Donald Trump Projected To Win 2024 Presidential Election Over Kamala Harris, Will Return To The White House
Donald Trump just made history: The Republican nominee is projected to win the 2024 presidential election over his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris and return to the White House, making him the first president in over a century to serve two separate terms.
The Associated Press projected that Trump won the election at 5:38 am ET Wednesday after he clinched the crucial swing state of Wisconsin, giving him more than the 270 electoral votes needed to secure the presidency, with several states such as Michigan and Arizona still counting votes. He is also projected to win the popular vote, a feat no Republican has accomplished in 20 years. Trump promised that "we're going to help our country heal" in an address to supporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
With his victory, Trump becomes the first candidate to win the presidency in two non-consecutive terms in more than 130 years, since Grover Cleveland did it in 1892. Trump defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016 but lost to Joe Biden in 2020. He is set to be officially sworn into office as the 47th President in January.
Harris, currently serving as Vice President under President Joe Biden, only joined the presidential race in July after Biden dropped out of the race following a dismal debate performance against Trump. Harris faced off against Trump in another debate on Sept. 10, with more than 67 million viewers turning in, a 31% increase over the audience for June's Trump-Biden debate. After that, Trump declined a chance to debate Harris again, though Harris signaled she was open to another face-off.
Trump and Harris both made a flurry of media appearances on the campaign trail, with Harris joining Fox News for an interview with anchor Bret Baier — that was later parodied on Saturday Night Live — and appearing solo on CBS' 60 Minutes after Trump turned down their offer to appear. Both were also skewered on SNL, with alum Maya Rudolph returning to play Harris and cast member James Austin Johnson playing Trump. Harris actually dropped by SNL herself this past week for a sketch with Rudolph, leading NBC to later hand Trump equal time by airing 90 seconds of his campaign ads for free during its NASCAR and NFL coverage.