New York: “We made history”, Donald Trump said on Wednesday declaring victory in the presidential election, staging a comeback against all odds.
“This will truly be the golden age of America. That’s why this is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again”, he said at his West Palm Beach campaign headquarters.
Fox News Decision Desk, which analyses incoming counting data, had declared Trump the winner, while the other media were waiting to formally declare the victory and their data showed him on the brink of winning.
Trump said that he would carry at least 315 electoral college votes, having won four swing states and leading in three others.
He said that he was also winning the popular votes.
The Senate had flipped back to Republican control, he said, and the party was heading to retaining the House of Representatives.
Media has given 51 seats in the 100-member Senate, with seven results due.
A beaming Trump flanked by his family and running mate JD Vance and his wife, took the stage to chants of “USA, USA” from his supporters.
Meanwhile, the venue for Vice President Kamala Harris’s victory celebration at Howard University in Washington shut down by 1:30 am and her campaign announced that she had gone home and would speak later in the morning.
“America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate”, Trump said.
After an intense election campaign, Trump said, “We’re going to help our country heal”.
He did not mention Harris or President Joe Biden or any Democrat, whom he had been verbally thrashing in his speech, either extending an olive branch or continuing the attacks.
Trump told his supporters, “I will fight for you, for your family, and your future. Every single day I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body”…
Listing his victories, Trump said, “We also have won the popular vote. That was great. Winning the popular vote was very nice, very nice. I will tell you a great feeling of love”.
“We have taken back control of the Senate”, he said. “It also looks like we’ll be keeping control of the House of Representatives”.
“We have a country that needs help, and it needs help very badly. We’re going to fix our borders. We’re going to fix everything about our country,” he said.
Illegal migration was a major issue in the election and Trump threatened mass deportations of illegal migrants when he is elected.
“We’re going to have to seal up those borders,” he said, adding, “We want people to come back again… we have to let them come back in, but they have to come in legally”.
Trump praised J D Vance, his running mate and his wife and family.
“He’s turned out to be a good choice. I took a little heat at the beginning, but he was, I knew the brain was a good one, about as good as it gets,” he said. “And we love the family… We’re going to have a great four years”, he said.
Vance called their victory, “The greatest political comeback in the history of the United States of America”.
“We’re going to lead the greatest economic comeback in American history under Donald Trump’s leadership”, he said.
(IANS)
