Donald Trump is celebrating his election win by beginning the process of choosing who will join his second administration, as his conservative allies and surrogates jostle for position in the hope of securing a top role.
President Joe Biden will meanwhile address the nation from the White House Rose Garden at 11am ET (4pm GMT).
Trump’s defeated adversary Kamala Harris called to congratulate him on his victory on Wednesday afternoon and subsequently delivered a concession speech at Howard University, in which she said that, while she concedes the election, she will not give up the fight that fueled her campaign.
“The fight for freedom, opportunity, fairness, and dignity of all people, and ideals at the heart of this nation… that is a fight I will never give up,” the Vice President said.
That came after Trump completed a shocking political comeback by winning the election four years after leaving the White House.
The former president surpassed the magic number of 270 Electoral College votes early yesterday after winning key battleground states.
He also won 51 percent of the popular vote, picking up 72.5m votes to Harris’s 68m as she fell well short of Biden’s 2020 total of 81m.
Watch: Jimmy Fallon roasts Donald and Melania Trump’s return to White House
Jimmy Fallon roasts Donald and Melania Trump’s return to White House
Jimmy Fallon roasted Donald and Melania Trump on their return to the White House following the Republican’s dramatic election victory. Addressing Trump’s election victory on Fallon Tonight on Wednesday (6 November), the comedian stated Americans had “decided to get back with their crazy ex”. Fallon said: “No matter who you voted for, I think all Americans can agree it’s going to be a rough Thanksgiving.” The host added: “Of course, Trump’s already super busy. First, he’s got to move all those classified documents back into the White House. “Republicans were thrilled until they realized there is going to be four more years of Melania’s Christmas decorations.”
Joe Sommerlad7 November 2024 13:25
Biden to address nation from White House on Thursday
The 46th president will address the nation from the White House Rose Garden at 11am ET (4pm GMT).
He is expected to reflect on the election result and encourage all citizens to accept it without complaint, congratulate President-Elect Trump and praise Kamala Harris for her campaign.
Joe Sommerlad7 November 2024 13:05
Radio host blames Harris defeat on culture of chauvinism among Latino men
Pennsylvania radio host Victor Martinez appeared on MSNBC yesterday and had this hard truth for Nicolle Wallace on Kamala Harris’s loss:
“As far as the Latino vote in general, it was the Latino man. It was a Latino man who decided that they were going to vote for Donald Trump. And I will dare to say that it’s the Latino man who will – who wouldn’t want a woman president. I mean, you and I had this discussion before, and I have audios from the Latino men who were calling my show, telling me that they wouldn’t vote for her just because she was a woman.
“And that is unfortunate, but that’s part of the Latino culture, right, with the Latino the man. And he’s the one, the provider. And we’re the boss, and we still, unfortunately, have a lot of Latinos with that mentality where the woman belongs in the kitchen. That is a reality of the Latino male chauvinist culture. And I think that’s what exactly what happened.”
Joe Sommerlad7 November 2024 13:00
Trump AG hopeful says he wants to drag Democrats’ ‘political dead bodies through the streets and burn them’
A Republican lawyer thought to be in the running to be Donald Trump’s attorney general has said he wants to drag Democrats’ “dead political bodies” through the streets and “burn” them in a graphic social media post.
Mike Davis, a former Supreme Court clerk and Senate aide, shared the violent post on X on November 6, shortly after Trump surpassed the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.
“Here’s my current mood: I want to drag their dead political bodies through the streets, burn them, and throw them off the wall,” Davis said.
“(Legally, politically, and financially, of course),” he added.
“F*** unity… We have the votes. And they tried to kill Trump,” he said in another expletive-laden post, referring to the opposition.
Joe Sommerlad7 November 2024 12:45
LGBT+ crisis hotlines report huge spike in contacts after Trump election win
The Trevor Project, a non-profit collective dedicated to supporting LGBT+ youths and preventing suicide, has issued a statement reporting that it experienced a 125 percent increase in calls, texts and chat messages on Election Day and on Wednesday from young people distressed by the dawning news of Donald Trump’s win at the polls.
The Rainbow Youth Project told The Washington Post something similar, saying that it had received more than 3,810 calls this month.
Other groups supporting the LGBT+ community like OneIowa also told The Post it had experienced an increase in emails and messages.
Joe Sommerlad7 November 2024 12:30
West Wing star Bradley Whitford blames ‘racist and sexist’ country for Trump victory
Actor Bradley Whitford, best known for The West Wing and The Handmaid’s Tale, wants Democrats to avoid falling into “despair” after Trump’s second victory, he told The Independent in an exclusive interview.
Whitford, known for his Emmy-winning West Wing performance as the firebrand political strategist Josh Lyman, said he was surprised by Trump’s decisive win.
The 65-year-old has long been a Democratic ally, and most recently spoke at a Harris rally in Wisconsin on October 22.
“I absolutely thought we were going to win,” Whitford told The Independent outside the White House on Wednesday afternoon, less than 12 hours after Trump secured his second term.
“I thought it was going to be closer,” he added.
“But whenever any of my friends asked me, I would end it with, ‘You can never underestimate how you know, racist and sexist this country is.’”
Katie Hawkinson has more.
Joe Sommerlad7 November 2024 12:15
Election night ratings reveal which network came out on top
While Trump and Harris battled it out for the presidency, a war was being fought in the shadows among the networks trying to draw in viewers to their election coverage.
Millions of Americans were glued to their TV sets on Tuesday night, watching the results roll in, with one news channel trouncing its competitors in the ratings: Fox News.
Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum led the network’s primetime election coverage on Democracy 2024, garnering an average of 10.3 million viewers between 8pm and 11pm ET on Tuesday evening, according to Nielsen data.
Joe Sommerlad7 November 2024 12:00
Steve Bannon suggests MTG serve as Trump’s head of Homeland Security
Project 2025 was not the only concern on Steve Bannon’s mind yesterday.
He also floated the idea that Marjorie Taylor Greene should be appointed to the president-elect’s new administration as the head of Homeland Security.
Fellow Trump ally Greene, who was re-elected to congress for the third time on Tuesday, spoke to Bannon following the sweeping Republican victory.
Bannon noted that the Georgia firebrand had “been with us from the beginning,” adding “Congressman Greene, you’ve done so much work. You’re such a fighter. Now, is there any truth to the rumor that you’re going to take over as DHS?”
Greene laughed but dodged the question somewhat, replying: “I don’t know what’s going to happen Steve, we’re just thrilled to have President Trump back in the White House.”
Joe Sommerlad7 November 2024 11:45
Watch: Harris’s cousin makes heartbreaking declaration after vice president’s election defeat
Kamala Harris’s cousin makes heartbreaking declaration after election defeat
Kamala Harris’s cousin made a heartbreaking declaration after the vice president’s election defeat. Speaking after Donald Trump was chosen as the 47th president of the United States, Sherman Harris said: “America has lost out on a great champion to rule the country.” Mr Harris revealed that his entire family had cried following Wednesday’s result. He told Good Morning Britain on Thursday (7 November): “We cried, the entire family of ours cried. We cried in support of her. I think she will be also feeling the same way we are.”
Joe Sommerlad7 November 2024 11:30
Jimmy Kimmel chokes back tears as he says election marked ‘terrible night’ for everyone
In his first show since the election was called, the late-night host, who goaded Trump at this year’s Oscars ceremony, fought back tears as he reeled off a list of people who could now suffer under a second Trump administration.
Joe Sommerlad7 November 2024 11:15