Former President Donald Trump took the stage in the early hours of Wednesday morning, declaring victory and marking an extraordinary political comeback.
Minutes earlier, news organizations had officially called the 2024 presidential race in his favor.
“We made history tonight for a reason we overcame obstacles that nobody thought were possible,” Trump said. “And it’s now clear that we’ve achieved the most incredible political feat.”
The pivotal moment came when Fox News called Pennsylvania, the largest of the battleground states, in his favor. This win, along with victories in two other key states, made his overall success inevitable.
“It’s real,” shouted one excited supporter who raced to the front of the crowd, high-fiving friends and strangers alike.
Trump was joined on stage by his family, including daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who had been notably absent from the campaign, as well as aides and political supporters. He thanked his loyal base and promised a “golden age” for the nation.
The first significant call of the night came at 11:25 p.m. when North Carolina was declared for Trump.
For his supporters, who had endured election defeats, court battles, impeachments, and the fallout from the January 6 riot, this victory felt like a moment of political redemption.
Before the polls closed, Trump claimed on his Truth Social site—without evidence that there was “a lot of talk about massive CHEATING” in Philadelphia, a Democratic stronghold, echoing his previous 2020 election fraud allegations in Democratic-run cities.
This sparked concerns that Trump and his team were preparing for a repeat of the legal and political challenges that followed the Capitol riot.
“If I lose an election, and it’s fair, I’ll be the first to acknowledge it,” Trump said to reporters after voting on Tuesday.
Despite some early concerns about undecided voters shifting toward the Democrats, the night unfolded with results suggesting Trump’s victory was becoming increasingly clear.
Roger Stone, a longtime ally of Trump, noted the significance of the victory, describing it as a story of perseverance. “It’s a story of resilience and just grit,” he told DailyMail.com. “Just grinding it out.”
