owner, Elon Musk, was one of the main campaigners for Mr Trump.
“Ready to work together as we did for four years. With your convictions and mine, with respect and ambition. For more peace and prosperity,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X.
“For a long time, Germany and the U.S. have been working together successfully promoting prosperity and freedom on both sides of the Atlantic,” wrote German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on X.
“We will continue to do so for the wellbeing of our citizens.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose country has relied on US support to withstand Russia’s invasion, also congratulated Mr. Trump.
“I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach in global affairs,” Mr. Zelensky wrote.
“This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer. I am hopeful that we will put it into action together.”
Mr. Trump is, however, expected to differ in support for Ukraine compared to the outgoing President Joe Biden. Mr. Trump has vowed to end the war when he assumes office, and many believe he will halt weapons transfers to Ukraine and tell Mr. Zelensky to negotiate with Russia.
…On uncertainty in the Middle East
Mr. Trump is also returning to the U.S. presidency at a time of unprecedented conflict and uncertainty in the Middle East. He has vowed to fix it.
But Trump’s history of strong support for Israel coupled with his insistence during the campaign that the war in Gaza should end quickly, the isolationist forces in the Republican party and his penchant for unpredictability raise a mountain of questions over how his second presidency will affect the region at this pivotal moment.
Barring the achievement of elusive cease-fires before the inauguration, Trump will ascend to the highest office in the country as a brutal war in Gaza still rages and Israel presses its offensive against the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group. A conflagration between Iran and Israel shows no signs of abating — nor do Israel’s conflicts with Iranian proxies in Iraq and Yemen — and Iran’s nuclear program remains a top concern for Israel.
…Wants peace, but how?
Throughout his campaign, Trump vowed to bring peace to the region.
“Get it over with and let’s get back to peace and stop killing people,” Trump said of the conflict in Gaza in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt in April.
Israel launched the war in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, when militants killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250, with dozens still in Gaza. Israel’s offensive has killed more than 43,000 people, according to Gaza health officials, whose count does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, though they say more than half of the dead are women and children.
The war has ignited a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, driven Israel into increasing international isolation, with two world courts examining charges of war crimes, and has sparked a wave of protests on American campuses that have fueled debate over the U.S. role as Israel’s key military and diplomatic supporter.
International mediators from the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have tried unsuccessfully to bring about a lasting cease-fire.
Yet Trump has repeatedly urged Israel to “finish the job” and destroy Hamas — but hasn’t said how.
“Does finish the job mean you have a free hand to act in dealing with the remnants of Hamas? Or does finish the job mean the war has to come to an end now?” asked David Makovsky, director of the program on Arab-Israel Relations at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “That’s part of the enigmas here.” (Reports from Premium Times and PBS)