 "Donald Trump points to his wife Lady Melania Trump during an election night event at the West Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, early on November 6, 2024. Source AFP.")
Donald Trump claimed victory in the 2024 US Presidential election in the early hours of Wednesday and pledged to “heal” America.
Trump addressed supporters even when the counting in several key battleground states were underway. He reached out to them at his election headquarters at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.
He was accompanied by his wife Melania Trump and several of his children as well as his running mate Sen. JD Vance.
Trump also thanked his wife, family and congratulated Vance.
13 key points from Trump’s victory speech
1 - “I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president.”
2 - “God spared my life for a reason: To save America at that point of time”
3 - “We’ve made history for a reason tonight, and the reason is going to be just that we overcame obstacles that nobody thought possible”
4 - “America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate. We have taken back control of the Senate — wow that’s good”
5 - “And every citizen, I will fight for you, for your family and for your future. Every single day, I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body”
6 - “I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve”
7 - “It’s a political victory like our country has never seen before, nothing like this"
Impact Shorts
More Shorts8 - “This will truly be the golden age of America”
9 - “We are gonna have to seal up those borders. We are going to help our country heal, we are going to help our country heal. We have a country that needs help and it needs help very badly”
10 - “The number of victories in the Senate was absolutely incredible. Nobody expected that, nobody. We have some great new Senators. It also looks like we will be keeping control of the House of Representatives”
11 - “We have a new star…a star is born - Elon! He sent a rocket up, I saw it coming down. He (Elon) is a genius. We have to protect our geniuses, we don’t have many of them. I love Elon!”
12 - “China doesn’t have what we have”
13 - “If I lose an election, if it’s a fair election, I would be the first one to acknowledge it. So far I think it’s been fair.”
Trump’s made the speech as jubilant supporters cheered and chanted “USA”.
A victory for Trump threatens to cause shockwaves around the world, as US allies in Europe and Asia fear a return of his nationalist policies and his praise of autocrats like Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
However, the US dollar surged and bitcoin hit a record high. Also, most equity markets advanced as traders bet on a victory for Trump as the results rolled in.
With inputs from agencies.
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