Trump on verge of victory over Harris

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump was on the verge of a decisive victory over Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election Wednesday, in what would be the most stunning comeback in US political history.

Fox News declared Donald Trump the winner of the US presidential election early Wednesday -- the only network to make the call.

US networks had already called the swing states of Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina for the 78-year-old, and he led the Democratic vice president in the others.

Joyful supporters waited for the 78-year-old to speak at a watch party in Florida -- while gloom descended in Harris’s camp as aides said she would no longer speak as expected.

“You won’t hear from the vice president tonight but you will hear from her tomorrow,“ Cedric Richmond, Harris campaign co-chair, told a watch party at Howard University in Washington.

In a further blow to Democrats, Trump’s Republican Party also seized control of the Senate, flipping two seats to overturn a narrow Democratic majority.

A Trump victory 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.

But the US dollar surged and bitcoin hit a record high while most equity markets advanced as traders bet on a victory for Trump as the results rolled in.

Mood shift

The mood shifted sharply at Harris’s watch party in Howard University -- her former college and a historically Black university -- as the results came in.

Excitement faded and people began to leave, while others stared intently at screens showing the news.

“I am scared,“ said Charlyn Anderson. “I am anxious now. I am leaving, my legs can barely move.”

In contrast, the celebrations intensified at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and the watch party nearby.

Tech tycoon Elon Musk, who has backed Trump and stands to lead a government efficiency commisison under him, posted a picture of himself with the Republican at Mar-a-Lago.

“Game, set and match,“ Musk said on X, the social media network he owns along with the Tesla electric vehicle firm and the Space X company.

Millions of Americans had lined up throughout Election Day -- and millions more voted early -- in a race with momentous consequences for the United States and the world.

They were deciding whether to either hand a historic comeback to Trump or make Harris the first woman in the world’s most powerful job.

In a stark reminder of the tension -- and fears of outright violence -- dozens of bomb threats were made against polling stations in Georgia and Pennsylvania.

The FBI said the threats appeared to originate in Russia, which is accused by Washington of trying to meddle in the election. The threats were all hoaxes but succeeded in disrupting proceedings.

Oldest nominee in history

Earlier, Trump -- who has still refused to accept his 2020 election loss, after which his supporters attacked the US Capitol -- added as the first results came in that “we’re going to have a big victory tonight.”

Polls for weeks had shown a knife-edge race between Harris and Trump, who would be the oldest ever president at the time of inauguration, the first felon president, and only the second in history to serve non-consecutive terms.

Harris, 60, is aiming to be only the second Black and first person of South Asian descent to be president.

She made a dramatic entrance into the race when Biden dropped out in July, while Trump -- twice impeached while president -- has since ridden out two assassination attempts and a criminal conviction.

Trump has vowed an unprecedented deportation campaign of millions of undocumented immigrants, in a campaign full of dark rhetoric.

Harris hammered home her message that Trump was a threat to democracy and her opposition to Trump-backed abortion bans.

The election is being watched closely around the world including in the war zones of Ukraine and the Middle East. Trump has indicated he will cut aid to Kyiv’s battle against the Russian invasion.