America elects Donald Trump in a rightward lurch

Good morning and welcome to the inaugural edition of White House Watch.

The results are in: Donald Trump will be back in the Oval Office after knocking down the Democrats’ “blue wall”. You can find the latest updates on our live blog. As the US and the world digest the results, let’s get right into it.

Americans have lurched sharply rightward, embracing Trump’s demagoguery, strongman style and nationalist agenda [free to read].

Trump has pulled off a remarkable White House comeback, ushering in a new era for the US and the world. He’s expected to push American democracy, US alliances and global markets into upheaval.

Compared with his performance in 2020, the president-elect gained ground in 48 of the country’s 50 states. His new rightwing coalition — built on strong support from men and non-college educated voters, along with gains from minority voters — shrugged off his violent rhetoric, misogyny and xenophobia.

Trump is on track to win the popular vote, the first time a Republican president has done so since George W Bush in 2004. Shockingly, he shrunk Democratic margins in heavily blue states such as New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, and flipped Miami-Dade County in Florida. He boosted his vote share in almost 90 per cent of the country’s counties.

It also turned out that abortion rights were not the rallying cry Democrats were banking on and failed to secure the blue wall for Harris. Trump cracked it by winning Pennsylvania — the biggest battleground prize — and then reduced it to rubble by flipping Wisconsin, clinching the presidency.

“America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate,” Trump said during his victory speech in West Palm Beach, Florida, near his Mar-a-Lago resort.

With the Republicans’ lock on the White House and Senate, Trump can press ahead with his controversial plans: high tariffs on a vast swath of imports, more confrontational relationships with traditional US allies and a massive crackdown on illegal immigration. The House has yet to be called but the GOP looks set to retain its majority, which would create a governing trifecta.

The president-elect’s next order of business is staffing his cabinet. He’s expected to tap unconventional picks outside of Washington’s establishment, with top jobs going to loyalists such as Tesla chief Elon Musk, whose big gamble on Trump appears to have paid off.

Transitional times: the latest headlines

• Economists have warned that Trump’s policies will reignite inflation, despite his promise to bring down prices. [Free to read]

• The dollar surged to its highest point in eight years and Wall Street was poised for big gains as investors priced in a new regime of trade tariffs and tax cuts.

• After the most expensive US general election in history, graphics journalist Sam Learner broke down where all the money went.

• At Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, even the president-elect was surprised at his margin of victory. Here’s how the day unfolded in Palm Beach.

• Voting in several states was disrupted by bomb threats that the FBI warned were from “Russian email domains”.

What we’re hearing

Trump is expected to upend US foreign policy, and will probably bring unpredictability and even disruption to a new international order.

As the world took in Trump’s victory, leaders from around the globe reacted to the Republican’s historic win. Here’s a round-up of what they are saying:

UK

Six years ago David Lammy called Donald Trump a “woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath” and a “profound threat to the international order”. This morning, Lammy, now UK foreign secretary, congratulated Trump, saying the British government would “look forward to working with you”, in the latest mission to repair relations with the president-elect.

Iran

In his first term, Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Once in office, he is expected to focus on confronting the nation again. Fatemeh Mohajerani, Iran’s government spokesperson, said “who will become the next US president will not affect the Iranian people’s livelihood”, adding that major policies pursued by the US and the Islamic republic were “fixed” and not subject to “significant changes with replacements [in power]”. 

Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Trump’s return to the White House was “a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America”, in a post on X.

The Israeli premier barely concealed his preference for the Republican candidate amid public clashes in recent months with US President Joe Biden over his administration’s wartime policy in Gaza. Over the summer Netanyahu had travelled to Florida to meet Trump after a White House meeting with Biden.

Two of the most prominent far-right ministers in Netanyahu’s government, national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich also reacted with glee.

Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put on a brave face to congratulate Trump on his “impressive election victory”, expressing his hope that Trump’s “decisive leadership” would help to end Russia’s war on his country.

Ukraine’s US dollar debts rallied on bets that Trump’s second presidency would hasten peace negotiations over Russia’s invasion.

EU

Leaders of EU nations appealed to their members to band together in light of the US election result.

“We will have to demonstrate that we want and are willing to guarantee our own safety first and not wait for the American citizens and government to do it at their own expense,” Italian defence minister Guido Crosetto wrote posted on X.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the “EU must stand closely together and be united”, while buoying the prospects of the US and Europe continuing to work together during a second Trump administration.

Taiwan

President Lai Ching-te said he was confident that his country’s long-standing partnership with the US would “continue to serve as a cornerstone for regional stability”, adding that Trump would have “a particularly important responsibility in the face of increasingly severe global challenges”.

Viewpoints