Donald Trump will return to the White House after claiming a stunning US election victory over Democrat opponent Kamala Harris.
Mr Trump, who previously served as president between 2017 and 2021, picked up his first swing state after he was declared the winner of North Carolina.
Around an hour later he was declared the winner of Georgia – taking back the state he narrowly lost to Joe Biden in 2020.
He was projected as the winner of Pennsylvania shortly afterwards – touted as the most pivotal of the seven battleground states.
Mr Trump’s victory was confirmed when he surpassed 270 electoral college votes by winning the state of Wisconsin, and he remains on course to claim all seven swing states.
Ms Harris’ aides had earlier said she wouldn’t speak until later on Wednesday as her path to victory narrowed and defeat seemed certain.
The lectern where her supporters hoped she would be delivering a historic victory speech at Howard University in Washington DC was instead seen protected with rain covers.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump headed to Palm Beach in Florida to declare victory to a crowd of his supporters hours before the election result was confirmed.
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2:04
Trump declares victory
Mr Trump told his supporters: “We’re going to help our country heal.
“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 and we’ve made history for a reason tonight.”
During a speech where he doubled down on his promise to crack down on illegal immigration, Mr Trump promised those who gathered a “golden age of America”.
He added: “This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to ‘make America great again’.”
The president-elect briefly paused his speech as the crowd chanted “USA, USA, USA!”.
Mr Trump continued: “America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate. We have taken back control of the Senate. Wow.
“Wow. That’s great.”
He added that the Senate races in Montana, Nevada, Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were “all won by the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement”.
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4:33
What happened on results night?
Mr Trump then invited his running mate JD Vance to speak, with the incoming vice president saying: “I think that we just witnessed the greatest political comeback in the history of the United States of America.
“And under President Trump’s leadership, we’re never going to stop fighting for you, for your dreams, for the future of your children.
“And after the greatest political comeback in American history, we’re going to lead the greatest economic comeback in American history.”
Once the vote counting was under way, three Trump campaign officials told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News that the mood at his Mar-a-Lago resort was moving away from “cautious optimism” towards “optimism”.
Image: Donald Trump reads over his speech ahead of addressing the crowd in Florida. Pic: Eric Trump
Zelenskyy and Netanyahu congratulate Trump
World leaders began to congratulate Mr Trump before his victory had even been confirmed, with the election result set to have a sweeping impact on global politics.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “Congratulations President-elect Trump on your historic election victory. I look forward to working with you in the years ahead… I know that the UK-US special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he looked forward to an “era of a strong United States of America under President Trump’s decisive leadership”.
He added: “I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach in global affairs. This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Mr Trump on “history’s greatest comeback!”, while senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said that the incoming president will be tested on his statements that he can stop the war in Gaza within hours.
It came as European Commission Ursula von der Leyen says she “warmly” congratulated Mr Trump, while NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said he is looking forward to working with him to “advance peace through strength”.
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The race initially appeared neck and neck as Americans went to the polls, but Mr Trump pulled ahead as result predictions came in from solidly red states including Florida, Texas and Alabama throughout the night.
Ms Harris’s support came from her party’s strongholds on the east and west coasts in states like New York, Delaware, and California.
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0:33
‘Thank you so much for all your support, it was hard work, I know…’, Melania says after voting
While Mr Trump prepared to address his supporters in Palm Beach, the crowd at Ms Harris’s watch party at Howard University in Washington DC began to file out after midnight on Wednesday.
Ms Harris did not speak at the party. Cedric Richmond, co-chairman of the Harris campaign, spoke instead, telling the crowd there were still votes to count and states to be called.
“We will continue overnight to fight to make sure that every vote is counted. That every voice has spoken,” he said. “So you won’t hear from the vice president tonight, but you will hear from her tomorrow. She will be back here tomorrow.”
Donald Trump‘s berating of Mr Zelenskyy has led to a show of support from European leaders as they try to formulate their own way forward.
The US president attacked the Ukrainian leader again on Monday, telling reporters he should be “more appreciative”.
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Image: The tens of billion in US aid has included Patriot air defence systems. Pic: Reuters
Writing on Truth Social, Mr Trump also said Mr Zelenskyyhad made “the worst statement that could have been made” after he commented that peace was still “very, very far away”.
“America will not put up with it for much longer!” he posted.
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be peace as long as he has America’s backing,” the president added.
Mr Zelenskyy then posted on X, saying Ukraine was “working together with America and our European partners and very much hope on US support on the path to peace”.
“Peace is needed as soon as possible,” he said.
‘Music to the ears of Putin’
By David Blevins, US correspondent
President Trump’s decision to pause military aid to Ukraine marks a significant shift in US foreign policy, one previously considered unthinkable.
This blow to Ukraine’s defences in the face of Russian aggression will be music to the ears of President Putin. US military aid has kept Ukraine in this David and Goliath battle for three years.
It has funded what military analysts simplify as “the big stuff” of battle – artillery, anti-tank weapons, rockets and armoured vehicles. Trump’s decision to push pause disregards efforts by Keir Starmer and other European leaders to devise a peace plan.
Those already questioning Europe’s reliance on the US for defence will conclude they have been given the answer.
But the decision sets President Trump up for a potential confrontation with Republicans, who had approved the funding, in Congress.
White House sources say he wants President Zelenskyy to go on TV and apologise for the jaw-dropping showdown last Friday. But the Ukrainian president feels he has no apology to make for expressing his doubt about Russia’s commitment to peace.
Earlier, Trump side-stepped a question about a Kremlin diplomat claiming the US administration and Moscow were now aligned on foreign policy.
This weakening of Ukraine’s defence capability moves that question front and centre as he prepares to address Congress on Tuesday.
Despite the diplomatic crisis, President Trump has said a deal is still possible.
An agreement giving the US access to Ukraine’s rare earth metals was meant to have been signed by the two presidents on Friday.
It was billed as an important step in a future peace deal – and part payback for aid already received.
However, the dramatic falling out has thrown that into jeopardy.
Mr Zelenskyy wants the metals deal to include guarantees on halting Russia should it break the terms of any peace agreement.
However, vice president JD Vance suggested on Monday that the metals pact was the best way to secure a lasting end to the war.
“If you want real security guarantees, if you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine,” Mr Vance said.
“That is a way better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years,” he added.
European and world allies – who met the Ukrainian leader in London at the weekend – have discussed a “coalition of the willing” to deploy peacekeepers and deter further Russian aggression.
The prime minister said Britain was prepared to put “boots on the ground and planes in the air” under the plan – but it’s unclear who else might participate.
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Keir Starmer told MPs on Monday that Britain must “lead from the front” on supporting Ukraine and the “security of our continent, the security of our country”.
However, the prime minister believes any international deployment of troops must have a US “backstop” deterrent to be taken seriously by Russia.
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Donald Trump has confirmed 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, taking effect at 5am UK time on Tuesday.
The US president confirmed the tariffs in a speech at the White House – and his announcement sent US stocks down sharply.
The tariffs will be felt heavily by US companies which have factories in Canada and Mexico, such as carmakers.
Mr Trump said: “They’re going to have a tariff. So what they have to do is build their car plants, frankly, and other things in the United States, in which case they have no tariffs.”
There’s “no room left” for a deal that would see the tariffs shelved if fentanyl flowing into the US is curbed by its neighbours, he added.
As of 12:01am Eastern Standard Time (5.01am GMT), Mexico and Canada face tariffs of 25%, with 10% for Canadian energy, the Trump administration confirmed.
And tariffs on Chinese imports will double, raising them from 10% to 20%.
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Canada announced it would retaliate immediately, imposing 25% tariffs on US imports worth C$30bn (£16.3bn). It added the tariffs would be extended in 21 days to cover more US goods entering the country if the US did not lift its sanctions against Canada.
China also vowed to retaliate and reiterated its stance that the Trump administration was trying to “shift the blame” and “bully” Beijing over fentanyl flows.
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2:45
What is America’s trade position?
Mr Trump’s speech stoked fears of a trade war in North America and sent financial markets reeling.
Markets the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 1.4% and 1.76% respectively.
The share prices for automobile companies including General Motors, which has significant truck production in Mexico, Automaker and Ford also fell.
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Consumers in the US could see price hikes within days, an expert has said.
Gustavo Flores-Macias, a public policy professor at Cornell University, New York, said “the automobile sector, in particular, is likely to see considerable negative consequences”.
This is due to supply chains that “crisscross the three countries in the manufacturing process” and ” because of the expected increase in the price of vehicles, which can dampen demand,” he added.
Donald Trump has hit out at the Ukrainian president once again, just four days after an explosive on-camera spat between the pair.
The US president posted on Truth Social saying Volodymyr Zelenskyy made “the worst statement that could have been made” when he said the end of the war with Russia is “very, very far away”.
“America will not put up with it for much longer!” Mr Trump posted.
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be peace as long as he has America’s backing,” the president added.
He also appeared to attack Mr Zelenskyy and Europe after yesterday’s Ukraine summit in London at which leaders, according to Mr Trump: “stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the US.”
“What are they thinking?” Mr Trump asked.
A deal to end the war was still “very, very far away”, Mr Zelenskyy said earlier, adding he expects to keep receiving US support despite the two leaders’ public spat.
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“I think our relationship (with the US) will continue because it’s more than an occasional relationship,” the Ukrainian president added.
Mr Trump said in his Truth Social post: “This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. – Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?”
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