LAST UPDATE | 6 Nov 2024

THE RACE WAS called shortly after 10.30am Irish time as the Associated Press and US networks declared Donald Trump was on his way back to the White House. 

It had been announced much earlier in the morning that Vice President Kamala Harris would not address her supporters and will instead make a speech later on Wednesday. 

As polls in eastern states closed in the earlier hours of the morning (Irish time) it became apparent that Trump’s vote appeared to be up compared to four years ago when he was defeated by Joe Biden.

Harris was pinning her hopes on a sweep of the former industrial rust belt heartlands of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

However a projected win in Pennsylvania – which carries 19 electoral votes – all but ended Democratic hopes. A win in Wisconsin sealed it. 

Trump had won all three states when he won the presidency in 2016 and Biden flipped them four years later, creating the so-called ‘Blue Wall’ that would keep the presidency in Democratic hands. 

Trump also performed strongly in other swing states – early this morning, North Carolina and Georgia were also put in his column.

Overall, polling proved to be largely correct in that the swing states were impossible to predict ahead of election day. 

To get elected, either candidate needs to reach the magic number of 270 electoral college votes out of the 538 on offer. 

The results from all of those states may not be projected until later today, however Trump is over the 270 mark and will be on his way back to the presidency in the new year. 

Addressing supporters in Florida earlier the former president said he had won a “magnificent victory”. 

Appearing on stage with his family and vice presidential candidate JD Vance, the Republican declared it “a movement like no one has ever seen before”.

In its live presidential forecast, the New York Times rated Trump’s overall chance of winning the election at 95% while he was making his remarks. “Very likely Trump,” was the forecast at the time. Updates on the page were ended later in the morning after the election was called.

Writing before 4am Irish-time as the prospect of a Trump win began to become clear, the New York Times Chief Political Analyst Nate Cohn said:

“For the first time tonight, we consider Trump likely to win the presidency. He has an advantage in each of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. To win, Harris would need to sweep all three.”

Bonus episode of our politics podcast The Candidate: Christine Bohan and Rónán Duffy examine how election night unfolded and what Trump’s imminent victory means for US politics.

Speaking on NBC News, former Biden White House press secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged that the short time Harris had to campaign after Biden dropped out is likely to be a discussion point in the wake of the election.

“She’s run a campaign over the course of 107 days, that is not something we’ve seen in history and there’ll be lots of questions about exactly that, the timing and the impact of that.”. 

Anthony Scaramucci, who briefly served as Trump’s communications chief before later becoming a fierce critic of the former president, said that Biden attempting to run for a second term was a historic mistake which had helped hinder the Harris campaign. 

The veteran Democrat, he said, would be “condemned” for trying to run again. 

With a Trump win all but sealed, the dollar surged overnight and bitcoin hit a record high as traders bet on a Trump victory.