As it happened: Harris concedes US presidential election to Trump, promises 'peaceful transfer of power'
Washington, Democratic Dc, Us 6, Presidential President Kamala In Candidate And November Saul At 2024 On Speaks Harris Picture: Howard Vice University Loeb/afp/getty
Donald Trump has been elected the 47th president of the United States.
After the polls closed, Trump secured an early lead overnight. That was strengthened after he flipped Georgia, which had voted for Democrats four years ago, and retained the closely contested state of North Carolina.
This was followed by victory in Pennsylvania, a part of the once-reliable Democratic stronghold known as the “blue wall”. That win left Trump four votes short of the magic 270 number that would see him claim victory.
Shortly after 10.30am, Wisconsin declared for Trump — thus pushing him over the 270 mark to get him back in the White House.
At a glance:
- over Kamala Harris in the Presidential race.
- has been projected to win in . These are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho , Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
- has been projected to win in . These are California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Virginia and Vermont
- Control of the US Senate will. They are projected to win 51 seats currently, with the Democrats on 41 seats and eight seats yet to be declared.
- Ten states were voting to enshrine into their constitutions. voted in favour, while have defeated motions which would have overturned abortion bans.
Kamala Harris has admitted that the outcome of the election is not "what we wanted" and "not what we voted for".
However, she said her heart was "full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country and full of resolve".
Ms Harris thanked her family, US president Joe Biden and his wife, her running mate Tim Walz and his family, her staff, and election officials who organised the election.
“The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for, but hear me when I say, hear me when I say, the light of America’s promise will always burn bright, as long as we never give up, and as long as we keep fighting," the vice-president said.
Ms Harris went on to call for her supporters to accept election result, promises 'peaceful transfer of power'
She said she had spoken to president-elect Donald Trump, and would work with him to peacefully transfer power.
“Now, I know folks are feeling and experiencing a range of emotions right now. I get it, but we must accept the results of this election,” she said.
“Earlier today, I spoke with president-elect Trump and congratulated him on his victory. I also told him that we will help him and his team with their transition and that we will engage in a peaceful transfer of power.”
“The fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness and the dignity of all people, a fight for the ideals at the heart of our nation, the ideals that reflect America at our best. That is a fight I will never give up," she said.
The vice president pledged to "never give up the fight for a future where Americans can pursue their dreams, ambitions and aspirations, where the women of America have the freedom to make decisions about their own body and not have their government telling them what to do".
"We will never give up the fight for our democracy, for the rule of law, for equal justice and for the sacred idea that every one of us, no matter who we are or where we start out, has certain fundamental rights and freedoms," she added.
"That must be respected and upheld."
Donald Trump has been projected to win the state of Michigan. This brings his total number of electoral college votes to 292.
Donald Trump’s campaign has released details of his phone call with Kamala Harris.
“President Donald J Trump and vice president Kamala Harris spoke by phone earlier today where she congratulated him on his historic victory," Trump's campaign communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement.
"President Trump acknowledged vice president Harris on her strength, professionalism, and tenacity throughout the campaign, and both leaders agreed on the importance of unifying the country."
US vice president Kamala Harris has conceded to president-elect Donald Trump by phone, several US media outlets have said.
One of her aides told the Ms Harris had congratulated Mr Trump on his victory.
The vice president is expected to deliver a concession speech at 4pm in Washington, 9pm Irish time, two hours earlier than initially planned.
US president Joe Biden is expected to speak to Donald Trump by phone and offer the Republican leader his congratulations over his projected presidential election victory, according to
The station also said Mr Biden would make public remarks about Mr Trump's election on Thursday.
Kamala Harris’s concession speech may now take place at 9pm Irish time, two hours earlier than expected. That is according to The Guardian, which is citing multiple reports.
According to Reuters, Kamala Harris will deliver her concession speech around 11pm on Wednesday. It has been reported that Harris will call Mr Trump on Wednesday to concede defeat.
President Joe Biden is also planning to call the president-elect.
Taoiseach Simon Harris has warned of the potential threat of “transatlantic trade shocks”, just hours after Donald Trump was elected as the next US President.
Mr Trump has repeatedly promised to introduce tariffs on goods imported into the US from the European Union, with pledges that such taxes will be up to 10%. He has said that even higher tariffs will be placed on goods coming from China, up to 60%.
The US President-elect has also pledged to bring US multinationals home, with a promise to cut corporation tax to 15% — potentially removing Ireland’s competitive edge.
During Leaders’ Questions on Wednesday, Mr Harris said he was looking forward to debating with Sinn Féin over policies around managing the economy.
However, he indirectly referred to the US election and said that the main opposition party would leave no money aside as a buffer.
“I look forward to debating this government's record in terms of managing our economy and managing the public purse versus your policies and your spend it all,” Mr Harris said.
“Leave nothing for the buffer times or leave nothing if there's any transatlantic trade shocks, a policy that, quite frankly, looks but surely foolish and ridiculous today.” The response from Mr Harris to Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald came after she raised public spending, criticising the decision by the Government to allocate €9m in the budget for phone pouches for schools.
Speaking on RTÉ , Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that countries should be careful in how they interpret Mr Trump’s promises.
“President-elect Donald Trump is not the first president-elect who has said that they will endeavour to bring back American companies to the US. Indeed previous Democrat presidents have said something similar,” Mr Martin said.
“The bottom line is, American companies are global companies. They need a presence in Europe, they need a presence in Asia.”
The Tánaiste said Ireland has had a good working relationship with the previous Trump administration while saying the government would engage closely with the new administration.
Donald Trump is now president-elect, promising sweeping action in a second administration. We've taken a look at what that might look like, with the agenda blending traditional conservative approaches to taxes, regulation and cultural issues with a more populist bent on trade and a shift in America’s international role.
Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik said Donald Trump's election victory has made it "all the more urgent" that parties on the left come together to establish a common platformafter the general election.
She said that parties across the green and left movements must take a stand against division and hate.
"We are concerned that there has been some evidence of a foothold being gained in Irish politics by those on the far right and we want to stand firm against that," she said.
Labour has no interest in propping up any of the three biggest parties for the sake of being in government, Ms Bacik said.
The future of politics is broad solidarity across environmental politicians and centre-left, social democratic and socialist politicians, Ms Bacik believes and that is what she wants to achieve in Ireland.
Meanwhile, Labour TD Duncan Smith said there are heightened concerns about Gaza now that Mr Trump is US president-elect and called on Irish people to be vocal about their demand to pass the Occupied Territories Bill (OTB).
"If you are a child or family in Gaza this morning, or in Ukraine, you are going to be even more worried about what the future is going to hold," he said.
Reacting to the US election result, Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman has said it cannot undermine progress to tackle climate change.
In a statement after Mr Trump’s victory, Mr O’Gorman said that the core function of democracy is respect for election outcomes and that he acknowledged his win, but did not congratulate the President-elect.
“I have no doubt that Ireland will continue to have a close relationship with the United States,” Mr O’Gorman said.
“We cannot let this result undermine the significant progress that is being made in many countries such as Ireland to tackle the devastating impact of climate change.
“I would also like to extend my solidarity and support to the women in America whose reproductive rights have been curtailed in recent years, and for whom this result brings great uncertainty.”
It comes after the Children’s Minister issued a statement on Monday, which said that it was “vital” that Mr Trump did not win the election.
Mick Clifford has given his take on the election result.
Donald Trump has been elected the 47th president of the United States.
Read our full report here.
: What are now turning out to be consolation votes for Kamala Harris, but she has added four more electoral tallies to take her on to to 223 - declaring for the defeated Democrat moments ago.
Wisconsin and Alaska have projected for .
: The Taoiseach and Tánaiste are among the multiple world leaders who have congratulated Donald Trump on his imminent victory in the US Presidential election.
Ukraine's prime minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he was "hopeful" after Trump's election.
No.
Even though he has given his victory speech, he still needs four more votes to get over the line officially at 270.
: It's not going to matter much, but two more states have just declared for Harris.
10 votes and 14 votes have boosted her tally a bit.
: Donald Trump has declared he has won a “magnificent victory for the American people” as he looks on track to return to the White House as 47th President of the United States.
Mr Trump has told his supporters that “America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate”, after he was projected to win a number of crucial swing states ahead of Democrat candidate Kamala Harris.
“This is a movement like nobody’s ever seen before, and frankly this was I believe the greatest political movement of all time. There’s never been anything like this in this country and maybe beyond.
“And now it’s going to reach a new level of importance because we’re going to help our country heal… we have a country that needs help and it needs help very badly. And we’re going to fix our borders. We’re going to fix everything about our country.
Donald Trump said there was “no other path to victory” for Kamala Harris after the Republican candidate won the US swing state of Pennsylvania.
He said winning the popular vote was “very nice” as he addressed a rally of supporters at West Palm Beach, Florida, adding: “It’s much easier doing what the networks did, or whoever called it, because there was no other path.
“There was no other path to victory. We also have won the popular vote. That was great.
“Winning the popular vote was very nice, very nice I will tell you. A great feeling of love.
“We have a great feeling of love in this very large room with unbelievable people standing by my side.
“These people have been incredible, they made the journey with me and we’re going to make you very happy.”
: Speaking at his campaign's HQ, Donald Trump has said: "Frankly, this was I believe, the greatest political movement of all time - there's never been anything like this in this country.
"Now, it's going to reach a new level of importance because we're going thelp our country heal. We have a country that needs help and needs it badly. We're going to fix everything.
"We overcame obstacles that no one thought possible. It's now clear that we've achieved the most incredible political thing.
"It's a political victory that our country has never seen before.
"I will fight for every citizen, your future and your family.
"I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve. This will truly be the golden age of America.
"This is a magnificent victory that will allow us to make America great again."
: is being projected for Donald Trump. Those 16 electoral votes would move Donald Trump to 265 votes and .
: Overnight, the Irish Examiner spoke to supporters of Kamala Harris at Howard University
: Who is still left to be projected? Alaska, Arizona, three districts in Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin
While the Presidential race is still ongoing, there is also the race for the Senate seats - and there are projections that control of the US Senate will flip to the Republicans
They are projected to win 51 seats currently, with the Democrats on 41 seats and eight seats yet to be declared.
: New Mexico is projected for Kamala Harris, bringing another five electoral votes to her tally - but their hopes now rely on holding the 'Blue Wall' to get to 270.
: Kamala Harris is not going to speak at her campaign HQ at Howard University this evening - with the crowd gathered dispersing rapidly once that news was announced.
: Another major swing state has gone the way of Donald Trump. 16 electoral votes are projected to go to the Republican candidate.
: There is a motorcade being set up outside of Donald Trump's headquarters in Mar-a-Lago - it is expected that he is heading towards the convention centre in West Palm Beach, Florida
: For more on the swing state of North Carolina opting for Donald Trump, read here.
: Another state has been projected for Kamala Harris. has projected for the Democratic nomination, with another 13 votes going with it.
: Voting has officially ended in the state of , and it has been projected for Kamal Harris, adding four more electoral votes to her total.
A SWING STATE has been projected for Donald Trump. is the first of the 'crucial' seven states, with 16 votes heading to his electoral total. He has also won in .
: The state of has been projected for Kamala Harris - as expected. It's a further 12 electoral votes to close the gap.
: has now been projected for Kamala Harris, giving her eight further electoral votes.
: Polls have closed in some of the western states - California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho - and it is better news for Kamala Harris, as and the 54 electoral votes is projected in her favor, while four votes has been given to Trump. The other two areas are currently too close to call.