The News
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Former US President Donald Trump claimed victory in Tuesday’s election, saying he and his campaign “overcame obstacles that nobody thought possible,” marking a remarkable return to power for the former American leader.
“I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor” of returning to the White House, he said in remarks at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, flanked by his wife, Melania, his children, and his running mate, JD Vance, as well as Vance’s wife. “America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate.”
“This will truly be the golden age of America,” Trump added. “This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again.”
Though his win has not been officially confirmed by all US networks, Fox News has projected his victory, and the ex-president remains on track to return to the White House. Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond told her supporters that she would not be speaking this evening, and she hasn’t conceded the race.
Shelby’s view
Team Trump, buoyed by their internal data, went into Election Day feeling cautiously optimistic — even as the superstitious nature of the team had them triple checking the good polling numbers. As the night went on, campaign aides only became more bullish, with some predicting fairly early on that Trump could sweep all seven battleground states.
Trump spent much of his evening at an exclusive Mar-a-Lago event, surrounded by his top campaign aides and supporters, including Elon Musk and Dana White. Trump’s team kept him updated on the race as he sat in the ballroom, while his vice presidential pick, JD Vance, spent part of his evening in a room upstairs with his aides watching results roll in.
A post mortem hasn’t been fully fleshed out, but Trump campaign aides were quick to point out that concerns over things like Trump’s ground game and the joke about Puerto Rico that a comedian made at his Madison Square Garden rally appeared overblown by parts of the media and Democrats. One aide argued that Harris ran too much on “intangible” issues like the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol, when voters were far more concerned about the economy.