Victory speech: Trump vows to take US to 'golden age, fix everything'

Trump, seeking to return to the White House after his 2020 defeat, outlined his vision for a potential second term, promising to "fix our borders" and "fix everything about our country."

Donald Trump was elected US president on Wednesday (November 6), capping a remarkable comeback four years after he was voted out of the White House and ushering in a new American leadership likely to test democratic institutions at home and relations abroad.

Trump claimed victory in the 2024 US presidential election in the early hours of Wednesday, declaring an "unprecedented and powerful mandate" as he addressed supporters in Florida.

The Republican nominee, flanked by family members and key allies, asserted wins in several battleground states and projected a Senate majority for his party.

"America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate," Trump told the cheering crowd, listing supposed victories in Montana, Nevada, Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. "We have taken back control of the Senate," he added.

The Republican said that his presidency will take America to "golden age". 

Trump, seeking to return to the White House after his 2020 defeat, outlined his vision for a potential second term, promising to "fix our borders" and "fix everything about our country."

"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, 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.

"We're going to have to seal up those borders. And we're going to have to let people come into our country. We want people to come back in, but we have to we have to let them come back in. But they have to come in legally. They have to come in legally."

"And in addition to having won the battleground states of North Carolina, I love these places, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. We are now winning in Michigan, Arizona, Nevada and Alaska, which would result in us carrying at least 315 electoral votes," he added.

"You have some great senators and some great new senators. And also looks like we'll be keeping control of the House of Representatives," said Trump.

Trump called the SpaceX owner Elon Musk "a new star" and one of the most important people behind the Republican success.

"Let me tell you, we have a new star. A star is born, Elon (Musk). He is. He's an amazing guy. We were sitting together tonight. You know, he spent two weeks in Philadelphia and different parts of Pennsylvania campaigning."

"But he's a character. He's a special guy. He's a super genius. We have to protect our geniuses. We don't have that many of them, Trump added.

With crowd chanting "Bobbie, Bobbie!", Trump said: "Robert F Kennedy Jr, he's going to help make America healthy again. And now he's a great guy. And he really means it. He wants to do some things and we're going to let him go to it. I just said, but, Bobbie, leave the oil to me."

Commenting on the economic crisis, the Republican said: "We're going to be paying down debt. We're going to be reducing taxes. We have we can do things that nobody else can do. Nobody else is going to be able to do it. China doesn't have what we have. Nobody has what we have. But we have the greatest people also. Maybe that's the most important thing."

"We want to have borders, we want to have security, we want to have things be good, safe. We want great education. We want a strong and powerful military. And ideally, we don't have to use it. You know, we had no wars, four years. We had no wars."

Recalling the assassination attempts he survived, Trump said: "Many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason, and that reason was to save our country and to restore America to greatness."

Leading into Tuesday, polls showed a dead heat between the former president and the current vice president. But by 2am ET, Trump had won the swing states of North Carolina and Georgia and was leading in several others, according to Edison Research.

Republicans also won control of the US Senate, ensuring they will dominate at least one chamber of Congress next year.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris's campaign announced she would not address supporters on election night, as US media projections showed Donald Trump on the brink of a second term.

Economic Times reported that Democratic campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond informed a watch party at Howard University, stating: "You won't hear from the vice president tonight but you will hear from her tomorrow."

At the election watch party hosted by Howard University students in Washington, DC, a mix of emotions filled the room as early projections placed Trump ahead. Disheartened by the numbers, some attendees left early.