Donald Trump will be America’s 47th president, CNN has projected, after mounting the most momentous comeback in political history that will hand him massive, disruptive power at home and will send shockwaves around the world.
Four years after leaving Washington as a pariah, following his attempt to overturn the 2020 election to stay in office, Trump’s victory defied two assassination attempts, two presidential impeachments, his criminal conviction and many other criminal charges.
Trump vowed at his Mar-a-Lago resort early on Wednesday to “heal” the nation, to fix its borders and to deliver a strong and prosperous economy after millions of his voters turned to him amid frustration over high prices for food and housing and embraced his plans for a crackdown on undocumented migrants.
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“I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honour of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president,” said Trump, only the second president to win a non-consecutive term.
“This will truly be the golden age of America.”
But Trump’s new mandate will raise fresh fears that he plans to follow through on his belief that presidents enjoy almost unlimited authority. He vowed on the campaign trail to use a new White House term to enact “retribution” and has openly talked about using America’s governing institutions, and even the military, to punish his foes. He has pledged to launch a mass deportation of undocumented, and even some legal, migrants that could set off a showdown with the courts.
CNN projected Trump’s victory after the state of Wisconsin put him over the top and he secured the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.
His win ended the Democrats’ desperate attempt to thwart his return to power, which saw Vice President Kamala Harris hurriedly elevated to the party nomination after already unpopular President Joe Biden’s disastrous performance at the CNN debate against Trump in June.