“This is a movement like nobody has ever seen before,” he told his jubilant supporters.
Donald Trump announced his presidential election victory — before his win was officially called — at around 2:30 am ET. He addressed his supporters with Melania by his side, thanking his “thousands of friends,” his family, and his number one donor, Elon Musk. “Together we’re going to unlock America’s glorious destiny,” he said.
A triumphant victory speech
Trump was jubilant as he addressed the West Palm Beach crowd early on Wednesday morning.
“This is a movement like nobody has ever seen before, and frankly, this was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time,” he said.
“Look what happened – is this crazy?” he asked, adding: “I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president… I will fight for you and your family and your future, every single day I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body.”
Trump also claimed to have won the popular vote — which he failed to secure in 2016 and 2020 — saying: “Winning the popular vote was very nice, it’s a great feeling of love.”
“We have a great feeling of love in this very large room with unbelievable people standing by my side.”
Vice President-elect JD Vance expresses his gratitude
JD Vance also took to the mic to express his gratitude, saying: “Well, Mr President, I appreciate you allowing me to join you on this incredible journey. I thank you for the trust that you placed in me, and I think that we just witnessed the greatest political comeback in the history of the United States of America.
And under President Trump’s leadership, we’re never going to stop fighting for you, for your dreams, for the future of your children, and after the greatest political comeback in American history, we’re going to leave the greatest economic comeback in American history under Donald Trump’s leadership.”
Taking the podium again, Trump responded: “I took a little heat at the beginning, but he was… I knew… I knew the brain was a good one, about as good as it gets. And we love the family, and we’re going to have a great four years, and we’re going to turn our country around, make it something very special.”
A special thank you to Elon Musk
Trump was careful to shine a spotlight on Elon Musk, one of the most important donors to his campaign.
“But, let me tell you, we have a new star,” he said. “A star is born Elon. Now, he’s an amazing guy. We were sitting together tonight, and he spent two weeks in Philadelphia and different parts of Pennsylvania campaigning.”
Trump then claimed he asked Musk to supply his Starlink services to North Carolina after it was hit by Hurricane Helene, saying it “saved a lot of lives.”
“He is a character, he is a special guy, he is a super genius, we have to protect our geniuses, we don’t have that many of them. We have to protect our super-geniuses,” he said.
Polls still coming in
As of 3 am ET, Trump was projected to win the pivotal battleground states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, and North Carolina. FOX News declared Trump’s win shortly after his announcement, and was swiftly followed by Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu, who was the first world leader to congratulate him.
The Republicans look poised to narrowly win the House, but it could take a week or so to confirm their victory. The party is already celebrating. House Speaker Mike Johnson said: “With President Trump back in the White House, there is no obstacle too great and no challenge too difficult.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham has called on special counsel Jack Smith to close his federal investigations into Trump.
“To Jack Smith and your team: It is time to look forward to a new chapter in your legal careers as these politically motivated charges against President Trump hit a wall,” he posted on X.
Republicans flip the Senate
Meanwhile, the Republicans have won control of the Senate, reversing the balance of power in Washington. The GOP flipped in West Virginia and Ohio — which both swung dramatically toward the GOP — and stood their ground in comfortable red states like Texas and Florida.
“The Biden-Harris administration has forced the American people to endure four years of high prices, open borders, and chaos on the world stage,” Thune, the GOP whip, said in a statement. “Tonight, with Republicans reclaiming majority control of the U.S. Senate, we can begin to turn the page on this expensive and reckless chapter of American history.”
CNN projects that Democrat John Mannion will beat Republican Rep. Brandon Williams in Central New York’s critical House race, just two years after Williams’ tight GOP victory. Republican Rob Bresnahan Jr. is set to unseat Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright in Pennsylvania’s 8th District, which backed Trump in 2020. Sen. Ted Cruz won re-election to a third term in Texas.
This is a developing story.
