Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States in Tuesday’s election. His win over Vice President Kamala Harris is a huge comeback for a man who lost the election for president in 2020, and has faced many troubles since then.
Mr. Trump had a strong lead over Ms. Harris in the early election results. By early Wednesday morning, Mr. Trump was declared the winner of the state of Wisconsin. That gave him more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the election. The results* aren’t official yet, but they’re unlikely to change.
The victory marks a big comeback for Mr. Trump, who first served as president from 2017 to 2021. “We overcame obstacles [problems] that nobody thought possible,” he said on Wednesday.
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Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States in Tuesday’s election. The victory marks a big comeback for Mr. Trump, who first served as president from 2017 to 2021. Above, Mr. Trump with his wife Melania Trump. Mr. Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, is on the right.
After losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden, Mr. Trump refused to accept the election results. This led to a violent attack on the US Capitol by his supporters.
Since leaving the White House, Mr. Trump has faced many problems. His dangerous comments led to him being banned from social media sites. He has been found guilty of several crimes, and has been charged with others. Some people thought he might be finished as a politician.
But Mr. Trump worked hard to take control of the Republican party. He won this year’s Republican primary election without ever debating any other candidates.
After Mr. Biden dropped out of the race for president in July, Ms. Harris suddenly became the Democratic candidate. The contest between the two candidates lasted just over 100 days.
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Mr. Trump focused on the idea of “making America great again”. A lot of people who supported Mr. Trump in the election are upset about rising prices, and want stronger action on illegal immigration. Many believe life was better when he was president. Above, people voting on Tuesday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Trump focused on the idea of “making America great again”. He said that the US was failing, and that he was the only one who could fix things. Many people appeared to agree with him. A lot of people who supported Mr. Trump in the election are upset about rising prices, and want stronger action on illegal immigration. Many believe life was better when he was president.
Mr. Trump’s frequent rude comments and his threats against people he dislikes did not seem to bother his supporters.
Ms. Harris tried to focus on bringing people together. She hoped her positive message would encourage people to “turn the page” on Mr. Trump’s attempts at dividing the country. But this message did not convince enough people.
(Source: Gage Skidmore [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.)
Mr. Trump will be sworn in as president on January 20, 2025. At 78, Mr. Trump will become the oldest president the US has ever had. His vice president, JD Vance, is 40, and will be one of the country’s youngest vice presidents.
Mr. Trump and his team plan to make big changes. These plans have many people worried, since Mr. Trump has already attacked many important parts of America’s system of government.
Mr. Trump says that this time, he will only choose people for government positions if they support him completely. Republicans also took control of the US Senate in yesterday’s election.* That means there will be very little to stop Mr. Trump, no matter what he decides to do. As president, Mr. Trump is unlikely to be punished for any crimes.
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Some important effects of the election will also be felt outside the US. Mr. Trump is unlikely to continue to support Ukraine and the US’s NATO allies as Mr. Biden has. Mr. Trump has plans to put high tariffs in place against products from other countries. Perhaps most importantly, Mr. Trump says he will undo many of Mr. Biden’s attempts to tackle the climate crisis.
* As of Wednesday, Mr. Trump had won 291 electoral votes to 223 for Ms. Harris. The popular vote was much closer, with Mr. Trump winning 50.9% of the votes and Ms. Harris earning 47.4%. Republicans have at least 52 seats in the Senate. That’s enough to give them a majority. It’s still unclear which party will control the House of Representatives.