The US President -Elect, Donald Trump has officially reclaimed the U.S. presidency, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
The Republican candidate surpassed the required 270 electoral votes with a total of 276, compared to Harris’s 219, with only a few states yet to finalise their results.
In the popular vote, Trump achieved 51%, amounting to 70,823,936 votes, while Harris captured 47.4%, translating to 65,764,997 votes.
This win marks Trump’s return to the Oval Office four years after his controversial exit following the January 6th Capitol riot, where he was accused of attempting to overturn the 2020 election results, which he lost to President Joe Biden.
Trump’s victory introduces an extraordinary legal scenario, as he awaits sentencing in New York on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Additionally, he faces other criminal charges in a federal election subversion case led by special counsel Jack Smith.
Trump, 78, has used these legal battles as a central theme of his campaign, asserting that he is being targeted and pledging to pursue “retribution.”
Trump’s re-election makes him the second president in U.S. history to return to office after a defeat, following Grover Cleveland’s precedent.
He now holds a unique place as the same age as Biden was at his own inauguration, setting another record as one of the oldest U.S. presidents.
Trump’s latest victory underscores his firm control over the Republican Party, which has reshaped itself in his image since his initial election in 2016, despite previous moves to distance the party from him after the Capitol incident.
His re-election comes just months after surviving two assassination attempts, further intensifying his remarkable journey back to power.
