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.
Our coverage of US politics doesn’t end here though.
Stay tuned to The Nightly for all the latest news and updates on the incoming Trump Government and don’t forget to download your free edition of The Nightly every weeknight from 6pm AEDT.
Trump to choose his personnel in the days and weeks ahead
Donald Trump
EXPLAINED: How Trump won & what happens now
As the fallout from the US presidential election continues, two questions remain: How did Donald Trump win? And what happens now?
How did a convicted criminal convince voters to let him back into the White House he so sensationally and violently lost only four years prior?
And what happens now that he’s back in a position to fulfill his promises to overhaul the systems that he believes have done him so wrong?
Understand it all in today’s episode of The Nightly Five
Hackers’ bold threat to release presidential phone numbers
A hacker is threatening to release the private call logs of President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris if one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies doesn’t respond.
Clintons: ‘America is bigger than the results of any one election’
In a joint statement, Bill and Hillary Clinton have wished Donald Trump and JD Vance well after their election win and “hope they will govern for all of us”.
The Democratic former president and first lady praised Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for running a “positive, forward-looking campaign to be proud of”.
Mrs Clinton was the first woman to be nominated for president by a major party in 2016, but lost to Donald Trump.
The Clintons stuck with the party line of giving despairing voters a pep-talk, calling for unity and energy to save America from itself.
“We must remember that America is bigger than the results of any one election, and what we as citizens do now will make the difference between a nation that moves forward or one that falls back.”
“We need to resolve our problems and seize our opportunities together. The future our our country depends on it.”
Hillary Clinton was the first woman to be nominated for president by a major party, but lost to Donald Trump in 2016.
Bernie Sanders blasts ‘disastrous’ Harris campaign
Senator Bernie Sanders issued a scathing assessment of the Democratic Party after the Harris-Walz campaign’s crushing election loss, suggesting it was retaliation for abandoning voters.
“It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them,” Mr Sanders said.
“First, it was the white working class, and now it is Latino and Black workers as well.
“While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they’re right.”
The 83-year-old progressive from Vermont - who ran for president in 2016 and 2020 - laid bare the grim state of affairs in the States: where voters are trapped in the raging cost of living crisis, a bleak job market, and a dire health system.
He also criticised the Democrats for spending billions to fund Israel’s war on Palestine.
“Will the big money interests and well-paid consultants who control the Democratic Party learn any real lessons from this disastrous campaign?” he asked.
“Will they understand the pain and political alienation that tens of millions of Americans are experiencing? Do they have any ideas as to how we can take on the increasingly powerful Oligarchy which has so much economic and political power? Probably not.”
Mr Sanders won his fourth Senate term at this election and promised there would be “some very serious political discussions in the weeks ahead”.
Barack Obama: ‘Our point of view won’t always win’
Former Democratic President Barack Obama has joined the chorus of political figures congratulating Donald Trump on his remarkable election win.
He and wife Michelle were staunch supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris’ run for office, and conceded Trump’s win was “obviously not the outcome we had hoped for”.
“But living in a democracy is about recognizing that our point of view won’t always win out, and being willing to accept the peaceful transfer of power,” their statement read.
They praised Ms Harris and her would-be VP Tim Walz as “extraordinary public servants who ran a remarkable campaign”.
The statement urged Democrat supporters to extend “good faith and grace”, even to those they “deeply disagree” with.
“In a country as big and diverse as ours, we won’t always see eye-to-eye on everything,” the Obamas concluded.
“But progress requires us to extend good faith and grace – even to people with whom we deeply disagree.
“That’s how we’ve come this far, and it’s how we’ll keep building a country that is more fair and more just, more equal and more free.”
Albanese gives Trump a call
Anthony Albanese has spoken to US President-elect Donald Trump to “personally congratulate him on his election victory”.
Posting to X, the Prime Minister said the pair spoke about security, AUKUS, trade and investment.
“I look forward to working together in the interests of both our countries,” he wrote.
Kevin Rudd deletes anti-Trump social media posts
Australia’s Ambassador to the USA Kevin Rudd has reportedly deleted social media posts that criticised Donald Trump, cleaning out his personal X account since the Republican’s election win.
Mr Rudd has been a vocal critic of Mr Trump, calling him a “traitor to the West” and “nuts”. One post to his X account @MrKRudd, shared in 2020, called Mr Trump “the most destructive president in history”.
After Mr Trump won the 2024 election, that post, among others, was deleted.
Mr Rudd’s private office issued a statement confirming the former Labor prime minister had removed a number of posts “out of respect” for the office of the president.
“In his previous role as the head of an independent US-based think tank, Mr Rudd was a regular commentator on American politics,” the statement read.
“Out of respect for the office of President of the United States, and following the election of President Trump, Ambassador Rudd has now removed these past commentaries from his personal website and social media channels.
“This has been done to eliminate the possibility of such comments being misconstrued as reflecting his positions as ambassador and by extension, the views of the Australian Government.
“Ambassador Rudd looks forward to working with President Trump and his team to continue strengthening the US-Australia alliance.”
Trump’s former VP Mike Pence shares ‘sincere congratulations’
Former US Vice President Mike Pence has congratulated his ex-running mate Donald Trump on his 2024 election victory.
Taking to X, Mr Pence congratulated Mr Trump and his new Vice President J.D. Vance on their rise to the White House.
“The American people have spoken,” he wrote.
Mr Pence fell out with Mr Trump in dramatic fashion after the January 6 insurrection, when the then-defeated president called him out by name not to certify the 2020 election results.
The Republican made a brief and unsuccessful run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, where he criticised Trump for his “reckless” conduct on January 6. He refused to endorse his former boss, but did not rule out voting for him.
Albanese refuses to apologise for Trump comments
The prime minister refused to apologise for past comments made about Donald Trump and defended US Ambassador Kevin Rudd for his incendiary remarks about the Republican.
Anthony Albanese was recorded in 2017, when he was shadow transport and infrastructure minister, saying Mr Trump “scares the sh.t out of me”.
Asked to address the comments on Thursday, Mr Albanese said he thinks he has “demonstrated... my ability to work with world leaders and to develop relationships with them which are positive”.
He also rejected a question whether it was a “mistake” to appoint Mr Rudd to the diplomatic position, given his expressed disapproval of Mr Trump.
The PM said his predecessor was “doing a fantastic job as Australia’s ambassador to the United States”.
“It says a lot about how important we regard the relationship with the United States that we appointed a former prime minister (to that role),” he added.
