Donald Trump declares victory and secures political comeback

Former president Donald Trump is poised to return to White House after a polarizing U.S. election that deeply divided the country.

The U.S. election on Tuesday saw Trump post early wins in critical states by taking Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia.

“I will govern by a simple motto: promises made, promises kept,” Trump said to cheering party faithful at a Florida watch party.

Vice-President Kamala Harris did not appear at her election night party at her alma mater Howard University in Washington.

Top aides told the audience that Democrats would continue overnight to fight to make sure that every vote is counted.

However, U.S. TV networks projected Trump would be the winner early Wednesday morning.

The Republicans also looked to take control of the U.S. Senate after flipping several Democrat seats. Results for control of the House of Representatives remained undecided.

Data from late Tuesday showed the vice-president underperformed compared to President Joe Biden’s turnout in the same regions in 2020.

The tumultuous campaign season saw Biden remove himself from the top of the Democrats’ ticket following a disastrous debate performance against Trump. The party quickly built support around Harris a little more than three months before election day.

The vice-president’s campaign kicked off with the idea of joy and charting a new path forward, but Harris was never able to fully shake off the criticism from many Americans about immigration, inflation and the economy directed at Biden’s administration.

There were also two assassination attempts on the former president and ongoing controversy surrounding his running mate JD Vance and multiple remarks at his rallies throughout the campaign.

But right up to the moments Americans cast their ballots, polls showed the race was razor-thin.

Trump has proposed 10 per cent across-the-board tariffs, making the duties the centrepiece of his platform. A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report suggests those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.

Canadian officials have been reaching out to members of the Republican leader’s team for months ahead of the election, making clear the importance of the bilateral relationship.

The first Trump administration demonstrated how vulnerable Canada can be when the former president scrapped the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Negotiating its successor, the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, was a key test for Ottawa after Trump’s 2016 victory. The trilateral agreement will come under review in 2026.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

— With files from The Associated Press

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press