John Jefferson
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, it became clear that Donald Trump had won the 2024 U.S. presidential election. It also became evident that his performance exceeded his previous victory in 2016, winning him not only the absolute majority of votes in the electoral college but also the popular vote, making him the first Republican presidential candidate to do so since George W. Bush in 2004. He also became the second president ever to win election to the office nonconsecutively, after Grover Cleveland.
In an address delivered at his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, Trump praised his followers and workers and declared that his election heralded a new “golden age” for the nation.
“America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate,” he said, referring to his dominant performance in the election and the accompanying and unexpected victories in a number of key senate races.
Trump then spent time thanking allies and members of his campaign, calling out House Speaker Mike Johnson for his work in the House—which, at time of writing, Republicans were favored to control for another term. He also congratulated vice president-elect J.D. Vance, a senator from Ohio, who spoke briefly to congratulate his running mate on leading “the greatest political comeback in history.”
Trump also spent a significant amount of time thanking Elon Musk, calling him a “supergenius” and describing his own sense of absolute wonder as he watched the Starship landing and retrieval conducted by Musk’s astrospace company, SpaceX. Finally, he called out Robert F. Kennedy Jr., saying that he was going to “Make America Healthy Again.”
In his closing remarks, Trump struck a unifying, conciliatory tone. “It’s time to put the divisions of the past four years behind us,” he said. Instead, he argued, success would serve to bring America together. Under his leadership, he promised, America will pay down its debt, lower taxes, and avoid wars. Above all, Trump said, he would govern by one motto: “Promises made, promises kept.”
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