Donald Trump named the next US president amid Democratic disaster

Donald Trump has triumphed over Kamala Harris to become the 47th US president, capping a comeback in which he defied everything from criminal charges to assassination attempts.

In a speech in Florida where the crowd chanted “USA”, Mr Trump said: “This was the greatest political movement of all time. There has never been anything like this in our country.

“We’re going to help our country heal. We’re going to fix our borders, we’re going to fix our country.”

Mr Trump added: “This will truly be the golden age of America.

“This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again.”

Mr Trump said by his tally he would have 315 electoral college votes.

“We have also won the popular vote. That was great,” he said. “A great feeling of love in this very large room.”

The former president was declared the victor of an extraordinary election and will now return to power on January 20 as only the second man to serve two non-consecutive terms in the White House.

Four years ago, the celebrity real estate mogul’s political career appeared doomed, after he was narrowly defeated by Joe Biden and then tried to overturn the result, sparking chaos that led to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters.

The Republican retreated to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and re-established himself as the party’s de facto leader, before announcing two years ago that he would run for president for a third time.

Mr Trump was challenged by a new generation of Republicans for the nomination, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley.

They were emboldened* by the unprecedented legal strife that engulfed him last year. No US president had ever been charged with a crime before Mr Trump was indicted* four times in five months.

He was arrested and arraigned* for the first time in New York, his former hometown, where he was accused of falsifying business records to cover up $US130,000 in hush money paid before the 2016 election.

Mr Trump was then charged with mishandling classified files after leaving the White House, before being hit with federal and state charges over his bid to subvert his defeat in 2020.

But each bombshell only improved Mr Trump’s poll position, and when the Republican Party held its primary elections earlier this year, he blitzed the field by record margins.

The 78-year-old avoided going to trial in three of the cases against him, and will now be able to follow through on his promise to fire the special counsel* who laid the federal charges.

While he was convicted in the Manhattan Criminal Court, his lawyers are expected to pull out all stops to delay his sentencing hearing that had been scheduled for November 26.

Mr Trump built a steady lead during the general election over Mr Biden, only for the President to be forced to drop out after his disastrous debate performance in late June.

That propelled the Vice President to the top of the Democratic ticket, and she turned it into a neck-and-neck race in her bid to become the first female president. Mr Trump, however, was favoured by the Biden-Harris administration’s failures on inflation* and illegal immigration*.

He also won over voters with his defiant* response to being shot in the ear at a rally in July, an instantly iconic* moment in which he pumped his fist and shouted: “Fight, fight, fight!”

Mr Trump later narrowly avoided a second assassination attempt while playing golf in Florida, as well as an ongoing plot by the Iranian regime to kill him.

Should he serve his full four-year term back in the White House after taking over from Mr Biden, Mr Trump will break his record as the oldest president in American history.

WATCH KAMALA HARRIS' CONCESSION SPEECH

POLL

GLOSSARY

• arraigned: formally accused in a law court of a crime and asked if they are guilty or not
• emboldened: made bold or brave, encouraged
• indicted: officially accused of a crime
• special counsel: lawyer appointed to investigate, and possibly prosecute, a case in which the US Justice Department perceives itself as having a conflict
• inflation: an increase in the level of prices of the goods and services that households buy, measured as the rate of change of those prices
• illegal immigration: undocumented immigrants who enter, live and work in a country unlawfully
• defiant: proudly refusing to obey authority, having a tendency to fight or challenge
• iconic: very famous or popular, especially being considered to represent particular opinions or a particular time

EXTRA READING

Five-minute guide to US election

Trump serves fries at McDonald’s

Trump safe after second attempt

QUICK QUIZ

1. How many US presidents have there been so far?
2. Which failures of the Biden-Harris administration helped Donald Trump?
3. What was Trump doing when he avoided a second assassination attempt?
4. Which record of Joe Biden’s will Trump break if he serves his full term?
5. How many times was Trump indicted over five months?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What do you think?
“We don’t need to know about elections in the USA – Kids News should just focus on Australia.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Write a very convincing letter or post to Kids News explaining your opinion on this.

Time: allow at least 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Civics and Citizenship

2. Extension
Do you know how our Prime Minister is chosen? If you don’t, use your research skills to find out. Which way of choosing a leader do you think is better – the USA’s or Australia’s? Write at least four reasons for your answer.

Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Civics and Citizenship

VCOP ACTIVITY
Imaginative dialogue
Imagine you were there during the election or for an interview with one of the candidates.

Create a conversation between two characters from the article – you may need or want to include yourself as one of the characters. Don’t forget to try to use facts and details from the article to help make your dialogue as realistic as possible.

Go through your writing and highlight any punctuation you have used in green. Make sure you carefully check the punctuation used for the dialogue and ensure you have opened and closed the speaking in the correct places.