Donald J. Trump has won the 2024 presidential race. The former president defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to regain the White House in a victory that was declared after winning the crucial state of Pennsylvania, according to AP.
A victory in Pennsylvania gave Trump just four electoral votes short of officially defeating Harris. A probable victory for the former president in Alaska or in any of the most important states of the conflict – Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona or Nevada – would send him back to the Oval Office.
Trump and the GOP have emerged victorious in the race to run the executive branch of government after a divisive and violent populist campaign that saw him air his many grievances over losing the 2020 election to President Joe Biden.
Trump's campaign has been punctuated by numerous rulings issued against him in multiple legal cases, as well as several attempts on his life. In May, a New York jury found the former (and now future) president guilty of 34 felonies; he will now be the first president to enter the White House after being found guilty of a crime. The ruling in the so-called “silence case” of the president-elect is scheduled for November 26.
While bouncing between election battleground states while realigning his Make America Great Again movement to its original form — a presidential campaign — the 78-year-old former president was shot in the ear while speaking at an outdoor campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump recovered quickly and attended the GOP convention in Philadelphia in August, only to learn of a possible second attempt on his life after a gunman was discovered outside one of his Florida golf courses in September.
Nowhere was Trump's grip on power over the Republican Party more evident than at the 2024 GOP convention. He easily defeated Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, as well as his vice president Mike Pence, his former cabinet member Nikki Haley and other contenders for the party's nomination. Trump opted not to participate in all primary debates and still maintained a double-digit lead over all challengers during his two-year candidacy.
Trump's nearly two-year campaign for the 2024 race – he announced his candidacy on November 15, 2022 – has continued his aggressive rallying style and populist messages, this time using his rallies as a platform to air complaints about his legal challenges and the 2020 elections. before his loyal followers.
Trump continued to lie about the 2020 election, claiming it was stolen by Democrats in a so-called “Big Lie” that took hold among his masses. He also staunchly defended the MAGA supporters who took part in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol as the 2020 vote was being certified by Congress. The financial cost of the president-elect's lies about the 2020 election has hovered toward $1 billion by the end of 2023.
A major gamble came from the Trump campaign over the weekend with a controversial rally at Madison Square Garden. Numerous Trump surrogates took the stage in New York to rail against immigrants, Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party and multiple election issues; overall it created a dark and final moment for Trump's third bid for the White House. Furthermore, a joke by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe about Puerto Rico being a “floating garbage island” landed with a thud – it may even have cost Trump a slice of the Latino vote after guaranteed outrage in the days that followed, including from of celebrities Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, Nicky Jam and more.
Trump's aggressive schedule of rallies continued into the run-up to the election. This week he held events in Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina.