WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump will serve a second term in the White House after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Associated Press projected a win for Trump early Wednesday morning, closing the chapter on a tumultuous and unpredictable presidential race that included two assassination attempts and a criminal conviction for the former president.
The 78-year-old’s victory dashed Democrats’ hope of electing the first woman president.
It isn’t the first time Trump has done that, either. In 2016, when it was widely believed America would see its first woman be elected president, Trump trounced those dreams as well delivering an upset victory over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Despite curbing a chance at having the first woman U.S. president, Trump also made history with his win – becoming the first person convicted of a felony to be president. The president-elect was convicted of 34 felony counts in a high-profile New York hush-money case months before Election Day.
Trump is still facing felony charges in at least two separate criminal cases, which he often used on the campaign trail to argue that he was a victim of a politicized justice system.
He also became only the second president in history to win non-consecutive White House terms, after Grover Cleveland in the late 19th century.
Trump’s candidacy capitalized on anger over inflation and frustration about migrants crossing the southern border. He also hammered President Joe Biden as too old for the job even though he's only four years younger than the president.
Although the concerns over Biden’s age permeated both parties through this election, on Jan. 20, 2025, Trump will become the oldest person ever sworn into office ─ an honor previously held by Biden when he was sworn in in 2021.
Biden, who will be 82 when he leaves office next year, is still the oldest president to ever serve.
As for a second Trump presidency, only time will tell what direction he’ll go.
During his 2024 campaign, Trump pledged retaliation against rivals as he pushes to fulfill an agenda sidetracked during his previous term by the global pandemic.
The president-elect wants to undertake a mass deportation of migrants who are living in the United States illegally, extend and expand his 2017 tax cuts, greatly increase tariffs and offer more support for fossil fuels and less support for renewable energy. He has attacked transgender rights and pledged to end Russia's war with Ukraine while suggesting Ukraine must make territorial concessions.
He also is seeking to concentrate more government power within the White House.
President-elect Trump will be inaugurated in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 20, after the election is certified on Jan. 6. Harris will oversee that proceeding just like Vice President Mike Pence did in 2021 after he and Trump lost the 2020 election.
