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US election latest: Kamala Harris urges her supporters to accept the election result after Donald Trump’s remarkable political comeback
Three states still to be called
Donald Trump has so far secured 291 electoral college votes, putting him comfortably past the 270 needed to secure the presidency.
But with three states yet to be called, we still don’t know the full breakdown of the 538 total votes available.
Around 93% of the vote has been counted in the battleground state of Nevada and 70% in Arizona, another swing state. If he wins these two, Trump will have secured all seven swing states.
Alaska also remains to be called – some 72% of the vote has been counted there.
Our US partner network NBC News currently has all three states as being too close or too early to call.
Jimmy Kimmel became tearful as he spoke about Donald Trump’s victory in the opening monologue to his US talk show, describing the election as a “terrible night”.
The late night TV host kicked off the latest episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! by saying the choice came down to a prosecutor and a criminal, and America “chose the criminal”.
“More than half of this country voted for the criminal who is planning to pardon himself for his crimes. I guess this election wasn’t rigged,” he joked.
But he teared up as he called the 2024 election “a terrible night for women, for children, for the hundreds of thousands of hard-working immigrants who make this country go, for health care, for our climate, for science, for journalism, for justice, for free speech”.
Kimmel continued that it was a “terrible night” for anyone who voted against Trump – as well as those who did vote for him, saying: “You just don’t realise it yet.”
Kamala Harris’s loss was disappointing but unsurprising to many Democrats who said their party hadn’t done enough to address important issues such as the economy, racism and sexism.
Voters in key swing states told our US partner network NBC News they saw many reasons for her defeat to Donald Trump – a shortened campaign, lack of economic messaging, a drift too far to the left on social issues, the Gaza war and bias against Harris as a woman of colour.
Trump, meanwhile, seized on Americans’ economic frustrations while he drew young men and Latino voters, according to NBC News exit polls.
Laytza Hernandez, 18, said she voted for Harris but many of her Mexican relatives voted for Trump because of his clearer message about the economy.
“They just felt like he was speaking more to their concerns,” she said
Sami Khaldi, 58, the president of the local Democratic club in Dearborn, Michigan, said many in the community were “angry” about the Biden administration’s handling of the war in Gaza and used their votes in protest.
Khaldi said he believes the Democrats also need to go further to win over rural voters.
Read the full NBC News story here…
Democratic voters wrestle with Harris’ loss to Trump: What went wrong?
NBC News
Good morning – here are the key things to know
It’s been a whirlwind 48 hours in the 2024 US election, which saw Donald Trump win a sweeping victory over Kamala Harris yesterday.
If you’re just waking up this morning, here’s an overview of the biggest lines to note from the past day:
- Donald Trump addressed a crowd of jubilant supporters with a victory speech yesterday, calling his win a “magnificent victory for the American people”;
- The Republican Party won back the Senate from the Democrats;
- Harris gave a speech from Howard University, where she conceded the election but vowed to continue to “fight”;
- Joe Biden issued a statement following Trump’s election win describing Harris as a “tremendous partner” and a person he who “deeply admired”;
- Senator Bernie Sanders poured scorn on the Democratic leadership for its attitude to economic inequality, blaming the party’s failure to tackle the issue for Trump’s victory;
- A host of world leaders offered their congratulations to Trump on his victory, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said he and Trump had spoken over the phone;
- Barack and Michelle Obama issued a statement saying though they have “profound disagreements with the Republican ticket”, they wanted to congratulate Trump and his running mate JD Vance.
Stay with us as we continue to bring you the latest on Trump’s return to the White House.
Donald Trump will select people to serve under his leadership and enact policies that “make the life of Americans affordable, safe and secure” in the days and weeks ahead, his campaign has said.
Earlier, the White House announced that Joe Biden had spoken to the president-elect and expressed his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition, while emphasising the importance of working to bring the country together.
Biden also called Kamala Harris to salute her for her campaign.
Donald Trump is looking forward to a meeting with Joe Biden which will take place “shortly” at the Oval Office, an official has said after the pair spoke on the phone.
After addressing supporters in Florida in the early hours of yesterday morning, Trump has kept a low profile, taking calls from world leaders and turning his election victory into a government.
But the president-elect will meet with Biden soon as the administrations begin the process of changing leader.
“President Trump looks forward to the meeting, which will take place shortly, and very much appreciated the call,” Steven Cheung, his campaign communications director, said.
A White House official earlier said they had nudged the Trump team to sign the required federal agreements necessary to begin an orderly presidential transition.
Nancy Pelosi has said millions of Americans are proud of the leadership and campaign of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in a statement on X.
The former speaker of the US House of Representatives also said a “peaceful transfer of power is the cornerstone of our democracy” and “we all have a responsibility to come together and find common ground”.
You can read here full statement here…
What history do Pelosi and Trump share?
The former House Speaker, who is a Democrat, led the House when it impeached Trump twice.
The first impeachment took place in 2019 over allegations he improperly sought help from Ukraine to boost his chances of re- election.
The second impeachment in 2021 was for “incitement of insurrection” over the US Capitol riot.
He was acquitted for both.
Over the years, Pelosi and Trump have exchanged insults at each other.
In his final rally, Trump called Pelosi a “crazy, horrible human being”.
Meanwhile, Pelosi has previously said she “hardly ever” says Trump’s name because it is a “grotesque word”.
Donald Trump has spent the day calling leaders around the world after his historic political comeback.
Among them is Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, who said he was looking forward to working with his “friend”.
Meanwhile Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, said the pair had “big plans for the future”.
Other world leaders who sent messages of congratulations to Trump include Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, who said it was “history’s greatest comeback”.
Sir Keir Starmer said he looked forward to “working with Trump in the years ahead”.
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, also said he was ready to work together with Trump “with respect and ambition”.
‘The American people have spoken’: Pence congratulates Trump
Former vice president Mike Pence has sent his congratulations to Donald Trump on his election win.
In a statement on X, Pence urged “every American to join us in praying for our incoming president, vice president and elected officials at every level”.
Pence was Trump’s vice-president during his first term in the White House from 2017 to 2021, but competed against him in a bid for the Republican presidential nomination last year.
By Jess Sharp, live news reporter in Washington DCÂ
Among the thousands of people who came to see Kamala Harris’s concession speech were 21-year-olds Rashad Freeman and Ryan Harris.
They came to show their support for the vice president after yesterday’s “disheartening” election loss.
“It was very heartbreaking to see some of those major swing states turn red,” says Rashad.
“The next four years are going to be painful for a lot of people, especially for women. It’s not going to be a nice time.”
Ryan says it was “surprising” to see Harris lose by so much.
“I was hopeful but every single swing state that we could have gotten went the wrong way, which was disappointing,” the senior international business major from California says.
He points out that it’s not just disappointing that Donald Trump was elected, but also that the Democrats lost the Senate.
“I can see a lot of policy changes coming in the next couple of months, but I hope he doesn’t do too much,” he says.
“I don’t see the country going in a positive direction.”
(SKY NEWS)