Republican Donald Trump declared himself the winner of the U.S. presidential election Wednesday morning, preceding an official victory call by election officials or The Associated Press.
At the time of his “victory” speech made near 2 a.m. EST, Trump was sitting at 267 Electoral College votes, ahead of sitting Democratic vice president Kamala Harris at 224. The minimum threshold of victory is 270.
Trump also led the popular vote at the time of his speech at 68,786,121 to 63,686,120.
Trump roared ahead in many southern states early in the results, narrowing Harris’ path to victory with each Electoral College declaration.
Harris shut down her watch party early on when it appeared she was headed to defeat. She had not made an official statement on the results at the time of this publication.
The Republicans were also leading in both the Senate and House races at 3 a.m. EST, setting up a potential sweep of power in Washington.
Canadian officials respond
Political leaders on the Canadian side of the border are reacting to Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office.
Premier Doug Ford said in a statement that he offers his congratulations to Trump and vice-president JD Vance on their election, adding that “Ontario and the United States share one of the most important and enduring friendships in the world.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered his congratulations on X and says “the friendship between Canada and the U.S. is the envy of the world.”
Trump was elected the 47th U.S. President early Wednesday morning, defeating Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
Trump previously served in the role from 2017 to 2021, ultimately losing to Joe Biden, who was replaced by Harris as the Democratic candidate in July.
Matthew Rink is a reporter for USA Today in Pennsylvania, a state won by Trump, and he told Vista Radio that people appeared to have one issue at heart.
“A lot of people were just voting with their pocketbook in mind, looking at the price of gasoline, groceries, and thought that Donald Trump could lower inflation.”
Ottawa-area native Colin Trethewey, who is now a U.S. resident and lives near Tampa, Florida, says, at the end of the day, the Democrats didn’t do enough to win.
“I feel like the Democrats just weren’t able to overcome the narrative that inflation was high and people’s lives were worse over the last four years, whether that was accurate or not, I really don’t think that it was accurate.”
At this point, Trethewey says he doesn’t have any thoughts of moving back to Canada, adding that he still feels you can have an opinion and live your life in the U.S.
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