Donald Trump Retakes the Presidency

By Jacob Clavijo – Staff Writer

After a tight presidential race, former President Donald Trump has won a non-consecutive term to serve as the 47th president of the United States. According to the Associated Press, Trump’s victory comes after surpassing the 270 electoral votes needed after securing a win in Wisconsin. 

President-elect Donald Trump on stage at an election watch party in West Palm Beach, Florida, Wednesday, Nov. 6. Photo by Evan Vucci, AP Photo.

Trump’s reelection comes after an intense campaign against Vice President Kamala Harris, who fell short after losing to Trump in key battleground states, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. After Trump secured much-needed victories in North Carolina and Georgia, Harris did not address the crowd at her campaign watch party at her alma mater, Howard University.

In recent weeks, Trump has held numerous rallies in critical battleground states that eventually helped secure his reelection. Many polls predicted tight races in these states, and victories in Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Wisconsin ultimately helped Trump.

Trump, 78, continued his campaign where he left off after his first reelection bid in 2020, which he lost to President Joe Biden. Despite indictments and two failed assassination attempts, Trump led a campaign where he promised to fix the economy, end the war in Ukraine, and spearhead the largest mass deportation in American history, among other promises. With his second non-consecutive term in office on the horizon, the president-elect has declared that the country can now begin to reach its full potential.

“This will truly be the golden age of America,” Trump said to his supporters at his watch party in West Palm Beach, Florida, early Wednesday morning.

President-elect Donald Trump, Melania Trump, and Barron Trump appear on stage at the election night watch party, Wednesday, Nov. 6. Photo by Evan Vucci, AP Photo.

Trump’s divisive rhetoric on the campaign trail has long been questioned by voters and politicians alike. After many of his allies used racist insults at a rally in Madison Square Garden, including a joke from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe where he called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” many wondered if the backlash would sway undecided voters away from Trump, particularly Latino voters, who Trump aimed to court throughout his campaign.

Encouraging unity across the nation, Trump urged the American people to come together.

“It’s time to put the divisions of the past four years behind us,” Trump said.

Trump now heads to the Oval Office once more, this time as the oldest person to assume the presidency. He will be backed by a conservative-leaning Supreme Court that he helped establish and a Republican-controlled Senate.

“It’s a political victory that our country has never seen before,” said Trump. “I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president.”

Locally, in Lynchburg, Republicans are on track to increase their majority on the City Council to six out of seven members, according to election results available early Wednesday morning.

For more information on election results, visit https://apnews.com/ap-elections-explained.