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.

Follow live updates: Trump wins US election

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.

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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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”.

Republicans have also taken control of the Senate from the Democrats.

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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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Disappointment for Harris

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.

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 said he would end Russia’s war in Ukraine if he returned to the White House – but any rushed deal will likely leave Kyiv much weaker and European security in even greater peril.

Another major flashpoint a Trump presidency will immediately seek to influence is the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel.

Mr Trump came close to direct war with Tehran during his first term in office and prior restraint could well give way to direct confrontation this time around.

US election latest: World leaders congratulate Trump after historic win

Then there is the overwhelming longer-term challenge posed by China, with North Korea another growing headache especially after Mr Trump tried but failed to woo the leader of the hermit state during his first stint as commander-in-chief.

Prior to the Republican’s win, hostile and friendly capitals around the world were gaming what a second Trump White House might mean for their respective national interests and for the most pressing global security threats.

Mr Trump’s track record of unpredictability is a challenge for traditional foes – but also for Washington’s closest allies, in particular fellow members of the NATO alliance.

The president-elect has made no secret of his frustration at how the US has for decades bankrolled the security blanket that protects Europe.

During his first term as president, Mr Trump threatened to withdraw the US from the alliance – a move that would almost certainly sound its death knell. His rhetoric did help to spur allies to dig deeper into their pockets and spend more on their militaries, though.

But the damage of years of underinvestment is deep and the pace of recovery is too slow for European NATO allies and Canada to credibly stand on their own as a potent military force any time soon.

In terms of immediacy when it comes to global crises, the impact of Mr Trump’s victory will be felt most acutely by Ukraine and also by Iran.

In the run-up to the election, the then-nominee repeatedly claimed he would quickly end the Ukraine war, though without explaining how or what peace would look like.

In an indication of where his priorities lie, however, he has accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of being the “greatest salesman on earth” for securing tens of billions of dollars in weapons and other assistance that Washington has given to Kyiv.

Yet – coupled with Ukraine’s willingness to fight – that military aid is the biggest reason why Ukraine has managed to withstand almost 1,000 days of Vladimir Putin’s war.

Stop the flow of American weapons, and Ukrainian troops – despite their own ingenuity and the support of other allies – will simply lack the firepower to keep resisting the onslaught.

By contrast, US vice president Kamala Harris made clear that she viewed continued support to Ukraine as being as vital to US and Western interests as it is to Kyiv’s – a far more familiar stance that echoed the view of her NATO partners.

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While US support for Ukraine will undoubtedly change under a Trump administration, that is not the same as facilitating a complete surrender.

The president-elect – who portrayed himself as the ultimate dealmaker and adopted a new election slogan, “Trump will fix it” – will not want to be held responsible for the total absorption of Ukraine into Mr Putin’s orbit.

Putin and Iran

His relationship with the Russian president is a particularly interesting dynamic.

During his first term, he infamously said he trusted Mr Putin’s denials over his own intelligence agencies when it came to claims about Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

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But with the right advice, might the returning President Trump be able to use his connection with Mr Putin to the West’s advantage?

At the very least, it adds a new level of unpredictability – which is perhaps the most important element when it comes to assessing the likely impact of the second Trump term.

On Iran, in stark contrast to his approach to Russia’s war in Ukraine, Mr Trump may well back much greater US military support for Israel’s conflict against Tehran and its proxies – perhaps even direct involvement by US forces in strikes on Iran.

He has an even tougher stance towards Tehran and its nuclear ambitions than Joe Biden’s administration.

His decision to rip up a major nuclear deal with Iran was one of his most significant foreign policy acts during his four years as president.

It is also personal, with Iran accused of hacking the Trump campaign in recent months – an attack that will surely only heighten tensions with Iran during the second Trump term.

Votes are still being counted in the US election, meaning the race is not yet won – but Donald Trump is just a handful of electoral votes from victory.

Overnight developments have thrilled Republicans, with Mr Trump going well ahead in the race for the magic number of 270 electoral college votes to win.

While the fight isn’t officially over yet for Kamala Harris – her opponent no longer needs the four remaining key battleground states to win, and he’s already claimed victory.

Here’s the story of the night…

Trump wins first three swing states

North Carolina, Georgia and Pennsylvania – three of seven critical battleground states – have been called in favour of Donald Trump by Sky News’ US partner network NBC News.

North Carolina was the first battleground win of the election, giving Mr Trump the state’s 16 Electoral College votes, which he also narrowly won in 2020 with 49.9% of the vote, while Joe Biden garnered 48.6%.

It may not be a massive surprise, as North Carolina hasn’t swung to a Democrat for president since 2008, but it is still a significant blow for Ms Harris, who had been eyeing the state as a place to expand her path to 270.

Republican running mate JD Vance admitted before the vote it would be “very hard” for Mr Trump to win if their campaign did not hold North Carolina.

Both candidates have made frequent trips to the battleground in the final weeks of the race.

But perhaps an even bigger loss for Team Harris was Georgia, which Mr Trump was projected to win at about 5.30am UK time.

Numbers had shown Mr Trump was well ahead earlier this morning, but Democrats were holding out hope because he had been 200,000 votes ahead at the same stage of the 2020 election and still lost.

In 2020 it had proved a false lead because votes in the state’s four largest counties – Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb and DeKalb – which normally lean Democrat – had not been counted.

Once they were, Joe Biden came from behind to win the state.

Those same counties took the longest to count this time too, but Ms Harris couldn’t make up the ground in them.

Then at around 7am NBC News projected that Mr Trump would win Pennsylvania.

The state is seen as the key to victory in the election as it holds a crucial 19 electoral college votes.

Pennsylvania has been a heavy focus of the Republican and Democrat campaigns, with both camps spending huge amounts of money and time vying to win the state.

Trump’s victory there means he only needs to win the states he’s widely expected to win – he doesn’t need any more battleground states.

Florida goes to Trump

Sky News’ US partner NBC News projected Donald Trump as the winner in Florida at 1am UK time.

The Republican-leaning state has a massive 30 electoral votes, the third largest number behind California (54) and Texas (40).

Florida, which is Mr Trump’s home state, was once considered a swing state but has been reliably Republican for over a decade.

The last time Floridians went for a Democratic presidential candidate was when Barack Obama beat Mitt Romney by less than a percentage point in 2012.

New York Times needle is back

There was talk that the popular New York Times ‘needle’ may not have been available on election night due to strike action that nearly ran into polling day.

The Tech Guild, which represents the Times’s software developers and data analysts, went on strike on Sunday over contracts, pay and in-office working policies.

But the needle was up and running on election night, predicting a comfortable win for Donald Trump.

The needle is part of the New York Times’s election coverage brought to readers by 100 journalists, engineers, statisticians, data experts and researchers.

It “estimates the final outcome based on partial election results, helping readers understand what to make of the vote that has been counted so far”, the New York Times says.

You can read exactly how the needle works, and see it for yourself, on the New York Times’ website.

Republicans projected to win the Senate

NBC News projects the Republicans will take over control of the Senate from the Democrats.

It is forecast the party will win 51 seats to the Democrats’ 40.

The House, currently held by the Republicans, is still up in the air.

If Donald Trump were to win, having control of the Senate and the House would enable him to govern more freely than if these legislatures were split.

Crowds leave Harris event

Crowds were leaving Kamala Harris’s watch party in Washington DC at around midnight local time as news of Mr Trump’s projected swing state victories came in.

Supporters had hoped she would be delivering a historic victory speech there, but she didn’t show up at all in the end.

One of the supporters who attended, Anna Aurilio, told Sky News: “I’m heading home for a stiff drink but I’m a sport fan so I know it’s not over until it’s over.”

Another, Ellycia Smalley, said: “I’m a little down, obviously, but I’m not giving up hope, there are still big cities in swing states to be counted.

“It’s not over until the fat lady sings.”

That was before Pennsylvania was projected to go Mr Trump’s way.

One of her campaign chairs said she will be there tomorrow to “address the nation”.

Trump declares victory with 266 electoral college votes

Donald Trump took to the stage in West Palm Beach, Florida, with a huge entourage.

“I want to thank you all very much,” he said, praising the “incredible” MAGA movement.

“Frankly I believe this was the greatest political movement of all time,” he says, adding it’s now going to go to another level.

“We have a country that needs help very badly,” he adds, promising to “fix everything”.

“It’s clear that… this is a political victory,” he adds.

“I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honour of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president,” he says, effectively claiming victory.

“This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again.”