Trump Claims Victory Over Harris In US Presidential Election
Donald Trump claimed victory and pledged to “heal” the country Wednesday as results put him on the verge of beating Kamala Harris in a stunning White House comeback.His exuberant speech came despite the fact that only Fox News had declared him the winner, with no other US networks having made the call so far.As jubilant supporters cheered and chanted “USA”, Trump took to the stage at his campaign headquarters in Florida along with his wife Melania and several of his children.
– Mood shift –
Polls for weeks had shown a knife-edge race between Harris and Trump, who would be the oldest ever president at the time of inauguration, the first felon president and only the second in history to serve non-consecutive terms.
Trump also faces sentencing in a criminal case over hush money payments on November 26, while the controversy over his denial of his 2020 election defeat by Joe Biden still persists.
But in the end victory came surprisingly quickly.
The mood shifted sharply at Harris’s watch party in Howard University — her former college and a historically Black university in Washington — as the results came in.
“I am scared,” said Charlyn Anderson. “I am anxious now. I am leaving, my legs can barely move.”
They were deciding whether to either hand a historic comeback to Trump or make Harris the first woman in the world’s most powerful job.
In a stark reminder of the tension — and fears of outright violence — dozens of bomb threats were made against polling stations in Georgia and Pennsylvania.
The FBI said the threats appeared to originate in Russia, which is accused by Washington of trying to meddle in the election. The threats were all hoaxes but succeeded in disrupting proceedings.
– Dark rhetoric –
Harris, 60, had aiming to be only the second Black and first person of South Asian descent to be president.
She made a dramatic entrance into the race when Biden dropped out in July, while Trump — twice impeached while president — has since ridden out two assassination attempts and a criminal conviction.
She hammered home her message that Trump was a threat to democracy and her opposition to Trump-backed abortion bans.