On 5 November 2024, Donald Trump completed one of the most remarkable comebacks in American political history, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris to return to the White House. His victory came with wins in all seven battleground states, a majority of the popular vote and Republican control of the Senate, a sweeping result that few had predicted only months earlier.
The campaign had been transformed in July when President Joe Biden abandoned his re-election bid and Harris inherited the race. Her campaign raised a billion dollars and energised a large volunteer army, but she was unable to overcome an electorate angry about inflation, immigration and the state of the world, and her late-breaking bid never fully answered voters’ questions about what she would change.
Trump’s win, built on his hold over the Republican working class and growing support among Latino and young men, was confirmed by Harris in a phone call on the morning of 6 November. The result set up a second Trump term defined by sweeping tariffs, a government-efficiency drive, and a foreign policy that would reshape alliances and trade within months.