Trump Wins US Presidential Election

Former U.S. President Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to earn a new four-year term as the country's leader.

Trump secured at least 277 of the 538 available electoral votes in Tuesday's election. In the U.S. system, the presidential vote is counted in the states. Trump's victories in Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina and Wisconsin gave him a majority of Electoral College votes, which decide the U.S. presidency. Trump becomes the first U.S. leader to win two terms that are not consecutive since Grover Cleveland in 1892.

Trump claimed victory early Wednesday as he thanked his supporters at a campaign event in Florida.

"This was a movement like nobody's ever seen before, and, frankly, this was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time," Trump said.

He promised to "fix our borders" and "fix everything in our country."

Trump also said he would work to provide a "strong, safe and prosperous America."

A Harris campaign official told a crowd of her supporters in Washington that she would not speak to the gathering but would speak later Wednesday.

Republican Party wins Tuesday extended to Congress. The party won a majority in the Senate with at least 51 of 100 seats. Control of the House of Representatives, which is currently held by Republicans, was not yet clearly decided early Wednesday.

World leaders offer congratulations

World leaders offered congratulations to Trump after news media projections showed that he had secured a clear victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

Early Wednesday, many world leaders expressed their opinions on social media service X.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was one of the first leaders of U.S. allies to send a message of support. He praised Trump's “historic return,” saying it would strengthen “the great alliance between Israel and America.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered Trump the “Heartiest congratulations.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Trump's policy of “peace through strength.” He added, “This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer.”

NATO chief Mark Rutte said he was looking forward to working with Trump to “advance peace through strength” through the military alliance.

French President Emmanuel Macron offered congratulations, saying he is “ready to work together as we did for four years...with your conviction and mine.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised to stand “shoulder to shoulder” with the U.S. leader in defense of shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise.

President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen praised the “true partnership” between the European Union and the United States.

And Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban called Trump's victory the “biggest comeback in US political history.”

Trump is expected to be inaugurated for a new term on January 20.

I'm Jill Robbins.

Mario Ritter, Jr. adapted this report for VOA Learning English from reports from VOANEWS.COM.

______________________________________________

consecutive –adj. one after the other

prosperous –adj. having continuing success, growth and finding favor

focus –v. to center one's attention on something

projection –n. an estimate of what will happen in the future

principle –n. a moral rule about right and wrong

advance –v. to bring forward or support the development of something

enterprise –n. activity that involves hard work and is usually related to business activities and industry