He’s Back, Donald Trump Wins Presidency

Former President Donald Trump speaks at Discovery World. Photo Taken Oct. 1, 2024 by Graham Kilmer.

Donald Trump declared victory in the U.S. presidential election early Wednesday morning, before all the votes in Wisconsin or Michigan were recorded.

However, the former president appeared to be on a pathway to win every key swing state.

In a freewheeling speech from his election party in West Palm Beach, Florida that resembled the remarks he gives at campaign rallies, the former president thanked his family, supporters, campaign staff and Elon Musk among others and said, “This will truly be the golden age of America.”

Trump had only clinched a reported 266 electoral votes at the time of this spech, just shy of the 270 needed to win the presidency. However, many outlets were reporting at the time that a path to a Harris victory was far more limited than one for Trump.

He began his speech by saying his campaign represented “the greatest political movement of all time.”

Trump thanked his running mate JD Vance, calling him a “feisty guy” for sparring with media on the campaign trail. “He turned out to be a good choice,” Trump said.

Trump touched on the major issues he campaigned on, including cracking down on immigration and expanding fossil fuel production.

“We’re gonna have to seal up those borders… we want people to come back in, but they have to come back in legally,” he said.

In singing the praises of Musk, a major backer of his campaign, he spent roughly two minutes talking about watching a Space X rocket land and being wowed.

Trump also thanked Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “He’s going to help make America healthy again,” Trump said.

Kennedy has said Trump has promised him control of public health agencies if he wins. The one-time presidential candidate has espoused views that alarm public health professionals, including removing all fluoride from water systems.

Trump invited Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White to speak. White thanked some of the Youtubers and podcast hosts that the Trump campaign used to reach a new, younger demographic during the campaign: the Nelk boys, Aiden Ross, Theo Von, Bussin With the Boys and Joe Rogan.

Trump said his campaign won because of a “historic realignment” of the American electorate. Exit polls and voting results throughout election night showed the former president made huge gains with voters of color, primarily Latino voters.

Shortly after the city of Milwaukee’s absentee ballots were recorded at approximately 4:30 a.m., Trump secured a definitive victory in Wisconsin. Additional votes remain outstanding.

Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, did not speak on election day.