US election recap: Exit polls reveal who voted for Donald Trump and Kamala Harris presidency
Donald Trump has been elected President of the US for a second non-consecutive term. Recap a huge week in politics by scrolling through the posts below.
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As election week draws to a close, so too does The Nightly’s live blog.
If you’re just joining us, feel free to scroll through the posts below to recap a huge week in world politics.
Thank you for joining us throughout the week as we witnessed an historic election result and the return of Donald Trump to the White House.
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The same Harris, but with a relieved presence
The Vice President didn’t add anything new in her speech at her final rally at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
However, as she approached the end of her speech, a sense of relief was observed.
It appeared Ms Harris was bubbling with excitement and joy as she finished the speech that marked the end of her 107-day campaign.
‘We will win’ says Harris
“Make no mistake, we will win,” Ms Harris said.
The crowd chanted “We will win” in response.
“America is ready for a fresh start,” Ms Harris said.
Ms Harris gives a final impassioned plea
“The momentum is on our side,” Ms Harris said to a cheering Democrat crowd.
“We are optimistic and we are excited about what we can do.
“It is time for a new generation of leadership in America.
“I am ready to offer that leadership as the next President of the United States of America.
“This could be one of the closest races in history.
“Every vote matters.
First US election votes counted show split result
The first in-person votes have been counted and announced in one county.
Dixville Notch is an unincorporated community in the Dixville township, located in New Hampshire, United States.
The county currently has a population of six.
In a 148-year tradition, the vote is cast at midnight and then immediately announced.
By 12.03am local time, the six votes had been cast, counted and verified.
“Three for Kamala Harris, three for Donald Trump,” the attorney general announced.
Currently, it’s a tie.
Chilling warning in Oprah’s speech
Oprah Winfrey has pleaded with Americans to vote, as if they don’t they might never have the chance to cast a ballot again.
“President John F Kennedy issues a challenge, asks not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” Winfrey said.
“Well, I am here to tell you what you can do for your country, what you can do for democracy.
“What you can do for the spirit of John Lewis and all the others who chose to walk across that bridge in Selma and fight for us all.
“What you can do for every young woman who has died because she could not receive the urgent medical attention she needed because of an abortion ban.
“What you can do for yourself and everyone and everything you cherish, is vote.
“You have got to vote.”
Winfrey said voters might feel exhausted, but every vote counts.
“We don’t get to sit this one out,” she said.
“If we don’t turn out tomorrow it’s entirely possible that we will never get the chance to cast a ballot again.”
Talk show host Oprah celebrates first-time voters
Long-time Democrat supporter Oprah Winfrey has taken to the stage in Philadelphia to celebrate first-time voters.
The youth vote is a voting bloc that heavily supports Ms Harris over Mr Trump and plan to turn out in force on Tuesday.
One voter said she was voting for Ms Harris because of her policies and her respect for women’s reproductive rights.
Eddie, a Black professional soccer player with the Philadelphia Union said: “It was an honour as an African to exercise my vote, which my ancestors fought so hard for.”
A first-time voter said she would be waking up early to ensure she got her place.
A young woman planning to become an OBGYN explained she was voting for Harris so her patients’ rights would be respected and because she was a proud Puerto Rican.
Joe Rogan endorses Donald Trump for president
Joe Rogan, the most listened-to podcaster in the US, has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in the race for the White House.
Rogan, who recently interviewed Trump for hours, took to X to share the endorsement after an interview with Elon Musk, who he said made the “most compelling case for Trump”.
“The great and powerful Elon Musk,” Rogan wrote on X.
“If it wasn’t for him we’d be f...ed. He makes what I think is the most compelling case for Trump you’ll hear, and I agree with him every step of the way.
“For the record, yes, that’s an endorsement of Trump.”
Rogan added a clip of his interview with billionaire Musk, who has also endorsed Trump.
Trump’s recent interview with Rogan lasted about three hours and was released on YouTube and Spotify in late October.
The two discussed a range of topics and the interview got over 45 million views on YouTube.
The former president criticised Rogan in August on Truth Social, his social media platform, after the podcaster praised then-independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr Kennedy has since pulled out of the race and endorsed Trump.
Trump later called Rogan a “good guy”.
Harris has a much bigger list of celebrity endorsements, ranging from basketball superstar Lebron James and actor Meryl Streep to comedian Chris Rock and former talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
Superstar singers Beyonce and Taylor Swift have also endorsed her.
With Kanishka Singh, Reuters
Gaga sings for Harris in huge final push for votes
Singer Lady Gaga has taken to the stage at Vice President Kamala Harris’s final campaign rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The event is taking place outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art and appears to have pulled a massive crowd.
The pop star turned movie star sang God Bless America.
Sitting at a piano, Gaga kept it short and sweet before welcoming Oprah Winfrey to the stage.
Trump vs Harris divides a marriage, a town and America
A sharply split nation is headed to the polls to elect its 47th president after an unprecedented campaign. Voters on both sides are largely motivated by fear of the other.
Cathy and Ken Parker walked up to their polling site unable to understand each other. The married couple of 34 years had always disagreed on politics, but in this election, the rifts ran especially deep.
Ken, 71, said Donald Trump stands for law and order.
“Really?” replied Cathy, 63, who is supporting Kamala Harris. “How many times has he been convicted?”
When Ken said he thinks the government was behind an attempt to assassinate Trump this summer, a baseless theory, Cathy jumped in with her own thoughts on the gunman: “He should have been a better shot.”
A deeply divided nation is headed to the polls to elect its 47th president after an unprecedented campaign encompassing ugly insults, two assassination attempts, a criminal conviction for Trump, a surprise nomination for Harris and constant misinformation that has left voters split over basic facts. On the eve of the election, Americans on both sides are largely motivated by fear of the other, dozens of interviews show.
Some warn of doomsday under Harris — as Trump declares the United States “an occupied country,” warns of a migrant “invasion” and attacks opponents he calls “the enemy from within.” Others are convinced that a second Trump term would do irreparable damage to government institutions and democracy, echoing Harris’s case that Trump is unstable and “out for unchecked power.”
Voters are hopeful: some for an expansion of abortion rights or for a woman of colour to hold the world’s most powerful job; others for a crackdown at the border or a return to an era when their money went further.
But they are also scared of what will happen, even if their candidate wins. They worry about chaos and violence — another assassination attempt, another brazen effort to discredit a Trump loss, another mob like the one that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, after believing Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was “rigged.”
Hannah Knowles, The Washington Post
Washington readies in anticipation
The Nightly’s Peta Rasdien is in Washington DC and says riot police and large-scale security banners are marking the area around the White House and Capitol Hill.
See the footage in the video player below.
