NBC News predicts Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will defeat Democratic rival Kamala Harris and return to the White House for another four years.
Trump lost re-election in 2020 to President Joe Biden, making the 45th president Trump the 47th president.
Trump’s victory marks a series of historic firsts. At 78 years old, he is the oldest person ever to win a US presidential election. He will be the first president in 132 years since Grover Cleveland to serve two non-consecutive terms. And he probably won. most expensive Presidential elections in history.
He is also the first president, current or former, to be convicted of a crime. He became the first twice-impeached president to regain the White House. He is the first president to take office while avoiding criminal charges in multiple ongoing federal and state cases.
Trump’s victory would deny Vice President Harris what would have been her own historic milestone of becoming the first female president of the United States.
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event at Erie Insurance Arena on October 14, 2024 in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Dustin Franz | AFP | Getty Images
It also represents a remarkable political achievement for President Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, who won his first election just two years ago.
Vance, just 40 years old and a former Trump critic turned loyalist who has become a leading voice in the president-elect’s right-wing populist movement, is now first in line to become president.
If Trump follows through on his campaign promises, his second administration will soon begin enacting an ambitious and controversial agenda centered on deep tax cuts, mass deportations, and rebuilding relationships with foreign leaders. .
President Trump also vowed to impose heavy tariffs, arguing that they would simultaneously increase U.S. revenue, strengthen domestic industry, and thwart unwanted foreign competition.
Mainstream economists have repeatedly warned that tariffs, taxes paid by U.S. importers, would raise prices for U.S. consumers.
It remains to be seen how much President Trump’s presidential policies will resemble the sum of his many claims as a candidate.
He vowed to pardon his supporters who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
He has vowed to mediate a swift end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but his ambiguity threatens to undermine the Biden administration’s strong supportive policy toward Kiev.
He has put vocal vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in charge of health policy and given billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk a multitrillion-dollar mandate. He said he would ask for proposals to cut government spending.
He dismissed Democratic warnings that he would act like a dictator in office “except on day one.”
A campaign like no other
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Saturday, July 13, 2024.
Evan Vucci | AP
The campaign that led to Trump’s election was equally historic.
Trump survived an assassination attempt in mid-July. thomas matthew crooksA 20-year-old registered Republican who was donating to Democratic groups opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. The crooks shot and killed one rally attendee, with one bullet grazing President Trump’s ear and leaving a blood stain on his face.
President Trump’s immediate reaction to the shooting was to pump his fist and defiantly tell his supporters to “fight!” When Secret Service agents chased him off stage, it instantly became a defining moment in the campaign.
Just a few days later, the race was rocked again.
Harris, 60, became the top Democratic presidential candidate in late July after Biden announced he would no longer seek re-election.
Biden’s surprising decision, making him the first sitting president since Lyndon Johnson to end his stay in the White House, was something he had initially resisted.
The 81-year-old and his supporters, including Harris, have been vocal defenders of his physical and mental health for four more years as president.
But the smoldering undercurrent of anxiety among Democrats boiled over dramatically after their shocking debate performance in late June. That’s when Mr. Biden, looking frail and distracted, gave Mr. Trump a strident, halting, and blunt answer.
Less than a month later, amid crumbling support within the party and declining poll numbers, Mr. Biden ended his campaign and endorsed Ms. Harris as his successor.
The switch effectively reset the campaign, forcing Mr. Trump to abandon many of his carefully rehearsed attacks and adapt to an opponent freed from Mr. Biden’s most obvious weaknesses.
It was not a seamless transition of power. Harris defeated Trump in the only debate between the candidates in mid-September, but Trump has refused to challenge her repeatedly.
But polls gradually revealed a close race as the Trump campaign sought to blame Harris for the inflation and immigration issues that eroded Biden’s approval ratings throughout his presidency.
