FORMER President Donald Trump on Wednesday won the US presidency for a second term in one of the greatest political comebacks in American history, cruising past his Democratic rival Kamala Harris in a bitterly fought election. The 78-year-old Republican leader cleared the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency by securing a victory in the key battleground state of Wisconsin. According to races called by the Associated Press up to 4 pm (IST), 277 electoral votes had gone to Republican candidate Trump and 224 to Democratic Party’s Harris. The victory by Trump is largely being seen as a remarkable comeback after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden which appeared to be the end of his political career. Trump challenged theelection results and even indirectly urged his supporters to march on the US Capitol that reportedly triggered the violent attacks and clashes inside the seat of American democracy sending shockwaves across the globe.

 

In the following months, Trump unsuccessfully challenged the results in court. In effect, he became the first former President to get the nomination for the top office on the planet after being convicted of a felony. Trump won the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina and Wisconsin. Counting of votes is still underway in some other battleground states of Arizona, Michigan and Nevada. As a clear trend in the counting of votes emerged earlier, Harris cancelled an election watch party in her alma mater Howard University. The results are a big disappointment for Harris. She joined the race after President Biden dropped out from his re-election campaign in July, weeks after he came under severe scrutiny following his incoherent performance at a televised debate with Republican nominee Donald Trump. The nomination itself was historic as she became the first woman of colour in the US to be fielded by a major party in the presidential race.

 

 

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to US President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday to congratulate him on his “spectacular” victory, and said he looked forward to working together with him again to further strengthen India-US relations across technology, defence, energy, space and other sectors. Official sources said Modi also congratulated Trump on the performance of his Republican Party in the US Congressional elections, as both leaders affirmed that they would work together for world peace. The warm personal camaraderie between the two leaders came through in the telephonic conversation as Trump said the “whole world loves Modi” and described India as a magnificent country and the Prime Minister as a magnificent man, they added. Trump also said that he considered Modi and India as a true friend, noting that the Indian leader was one of the first world leaders he spoke to after his victory, the sources added. On X, Modi said, “Had a great conversation with my friend, President Donald Trump, congratulating him on his spectacular victory.”

 

Looking forward to working closely together once again to further strengthen India-US relations across technology, defence, energy, space and several other sectors.” As Trump cruised to victory, Modi earlier in the day congratulated him on his “historic” presidential poll victory, and said he looks forward to renewing their collaboration to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership. “Together, let’s work for the betterment of our people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity,” he said. The Prime Minister also posted pictures of his previous meetings with Trump, who was the US President from 2016 to 2020. Last month, Trump had praised Prime Minister Modi as “the nicest human being”, saying the Indian leader is “a friend of mine”. Trump had made the comment in response to a question during the Flagrant podcast. “Modi, India. He’s a friend of mine. He’s great... Before him, they were replacing them every year. It’s very unstable. He came over. He’s a friend of mine. But on the outside, he looks like he’s your father.

 

He’s the nicest, but he’s a total killer,” he had said. Trump had also recalled Modi’s visit to Houston in 2019 to attend the ‘Howdy Modi’ event during his tenure, saying, “It was beautiful. It’s like 80,000 people going crazy. We were walking around...” The Republican candidate had said he shares a “very good relationship” with Modi. The ‘Howdy Modi’ event was followed by Trump’s 2020 visit to India, where he was welcomed with the ‘Namaste Trump’ rally, organised by PM Modi in Ahmedabad, with about 1,00,000 people attending the event at a cricket stadium. Modi and Trump had also met in 2017 in Washington DC.

 

 

DONALD Trump on Wednesday promised to bring a “golden age” for America, as he appeared poised to win the presidential election with a mandate he called “unprecedented and powerful”. “This will truly be a golden age for America. This is a magnificent victory that will also help us to make America great again,” Trump, 78, told his supporters in the wee hours of Wednesday at Palm Beach Convention Centre in Florida. He was accompanied by most members of his family, including his wife Melania Trump. Vice President-elect J D Vance and his Indian American wife Usha Vance were also present on the podium. Trump praised both his running mate and Usha for their support throughout the process.

 

“This was a movement like nobody’s ever seen before, and frankly, this was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time. There’s never been anything like this in this country and maybe beyond, and now it’s going to reach a new level of importance because we’re going to help our country heal,” said the President-elect. The inauguration is scheduled for January 20. In his brief speech, Vance described Trump’s victory as one of the greatest political comebacks. “After the greatest political comeback in American history, we’re going to lead the greatest economic comeback in American history under Donald Trump’s leadership,” he said.