The results of the US presidential election are clear: Donald Trump is re-elected President of the United States of America, having obtained the 270 electors needed to win. The billionaire had a weapon that Kamala Harris did not.
The essential:
- Donald Trump becomes the 47th President of the United States. His victory in the 2024 American election is confirmed even if the results remain provisional until the end of the counting in the last states. The Republican already has 277 electors out of the 270 needed to be re-elected as head of the USA and should obtain more. Three figures give the extent of Donald Trump's triumph.
- First, his undeniable and fairly rapid victory in 4 of the 7 “Swing states”, the states presented as undecided and capable of swinging the result: Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina. But above all, he is leading the partial results in all the others, he can sweep the seven pivot states. 7/7: an impressive number.
- Another surprising figure: Donald Trump received many more votes than his opponent, while polls credited Kamala Harris with higher voting intentions nationally. The billionaire received nearly 5 million more votes than his rival (71 million votes against 66 at 1:30 p.m.).
- Finally, the figures on his electoral breakthroughs are spectacular: in states where his victory was predictable, he received significantly more than the polls predicted: a 13-point lead over Harris in Florida, 14 points in Texas, 12 points in Ohio.
- Donald Trump had a secret weapon: the mobilization of his electorate, larger than the pollsters thought, was stronger than announced. The re-elected president was able to count on his secret trade secret: embodying the revenge of Americans feeling downgraded, embodying the moral conservatism that reassures millions of Americans who fear a caricatured progressivism associated with to "wokism", embody economic credibility in the midst of an inflationary crisis, embody a voice without complexes and modesty on immigration, the elites or the wealthiest classes.
Discover the results of the American elections
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17:10 – JD Vance thanks Trump
The future vice president thanked his wife, Donald Trump, and the American people for allowing him to take this position. “Thank you. “To my beautiful wife for making this possible. To President Donald J. Trump, for giving me the opportunity to serve our country at this level. And to the American people, for their confidence. I will never stop fighting for all of you”.
THANK YOU!
To my beautiful wife for making it possible to do this.
To President Donald J. Trump, for giving me such an opportunity to serve our country at this level.
And to the American people, for their trust. I will never stop fighting for ALL of you.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) November 6, 2024
According to information from the American online newspaper NBC News, Kamala Harris is expected to call Donald Trump today, in a few hours, to acknowledge her defeat. The vice president is expected to speak publicly afterwards. Kamala Harris is reportedly working on her speech, according to an aide to the defeated Democratic candidate. Joe Biden will also call Donald Trump today to prepare for his election, which will take place on January 20, 2025, according to a White House official.
16:10 – What shaped Trump's victory in the 2024 election: a highly mobilized electorate
Thanks to data collected by Edison Research and Reuters, which conducted a major opinion survey of 22,500 voters, we know how the vote for Donald Trump and Kamala Harris was structured. 54% of men voted for him, 55% of “white” people, 53% of voters aged 45 to 64. Donald Trump outperformed voters who had not studied. But it was above all the low turnout of Kamala Harris's electorate that made the difference. Here are the lessons from this investigation in infographics carried out by the BBC:
15:33 – Donald Trump's legal cases buried after his re-election ?
Donald Trump is the first candidate to win the presidential election after being convicted multiple times by the courts and while he is still embroiled in four cases awaiting trial. Donald Trump's re-election risks having an impact on the handling of these cases: either by delaying the trials by several years or by influencing the sentences handed down and carried out. Let us recall that the President of the United States has the power to pardon persons convicted of acts under federal laws or federal crimes. What will happen to Donald Trump's legal affairs ?
Read also: the Trump family has changed
15:15 – Did Kamala Harris lose because she is a woman ?
The American presidential election is often polarized between women and men, the 2024 election confirms this trend and the gender gap that pushed female voters to vote overwhelmingly for the Democrat and male voters to prefer Donald Trump. However, Kamala Harris, who hoped to capitalize on the female vote, did not perform better than previous Democratic candidates with this electorate. On the contrary, Donald Trump strengthened his male electorate by recovering a share of the Latin American male vote. Among men, Donald Trump also managed to mobilize a virile electorate, composed of young men who are usually not very politicized, whom he convinced by participating in very popular podcasts while appropriating their codes and their subjects around MMA and cryptocurrencies. Kamala Harris, for her part, did not succeed in attracting this electorate. A fact attributable more to his campaign than to his gender according to historian André Kaspi, interviewed on Franceinfo.
The fact that Donald Trump won against a woman for the second time – after Hilary Clinton in 2016 – also raises questions about a possible reluctance of Americans to elect a woman to the presidency of the United States. But the comparison has its limits: in 2016, Hilary Clinton won the popular vote and therefore more votes than Donald Trump who won because of the indirect electoral system. This year, Kamala Harris is doing less well than Donald Trump in terms of votes, with 5 million votes behind her rival. It is therefore not so much the gender as the campaign that influences the outcome of the vote.
14:52 – Donald Trump's victory is a “major threat to human rights” according to an NGO
The reactions to Donald Trump's victory are not all enthusiastic, but remain polite and do not associate the result of the American election with risks. However, this is what the Human Rights Watch association does, which considers that a second term for the Republican “constitutes a major threat to human rights”. “His first term, marked “The country's violation of human rights and its disregard for democratic processes are of great concern,” the NGO adds.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,00014:44 – Europe congratulates Donald Trump and prepares for future US policy
In Europe, France and Germany were the first countries to react. Emmanuel Macron welcomed Donald Trump's victory, saying he was ready to work with him, and Olaf Scholz followed his example, saying he wanted to “stand alongside Washington to promote prosperity and freedom.” “We are going to work towards a more united, stronger, more sovereign Europe in this new context”, added Emmanuel Macron later on X, after a meeting with the German Chancellor.”In Europe, it was also the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who sent her “warm"congratulations to the Republican.
The French Prime Minister also reacted to Donald Trump's victory, but by addressing European countries, warning them against “every man for himself” in response to future American policy and calling for a “coordinated European strategy”: “The temptation [must] not be to have every man for himself or to have bilateral relations, but rather to a coordinated European strategy” declared Michel Barnier in the Council of Ministers according to government spokesperson Maud Bregeon. Donald Trump's victory will indeed have consequences for Europe's economic and trade relations and members of the European community are preparing for it.
14:34 – Trump promised to establish peace in Ukraine in 24 hours: what do Zelensky and Putin think about it ?
During the campaign, Donald Trump assured that he would end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours without ever saying how. But how did the two leaders who have been involved in this conflict for more than two years react? ? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the Republican's “impressive victory.” “I appreciate Donald Trump's commitment to peace through strength in international affairs.” It is precisely this principle that can concretely lead to a just peace in Ukraine. I am hopeful that we can put it into practice together,” he continued on X.
Russia was less forthcoming: the Kremlin did not congratulate Donald Trump, recalling that the United States is “a hostile country that is directly and indirectly involved in a war against our “state.” According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Moscow will judge the future 47th president of the United States “on concrete actions”.
14:25 – Reactions to Donald Trump's victory in the Middle East
Several leaders have reacted to Donald Trump's victory, particularly in the Middle East where a war is being played out between Israel and neighboring Arab territories and countries. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was among the first and most enthusiastic to address Donald Trump. He hailed “the greatest comeback in history” and rejoicing in the Republican victory, which he said signified a “powerful recommitment to the great alliance” between Israel and the United States. “This is a huge victory!” he added.
For his part, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also congratulated the Republican candidate and said he was “convinced that the United States will support the legitimate aspirations” of the Palestinians and was ready “to work with President Trump for peace and security in the region.” Hamas, the Islamist group that rules the Gaza Strip, announced that he will position himself vis-à-vis Donald Trump depending on the latter's policy towards Palestine.
14:13 – Trump progresses by 10 points or more in these states
Donald Trump's vote has increased in nearly every state compared to the presidential election four years ago, meaning Harris has lost nearly as many points. Some of the Republican candidate's gains amount to 10 percentage points or more in some places, according to AP data: 12 points in New York, 11 points in California and New Jersey, and 9 points in Connecticut and Illinois, both Democratic strongholds, where Harris won. He also increased in traditionally Republican states with 10 points more in Florida or 9 in Texas.
1:59 p.m. – No new results before 4 p.m.
The results of the American presidential election are still expected in four states, even if the outcome of the vote is known, but none should be announced before 4 p.m. (French time). The AP news agency, which is a reference for the results of the American elections, has announced that it will no longer reveal results before this deadline. She also specifies that while the results from some states could be given in two hours or more, we should not expect to know the results in Arizona “late, Wednesday”.
1:42 p.m. – Kamala Harris silent since Donald Trump's victory
Some Democrats wanted to believe until the end that Kamala Harris would catch up with Donald Trump, her team even estimated at midnight (local time) that the outcome of the vote would not be known this Wednesday. However, only a few hours later Donald Trump won enough electors to dash all the hopes of the Democratic camp. Since then Kamala Harris has remained silent, but she must speak in the coming hours and recognize her defeat. The candidate and more broadly the Democratic camp hope to learn lessons from this defeat that was more obvious than what was announced. A source close to the Kamala Harris campaign has also asked CNN to give them “time to define her own strengths and weaknesses.”
13:25 – How has Donald Trump been able to make so much progress with Latino voters ?
A significant portion of the Latino community's vote has shifted from the Democratic to the Republican camp: Donald Trump won 25 percentage points among this electorate, a new development that is helping him to impose himself more easily in many states. However, Kamala Harris was banking on these usually Democratic votes to make the difference. This particularity could spell the end of demographic voting, according to a Donald Trump campaign official: “I think a lot of people, whether they're Hispanic or black, just think, 'I'm an American and these are my issues.' Just because I check this box on the census form doesn't mean I don't think the same as everybody else about everything else,” Trump campaign official said. Marc Lotter, who was the strategic communications director for Donald Trump's 2020 campaign, on USA Today
13:07 – Of the 10 most populous states, Trump wins more than half of them
Donald Trump has won 27 states so far and he can still emerge victorious in four others: Alaska, Arizona, Michigan and Nevada. But above all, the Republican candidate has won most of the most populated states in the country and therefore with the largest number of electors. He emerged victorious in Texas (2nd most populous state with 40 electors), Florida (3rd state with 39 electors), Pennsylvania (5th with 19 electors), Ohio (7th with 17 electors), Georgia and North Carolina (8th and 9th with 16 electors each). Donald Trump could win the last state in the top 10: Michigan, where he is in the lead.
12:46 – Trump in the White House, Republicans in the majority in the Senate.. And in Congress ?
Donald Trump is the new elected president of the United States, he will become the 47th president when he is inaugurated in January 2025. But before his victory at the White House, his Republican camp also won the majority in the Senate, the upper house of the American Parliament which until then had a majority Democrats. It remains to be seen whether Donald Trump will also have a majority in the Congress, the lower house of Parliament. Before the election, the Republican camp was slightly in the majority in Congress, will it keep this advantage ? In which case the Republican camp would be dominant in all institutions and the Democratic camp would be limited in its political opposition.
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How American elections work ?
The American electoral system is complex. It is based on an indirect system where Citizens do not elect their president directly, but electors who then meet to choose the head of state. This “electoral college” has 538 members, corresponding to the total number of senators and representatives in Congress, as well as three electors for the District of Columbia. Each state has a certain number of electors, allocated according to the size of its population.
In presidential elections, which are held every four years, citizens vote in early November. The candidate who wins a majority of the votes in a state, according to the “winner-takes-all” rule, gets all of the electors in that state, at except for Maine and Nebraska, which distribute their electors proportionally. The candidate who receives at least 270 electors wins the presidential election.