Donald Trump has declared he has won a “magnificent victory for the American people” as he looks on track to return to the White House as 47th President of the United States.
Mr Trump has told his supporters that “America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate”, after he was projected to win a number of crucial swing states ahead of Democrat candidate Kamala Harris.
He said that he would not let his backers down and that it is “time to put the divisions of the past four years behind us”, as he looks likely to win the presidency for the second time.
Addressing a campaign party in Florida in the early hours of Wednesday, Mr Trump pledged to “fight” for “every citizen” and promised the “golden age of America”.
He said: “Every single day I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body.
“I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve, and that you deserve.”
He added: “This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again.”
Minutes before he took to the stage at a campaign party in Florida, it was projected that Mr Trump had won in the state of Pennsylvania, after victories in North Carolina and Georgia, swing states where the race with his Democrat rival has been closely fought.
Before he left the stage in Florida, Mr Trump vowed to not let his supporters down, and told them “It’s time to put the divisions of the past four years behind us. It’s time to unite.”
He added: “Success is going to bring us together and we are going to start by all putting America first. We have to fix it because together we can truly make America great again for all Americans.
“So I want to just tell you what a great honour this is. I want to thank you. I will not let you down.
“America’s future will be bigger, better, bolder, richer, safer and stronger than it has ever been before.”
Ms Harris’s hopes for the presidency have now all but disappeared, as even with votes from the remaining battleground states – Nevada, Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin – the odds appear stacked against her.
Mr Trump also thanked his wife and family as he pointed to the Republicans having “taken back control of the Senate”.
“It was amazing to look at all of those victories,” he said.
“Nobody expected that. Nobody. Thank you very much for that and you have some great senators and great new senators and it also looks like we’ll be keeping control of the House of Representatives.”
A second Trump presidency will have a deep influence on the UK and politics across the globe.
Sir Keir Starmer’s Government is now likely to have to confront an upheaval in America’s security and defence approach, as Mr Trump is expected to chart a new course on major conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
The race initially appeared neck-and-neck as Americans went to the polls, but Mr Trump pulled ahead as result predictions came in from solidly red states including Florida, Texas and Alabama throughout the night.
Democrat candidate Ms Harris’s support came from her party’s strongholds on the east and west coast in states like New York, Delaware, and California.
His predicted victory in Georgia sees Mr Trump claim back a state he lost to Joe Biden four years ago.
Ms Harris is not expected to speak overnight amid the losses for her campaign, according to her campaign co-chairman Cedric Richmond, who told the crowd at her election night party “we still have votes to count”.
If the voting results follow predictions by the Associated Press, Mr Trump will have gained 267 votes in the electoral college, and Ms Harris 214 with the current states which have been called.
Under the US voting system, a total of 270 votes in the college are needed to win the presidency.
The election has largely unfolded smoothly across the US, despite some voters suffering delays in casting their ballots, and a spate of what the FBI described as non-credible bomb threats.
The economy is a key issue for Americans, but other areas of concern for voters include immigration, protecting democracy and abortion rights.
As they take part in the presidential poll, 10 states voted on whether to enshrine the right to abortion in law.
An amendment to Florida’s state constitution failed to pass, but New Yorkers voted in favour of a similar amendment.
The UK Government has been working hard to win over Mr Trump in case he is re-elected, after a trans-Atlantic spat developed in recent weeks over Labour Party volunteers heading to the US to campaign for his rival.
Sir Keir was expected to be following the results of the US election, but his official spokesman did not say whether the Prime Minister would stay up overnight to watch the results roll in.
Speaking to GB News from Florida, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described Mr Trump’s lead in the race as “the most incredible political comeback in any of our lifetimes”.
In central London, Democrat supporters went virtually silent as a television network showed Mr Trump ahead in swing states.
Some held their head in their hands as concern spread about Ms Harris’s prospects, and there were shouts of “No, that can’t be right” as projections on CNN showed Mr Trump strongly ahead among Latino voters in Michigan.
A spokesperson for Republicans Abroad has meanwhile claimed Democrats are on course for a “shellacking” and their path to victory is “getting narrower and narrower”.
Sara Elliot also told Times Radio: “It is definitely not what we expected in some ways, being that the polls were as close as they are.”
