Donald Trump officially wins the presidential election

Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday after an AP call in Wisconsin and the election of the former president provided a stunning political comeback and return to the Oval Office.

By winning Wisconsin, Trump gained the 270 electoral votes he needed to win the presidency and defeat the vice president. Kamala Harrisand the second non-sequential term.

Trump and the Republican Party emerged victorious in the race to control the executive branch after a contentious and virulent populist campaign in which he voiced his many grievances about his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.

Trump’s campaign was marked by numerous rulings against him in multiple lawsuits, 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 become the first president to enter the White House after being convicted of a felony. Sentencing in the president-elect’s so-called “secret money case” is scheduled for November 26.

As he moved through the battleground states, returning 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 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia in August, only to learn of a possible second attempt on his life after a gunman was found near one of his Florida golf courses in September.

Nowhere was Trump’s takeover of 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 nomination. Trump withdrew from all primary debates and still maintained a double-digit lead over all challengers throughout his two-year presidency.

Trump’s nearly two-year campaign for the 2024 race—he announced his candidacy on Nov. 15, 2022—has continued his aggressive rally style and populist messaging, this time using his rallies as a platform to air grievances about his legal troubles and the 2020 election. in front of his loyal followers.

Trump continued to lie about the 2020 election, claiming it was stolen by Democrats as a result of the so-called “big lie” that captivated his masses. He also staunchly defended 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 was close to $1 billion by the end of 2023.