Former President Donald Trump declared victory early Wednesday morning, after Wisconsin and Pennsylvania put him over the top in the race for the White House.
“Many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason,” Trump said, referring to the summer attempt on his life that left him bloodied and left one supporter dead and two others injured.
Fox News projected Trump to win at least Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, as well as Georgia and North Carolina, which gave him more than the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. He is the first to win the presidency in two non-consecutive terms since Grover Cleveland in 1892, setting him up to be the 45th and 47th president of the United States.
“This will truly be the golden age of America. That’s what we have, this is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again,” Trump said in his speech. “We’re gonna make you very proud of your vote.”
Trump was flanked by his family at his campaign victory party in West Palm Beach, Florida. He was joined by vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, who also made remarks.
“We just witnessed the greatest political comeback in the history of the United States of America,” Vance said. “And after the greatest political comeback in American history, we’re going to lead the greatest economic comeback in American history.”
Trump also remarked on down-ballot races, which appear to give him a governing mandate once sworn in.
“The number of victories in the Senate was absolutely incredible,” Trump said. “You have some great senators and some great new senators, and it looks like we will be keeping the control at the House of Representatives.”
Trump’s win comes after a long-fought battle, not only in swing states, but against a lawfare campaign waged against him by the Biden-Harris administration’s Department of Justice. The former president also faced a propaganda press running interference for his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Breccan F. Thies is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. He previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.
