LAST UPDATE | 2 hrs ago
DONALD TRUMP’S CAMPAIGN transition team have said the incoming US president will seek “best people” in the “days and weeks ahead” to work in his administration.
Trump handily won Tuesday’s presidential election, defeating sitting Vice President Kamala Harris.
He clinched all the important swing states and is well on the way to winning the popular vote. This will be the first time a Republican has won the popular vote in an election in 20 years (George Bush won in 2004).
Armed with a sweeping mandate, Trump 2.0 promises to be more untrammeled than his first chaotic presidency – and could dismantle huge chunks of sitting president Joe Biden’s legacy.
Trump’s choices for own White House team will be in the spotlight, with the world’s richest man Elon Musk and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. both in line for roles.
Biden is set to address the country today, committing to a peaceful transfer to Trump.
The president – who was replaced by Harris on the ticket in July following a disastrous debate performance – will speak in the Rose Garden of the White House at 11am (4pm Irish time) to “discuss the election results and the transition” to Trump’s second term.
This will be in stark contrast to Trump himself, who refused to accept defeat in 2020, a move that culminated in the violent 6 January, 2021 assault by Trump supporters on the US Capitol.
Trump falsely claimed widespread voter fraud, and refused to attend Joe Biden’s inauguration, retreating instead to his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. He also did not allow a proper transition.
The White House said Biden spoke with Trump yesterday and “expressed his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition and emphasised the importance of working to bring the country together.”
Biden has also invited Trump to meet at the White House, despite their long history of bitter animosity. Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said Trump “looks forward to the meeting, which will take place shortly, and very much appreciated the call.”
It would be the first time they had met since the president’s disastrous debate performance against Trump in June that forced him out of the race.
World leaders reactDespite criminal convictions, indictments, and multiple allegations of sexual assault, US Americans wholeheartedly back Trump’s hardline right-wing policies and rejected Biden and Harris’s record.
World leaders swiftly pledged to work with Trump, despite concerns in much of the globe about his nationalist “America First” approach and pledges to slap huge tariffs on foreign imports.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said Beijing and Washington must find a way to “get along” in a message to Trump, calling for “stable” bilateral ties.
Trump could start his presidency by halting the US’s billions of dollars in military aid for Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s 2022 invasion.
He has repeatedly suggested he would end the war by pressuring Kyiv to make territorial concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin, a man Trump has repeatedly praised.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Trump yesterday to congratulate him and urge a “just peace.”
Trump will also return to the White House as a climate change denier, poised to take apart Biden’s green policies with his pledge to “drill, baby, drill” for oil.
Already 78, Trump is on course to break Biden’s record as the oldest-ever sitting president during his four-year term. He will surpass Biden, who is set to step down in January at the age of 82.
Kamala concedesKamala Harris did not address supporters immediately yesterday as the results of Trump’s victory became clear. However, she gave a concession speech yesterday while also vowing to help his transition to power.
An emotional Harris told tearful supporters in a speech in Washington to “not despair,” urging them to “keep fighting” after her loss.
“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fuelled this campaign,” Harris said in her short speech at Howard University, her alma mater.
“I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time,” she said, her voice hoarse as she made her first public remarks since Trump’s surprisingly heavy victory.
“But for the benefit of us all, I hope that’s not the case.”
Harris — who had blasted Trump as a threat to democracy during her failed bid to become America’s first woman president — earlier called him to offer her congratulations, an aide said.
With reporting from AFP
