Former U.S. President and Republican candidate in the Nov. 5 presidential elections Donald Trump has declared victory in the US election while the results are still being collated.
The 78-year-old is projected to win 267 electoral college votes, three short of the magic figure of 270.
The opponent, incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris is trailing at 224.
“America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate,” Trump told a jubilant crowd of supporters in Florida.
Trump described the Republican campaign as the “greatest political movement of all time”.
“We are going to help our country heal, fix our borders, we made history for a reason tonight. We have achieved the most incredible political win.
“I want to thank the American people. I will fight for you and your family with every breath in my body,” he said.
Trump said the Democrats were now looking at a massive electoral votes score of 315.
A massive factor in Trump’s victory was the Republican sweep in seven swing or battleground states.
From a 6-1 score in favour of Democrats in the 2020 polls, these seven states swung to a 7-0 advantage for Trump.
The Republican leader has already won three swing states — Georgia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina — and is leading in Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nevada.
What makes the Republican victory bigger is the fact that they have also taken control of the Senate and are leading in the election for the House of Representatives.
In his victory speech, Trump thanked his supporters, running mate JD Vance, wife Melanie Trump and his children for their support in what has been a challenging campaign.
He also gave a shoutout to Tesla CEO and X boss Elon Musk, who has been voicing support for Trump.
With Trump performing well in his bid to retake the White House, one area of US foreign policy that could be strongly affected by a potential win is Ukraine.
Trump has infamously said he will resolve the war between Ukraine and Russia in 24 hours.
“If I’m president, I will have that war settled in one day,” he said during a CNN town hall last year.
He previously praised Vladimir Putin and boasted of his relationship with the Russian president.
At the same time, he has criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s requests for additional US assistance amid the war, saying “it never ends”.
“I will have that settled prior to taking the White House as president-elect,” Trump said at an event in June.
It remains to be seen if Trump will curtail US aid to Ukraine if he is re-elected, but the prospect has raised serious concerns among Ukrainian leaders.
