Harris urges supporters to accept results after Trump’s election win

The Trump legal team is going to try to make sure his upcoming sentencing in New York for his conviction earlier this year in the hush money case does not happen. In the past they have been focused on delaying proceedings in the case, but now they are going to try to get it canceled all together, according to a source familiar with the strategy.

Trump’s attorneys are expected to enter a filing over the next few days arguing that as a president-elect, Donald Trump is entitled to the same Constitutional protections as a sitting president and should be protected from any action by state prosecutors.

The filling is expected before Judge Juan Merchan’s self-imposed deadline of November 12 to decide whether to wipe away Trump’s conviction after the Supreme Court’s immunity decision.

More context: Should Merchan move ahead with sentencing, Trump could be ordered to serve as much as four years of prison time, but the judge is not required to sentence the president-elect to prison, and he could impose a lesser sentence, such as probation, home confinement, community service or a fine.

Any sentence, of course, will be complicated by the fact that Trump is set to take office on January 20, 2025. Trump’s lawyers are likely to shape their appeals to raise constitutional issues challenging whether a state judge can sentence a president-elect, which could tie the case up in courts for years.

Since it is a state case, Trump does not have the power to pardon himself next year after he is sworn into office.

Read more about what happens now in Trump’s other legal cases here.

President Joe Biden acknowledged the “variety of emotion” people are facing in the wake of the election, telling White House staff on a call Wednesday evening that they should take pride in what they’ve accomplished together, according to a source on the call.

Biden also praised Vice President Kamala Harris as a person of “extraordinary character, integrity, courage,” adding “she’s been the best vice president I could’ve hoped for.”

It marked the first time the president has spoken to a wide swath of staff since former President Donald Trump beat Harris in Tuesday’s election.

The president ticked through a number of initiatives he believes will have lasting impact on the country, including recovering from the pandemic, lowering health care costs, climate change investments, the bipartisan infrastructure law, and restoring American leadership on the world stage.

“The work you’ve done here, the legislation, you’ve helped pass, changes you’ve helped make are going to have a gigantic impact,” he said, “not only now but for years and decades to come.”

“For the rest of our lives, I hope you look back with pride in all you’ve done to make a giant difference for America, the American people and for the world,” he added.

White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients closed out the call by thanking staff for their work, saying they’ve “set a very high standard for effective government” that will be the standard for “decades to come.”

Zients said the teams will receive information about the next stages of the transition in the coming days.

President Joe Biden will address the nation from the Rose Garden at 11 a.m. ET on Thursday following Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss to President-elect Donald Trump.

Biden spoke with Trump earlier Wednesday to congratulate him on his victory and invited him to the White House, according to a White House official. Trump “very much appreciated” the call from Biden and plans to shortly take Biden up on his offer to meet, his campaign said.

Biden also praised Harris in a statement Wednesday evening after she officially conceded, calling her “a tremendous partner and public servant full of integrity, courage, and character.”

In the statement Biden did not mention the former president by name and said Harris led a “historic campaign” in “extraordinary circumstances” after he dropped out of the race earlier this summer.

Donald Trump addresses the crowd at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday, November 5.

Former President Donald Trump will defeat Vice President Kamala Harris in a historic political comeback, recapturing the White House following an election loss in 2020, CNN projected on Wednesday.

Here’s a recap of the day’s dramatic developments:

President-elect Donald Trump “very much appreciated” the call from President Joe Biden and plans to shortly take Biden up on his offer to meet, according to the campaign.

Transgender and LGBTQ rights groups are expressing strong disappointment in Donald Trump’s win after the former president — as well as several local Republican candidates — leaned on anti-trans rhetoric in campaign advertisements and speeches.

“This is a gut punch, and our hearts are heavy. This election did not go as we hoped, and like so many in our community, we are disappointed,” Advocates for Trans Equality Executive Director Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen said in a statement.

Heng-Lehtinen acknowledged that many trans people and their families fear their rights will be further restricted under a Trump administration, but he reminded people that “you are not alone.”

The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ people, said it has experienced a 125% increase in crisis calls and messages on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“It is not all bad news,” Heng-Lehtinen said, noting that Delaware’s Sarah McBride became the first out transgender member of Congress and New York voters passed Proposition 1, enshrining equal protection rights for people based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

“Our vision of an inclusive and hopeful future where all trans people are nothing less than equal remains strong,” he added.

If you or somebody you know needs crisis support, find a list of resources here.

President Joe Biden praised Vice President Kamala Harris in a statement Wednesday evening after she officially conceded the presidential race to Donald Trump.

In the statement Biden did not mention the former president by name and said Harris led a “historic campaign” in “extraordinary circumstances” after he dropped out of the race earlier this summer.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at Howard University in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, November 6. (

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is headed back to his home in St. Paul, Minnesota, tonight, a person familiar with his travel plans told CNN.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate was in the crowd during her concession speech at Howard University in Washington, DC, earlier on Wednesday.

Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama, who played a central role in the final weeks of the presidential campaign on behalf of Vice President Kamala Harris, issued a note of congratulations to President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance.

The former president and former first lady were constantly on the trail for Harris selling her vision to voters, with the former running his busiest end-of-election push since his own last campaign. Barack Obama and the vice president have been acquainted for 20 years, CNN previously reported, and the former president has had several conversations with Harris, whom he first got to know through an informal network of up-and-coming Black politicians when he was a state senator, and she was a district attorney.

Trump during while on the campaign trail called Michelle Obama “nasty” after she denounced his rhetoric during a rally for Harris, and called her husband “exhausted” and “looking a bit older.”

The last time Trump won a presidential election, he was greeted collegially by Obama at the White House, with Obama telling him he wanted him to succeed and would support him in a smooth transition even after Trump had hit his predecessor with personal attacks during his first campaign. Trump at that meeting called Obama a “very good man” in their meeting and said he would heed Obama’s counsel.

CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere contributed to this report.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks in Phoenix, Arizona, on August 23.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he would “immediately” begin studying vaccine safety and efficacy but promised to not “take vaccines away from anybody” as part of his expected role overseeing a public health portfolio in President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.

Kennedy, one of the leading proponents of false conspiracy theories about the safety and efficacy of vaccines, said in an interview with NPR on Wednesday that one of his priorities in the next Trump administration would be to provide Americans with “good information” on vaccine safety, which he says has “huge deficits in it.” The vaccines that are currently approved and authorized for use in the United States have been proven safe and effective and are continually monitored for risks and side effects.

“I will work immediately on that,” Kennedy said when asked about when he would address federal research into vaccines. “So that will be one of my priorities, to make sure that Americans — of course, we’re not going to take vaccines away from anybody. We are going to make sure that Americans have good information.”

The federal government currently operates several programs to track the safety of vaccines, including the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, a reporting system that works as a public tip line for people to report vaccine injuries.

Kennedy has been a fierce critic of the research and manufacturing processes used to develop the Covid-19 vaccines during the first Trump administration and the Biden administration.

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Kamala Harris speaks to supporters after conceding election

01:42 - Source: CNN

Vice President Kamala Harris delivered an impassioned concession speech today, urging a crowd of supporters to hold the values that drove her campaign while bracing for the next Trump administration.

She also urged her supporters to accept the results of the campaign.

Here are other key lines from her speech:

Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wished President-elect Donald Trump “the best of luck” on Wednesday.

“After a peaceful transfer of power, I hope he leads by trying to unite people, including those who did not vote for him or do not support him,” she wrote in a statement in her official capacity.

Whitmer, a co-chair of Harris’s campaign, said she was “proud” to support the vice president, and also thanked President Joe Biden for his leadership.

The Michigan Democrat said no matter who is in the White House, she remains focused on “getting things done that make a real difference in people’s lives,” while also acknowledging that she’ll have to work with a Republican-led legislature in her own state in her remaining two years as governor.

Whitmer, who has been seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party due to her broad appeal, issued a message of unity to Michigan voters.

President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has set up offices in West Palm Beach, Florida, sharing space with the campaign.

As the campaign winds down, many staffers received emails last night informing them of what the transition would look like and what their prospective roles would be in the transition. The heads of the transition team, Howard Lutnik and Linda McMahon, have already begun meeting with potential candidates for administration posts, and in some cases have begun the vetting process.

Several Trump allies have volunteered to help Lutnik and McMahon make lists of names for high profile jobs. Project 2025’s personnel division, helmed by Trump loyalist John McEntee, vetted thousands of potential future Trump administration officials and is also expected to provide recommendations to the transition team.

Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren stressed the consequences of a second Donald Trump administration, while reminding supporters that “there will still be opportunities to fight back.”

Warren cautioned that extremists are counting on Americans “to lose trust in our ability to ever, ever make change.”

“I absolutely refuse to give them that satisfaction,” Warren added.

She went on to recognize campaign volunteers and supporters, calling them “the beating heart of democracy.”

White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients arrives for President Joe Biden's the State of the Union address at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 7.

White House chief of staff Jeff Zients reached out to the heads of President-elect Donald Trump’s transition effort to stress the Biden administration’s commitment to “lead an orderly transition” process and highlight the necessary agreements needed to move forward, a White House official tells CNN.

“President Biden is committed to ensuring a smooth and effective transition,” the official said.

The Trump transition team has yet to enter into memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with the White House or General Services Administrations to officially unlock access to key transition resources.

The process: Under the Presidential Transition Act, the transitions teams must agree to two MOUs: one through the GSA — which would provide access to office space, equipment and supplies — and the other through the White House, which would provide access to agency employees, facilities and information.

A White House spokesperson had previously said the federal transition coordinator is “actively working” with the former president’s transition team to complete its MOU.

The GSA notified Trump’s team Wednesday of its “eligibility for post-election services under the Presidential Transition Act, which are available after a concession,” it said in a statement.

That includes office space, IT equipment, office supplies, and other services, and can only be provided “once the statutorily required agreement is signed.” The Trump transition team had previously missed the deadline to sign a MOU with the Biden administration setting up access to those services.

Kamala Harris on Wednesday afternoon delivered her concession speech to an emotional crowd at Howard University, taking the stage at her alma mater where her campaign had hoped to be celebrating a historic victory.

Several young women in the crowd had tear-streaked faces as Harris urged supporters to continue mobilizing for reproductive rights, among other campaign promises.

“To the young people who are watching, it is OK to feel sad and disappointed, but please know it’s going to be OK,” Harris said. She added, “Don’t ever give up. Don’t ever stop trying to make the world a better place.”

Two women hug as Vice President Kamala Harris concedes the 2024 US presidential election to President-elect Donald Trump at Howard University in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.

People take photos and videos of Harris during her speech at Howard.

People wait for Harris at Howard University on Wednesday.

Two people hug during Harris' speech.

Robin Galbraith walks near the entrance to Howard University as Harris speaks.

Former Vice President Mike Pence — who did not endorse the Republican presidential ticket — congratulated his former boss Donald Trump and GOP Sen. JD Vance on their win in the 2024 presidential election.

“The American people have spoken and Karen and I send our sincere congratulations to President-Elect Donald Trump and his family on his election as 47th President of the United States,” Pence posted on X.

Remember: In March, Pence said he “cannot in good conscience” endorse Trump, arguing that the former president was “pursuing and articulating an agenda” at “odds with the conservative agenda” they governed on. He had said at an event in New Hampshire last week that he could never vote for Vice President Kamala Harris and that he would be “staying out” of the race.

Pence broke with Trump in his decision not to overturn the results of their 2020 election loss while he was overseeing Congress’ certification of the election results on January 6, 2021.

Pence later said Trump’s “reckless words” that day, when a mob of Trump supporters violently breached the US Capitol, “endangered” his family and other lawmakers and staff in the building.

Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats, issued a scathing statement Wednesday against the Democratic Party, adding that Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss is “no great surprise.”

The senator went on to stress the “pain and political alienation that tens of millions of Americans are experiencing,” pointing to Americans living paycheck to paycheck, opposition to US providing aid to Israel, and high prescription drug prices while not having universal health care.

Vice President Kamala Harris urged supporters to not give up during her concession speech.

“Sometimes the fight takes a while. That doesn’t mean we won’t win,” she said to a crowd at Howard University. “Don’t ever give up.”

She urged supporters: “Don’t ever stop trying to make world a better place.”

She then told “everyone watching” to not despair.

Vice President Kamala Harris in her concession speech Wednesday said she wants her supporters to treat everyone with kindness and respect as they continue to fight for “fundamental rights and freedoms that must be respected and upheld.”

“We will continue to wage this fight in the voting booth, in the courts and in the public square. And we will also wage it in quieter ways — in how we live our lives, by treating one another with kindness and respect; by looking in the face of a stranger and seeing a neighbor; by always using our strength to lift people up, to fight for the dignity that all people deserve,” she said.

“The fight for our freedom will take hard work. But like I always say: We like hard work,” she added. “Hard work is good work. Hard work can be joyful work. And the fight for our country is always worth it. It is always worth it.”

Vice President Kamala Harris implored the audience gathered at Howard University to “fill the sky” with stars if America is headed into a dark time after she conceded the presidential election to President-elect Donald Trump Wednesday.

Paraphrasing an old “adage,” Harris told the audience: “only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”

“I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time. But for the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case. But here’s the thing, America, if it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant, brilliant billion of stars. The light of optimism, of faith, of truth and service. And may that work guide us even in the face of setbacks toward the extraordinary promise of the United States of America,” Harris added.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on stage as she concedes the election, at Howard University on Wednesday, in Washington, DC.

Vice President Kamala Harris sought to comfort her supporters – especially her young supporters – while conceding her election defeat to President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday.

“To the young people who are watching,” Harris said, “it is OK to feel sad and disappointed, but please know it’s going to be OK.”

“I would often say, when we fight, we win, but here’s the thing: Sometimes the fight takes a while. That doesn’t mean we won’t win.”

“You have power,” she said.

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Kamala Harris speaks to supporters after conceding election

01:42 - Source: CNN

Vice President Kamala Harris during her speech Wednesday said she will remain steadfast in her commitment to fight “for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness and the dignity of all people.”

She added: “I will never give up the fight for a future where Americans can pursue their dreams, ambitions and aspirations, where the women of America have the freedom to make decisions about their own body and not have their government telling them what to do. We will never give up the fight to protect our schools and our streets from gun violence.”

Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak on stage as she concedes the election, at Howard University on November 6, 2024 in Washington, DC.

Vice President Kamala Harris said in her concession speech Wednesday that while she understands the emotions of her supporters, the country needs to accept the election results.

Harris also shared that she called President-elect Donald Trump to concede the race and stressed to him that “we will engage in a peaceful transfer of power.”

During her speech, Harris repeatedly spoke about of democracy — a central to her campaign.

She continued: “At the same time, in our nation, we owe loyalty not to a president or to a party, but to the Constitution of the United States. And loyalty to our conscience and to our God.”

Harris at Howard University in Washington, DC, on November 6.

Vice President Kamala thanked her family along with President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden in her concession speech at Howard University in Washington, DC.

“To my beloved Doug and our family, I love you so very much. To President Biden and Dr. Biden, thank you for your faith and support. To Gov. Walz and the Walz family, I know your service to our nation will continue,” she said.

“I am proud of the race we ran” in the 107 days of the campaign, she said, and thanked supporters.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday conceded her defeat to President-elect Donald Trump.

“My heart is full today,” Harris said at Howard University on Wednesday. “My heart is full today — full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country, and full of resolve.

The vice president added: “The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for. But hear me when I say: The light of America’s promise will always burn bright.”

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at Howard University in Washington, DC, on November 6.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday took the stage at Howard University to deliver her concession speech following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory against her in the 2024 election.

Howard, Harris’ alma mater, was set up to be the site of her victory rally election night. But as returns showed results that were not in the vice president’s favor, she left the university without delivering remarks Tuesday. Harris’ speech will be the first time the American people have heard from her since Trump’s win.

Earlier Wednesday, Harris spoke with Trump over the phone to congratulate him.

US stocks rocketed higher Wednesday following a decisive and consequential victory for former President Donald Trump in Tuesday’s US presidential election.

The massive rally kicked off in premarket trading and continued through the morning and afternoon trading sessions. The Dow soared by 1,507 points, or 3.57%, to close at a new record high. It’s the first time the blue-chip index has gained more than 1,000 points in a single day since November 2022.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also reached new highs, with the S&P surging by 2.5% and the tech-heavy index closing 2.95% higher. The US dollar had its best day in two years and Treasury yields also rose.

Markets were mostly juiced by the fact that the election was decided relatively quickly. The election — and the widely held belief that Trump and his allies could contest the result in courts — has served as a cloud over the US economy and stock market in recent months. Markets, in particular, crave certainty, and the clear path forward will allow companies to adjust their business and hiring plans.

Read more about what these record highs mean here.

Donald Trump’s historic return to the White House is marked by his complicated past.

His campaign centered on the economy and immigration, while his previous political history includes: attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, two presidential impeachment hearings and a criminal conviction.

You can share your thoughts on Trump’s reelection here:

Brian Hook speaks onstage during the 2021 Concordia Annual Summit in 2021 in New York.

Brian Hook, a top State Department official during the first Trump administration, is expected to lead the transition team at the department for President-elect Donald Trump, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

Hook has a depth of knowledge about the State Department after serving in multiple roles in the building.

During Trump’s first term, he served as the director of policy planning staff from 2017 to 2018. He then went on to serve as the US special envoy for Iran from 2018 until 2020. Hook also served as assistant secretary of state for international organizations and senior adviser to the US ambassador to the United Nations during George W. Bush’s presidency.

Hook and the Trump campaign declined to comment on the matter. It’s unclear if the Trump team would use the offices for transition at the State Department.

The State Department’s transition work will be led by retired career Amb. Stephen Mull, multiple sources told CNN.

CNN has reported that representatives from Trump’s team met with federal agency transition planners last week to discuss “post-election readiness,” according to a White House official. But Trump has not signed critical memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with the Biden administration to unlock transition activities to ensure the next administration can hit the ground running quickly and begin to receive the information needed.

President Joe Biden spoke with President-elect Donald Trump today to congratulate him on his victory and invited him to the White House, according to a White House official.

The president is also planning to address the nation on Thursday, the official said.

“President Biden expressed his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition and emphasized the importance of working to bring the country together,” the official said. “He also invited President-elect Trump to meet with him in the White House. The staff will coordinate a specific date in the near future.”

Biden also spoke with Vice President Kamala Harris and “congratulated the Vice President on her historic campaign,” the official said.

Jamie Dimon speaks to the Economic Club of New York in Manhattan in April.

JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, along with senior executives of the country’s largest bank, congratulated President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance — as well as newly elected lawmakers from both parties — and committed to working across the aisle.

“Our firm has a long history of working across the political spectrum and looks forward to engaging the new administration and elected officials in both parties,” the bank’s operating committee wrote in a message to employees on Wednesday.

CNN reported earlier that Dimon, a lifelong Democrat who raised eyebrows earlier this year when praising Trump’s policies, does not plan to join a second Trump administration, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg makes a keynote speech during the Meta Connect annual event in September.

The chief executives of Meta, Apple, Google and other tech giants offered their congratulations to President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday and expressed eagerness to work with his incoming administration.

Here’s what they are saying:

The CEOs of Microsoft, Intel and OpenAI shared similar posts.

Changes brought by the Trump administration could impact the tech world in a variety of ways, from their ability to hire foreign talent to the antitrust battles many tech giants are currently fighting against the US government.

Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon called on her team to begin the work of “protecting America from the impacts of a Trump Presidency” in a message to staffers Wednesday following Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss to President-elect Donald Trump.

She continued, “I know the Vice President isn’t finished in this fight, and I know the very people on this email are also going to be leaders in this collective mission. View this as the beginning, not the end.”

O’Malley Dillon, who managed President Joe Biden’s successful 2020 campaign and served as White House deputy chief of staff, drew a sharp contrast with Trump’s handling of the last transition, noting that Harris told Trump in a concession call that “she would work with President Biden to ensure a peaceful transfer of power, unlike what we saw in 2020.”

She expressed gratitude to the team for their work, offering her own assessment of the reasons behind the loss.

Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, will address staff on a call following her speech at Howard University Wednesday afternoon, she said.

Special counsel Jack Smith arrives to speak to members of the media at the US Department of Justice building in Washington, DC, on August 1, 2023.

Special counsel Jack Smith is in active talks with US Justice Department leadership about how to end his federal prosecutions of Donald Trump, according to a DOJ official familiar with the discussions.

These discussions are expected to last several days.

DOJ officials are considering options for how to wind down the two criminal cases against Trump – over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his mishandling of classified documents – while also complying with a 2020 memo from the department’s Office of Legal Counsel about indictments or prosecutions of sitting presidents.

Trump has said multiple times he plans to fire Smith and end the federal cases against him.

Read more about what could happen to Trump’s criminal and civil cases here.

Former President Donald Trump is spending his Wednesday laying low, taking a series of calls from foreign leaders and CEOs from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, two sources familiar with his plans told CNN.

Trump is also meeting with donors at his private club, the sources said.

The families of the Americans believed to be held hostage in Gaza released a statement asking President-elect Donald Trump to work with President Joe Biden to “secure the immediate release of the hostages and end this nightmare for the hostage families, Israel, and the civilians of Gaza.”

According to a source familiar with the matter, the hostage families have never met or spoken with Trump as a group.

The family of Edan Alexander joined Trump for an October 7 commemoration, and Ronen and Orna Neutra, the parents of Omer Neutra, spoke at the Republican National Convention in July but did not speak with Trump at the time.

Some context: Throughout his campaign, Trump has not specified how he would approach the Israel-Hamas war if reelected, or how his policies would differ from Biden’s. In April, Trump did say that Israel needs to “finish what they started” and “get it over with fast,” noting that it was “losing the PR war” because of the images coming out of Gaza.

Read more about what’s at stake in the Middle East under a second Trump term.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on November 4.

Vice President Kamala Harris has officially conceded the 2024 election, calling President-elect Donald Trump to offer her congratulations on Wednesday.

Harris, a senior aide said, “called President-elect Trump to congratulate him on winning the 2024 presidential election. She discussed the importance of a peaceful transfer of power and being a president for all Americans.”

A person familiar tells CNN the call only lasted a few minutes.

Trump’s campaign said in a statement about the call that Trump “acknowledged Vice President Harris on her strength, professionalism, and tenacity throughout the campaign, and both leaders agreed on the importance of unifying the country.”

Harris is set to deliver remarks at 4 p.m. ET at Howard University — her alma mater.

CNN reporter details Kamala Harris’ phone call to Trump:

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Reporter shares what Kamala Harris told Trump when she conceded

02:46 - Source: CNN

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and Kristen Holmes contributed reporting to this post.

This post has been updated with new details about the call from Trump’s campaign.

When asked about his past criticism of Donald Trump — including his comments in a newly released biography — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell dodged the question.

“I’m not here to do a book review this morning,” he told CNN.

Pressed on whether Trump was the best choice to deter US adversaries, given McConnell’s differences with the former president on foreign policy, the senator replied, “Look, I’m here this morning to talk about the election, and I think I’m going to largely confine it to that.”

McConnell did congratulate the former president on his victory and said that his campaign had a “sharper operation this time.”

The outgoing GOP leader said he wants to spend his next two years in office focused on foreign policy and national defense. “It may seem old-fashioned to some, but I’m still a Reagan Republican, who thinks that America’s role in the world is absolutely indispensable,” said McConnell.

He also refused to comment on the possibility that Trump could give positions in his administration to figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Elon Musk, telling reporters, “I’m not going to get into that subject.”

Taliban security personnel ride on a vehicle as they celebrate the third anniversary of Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, in Kabul, Afghanistan on August 14.

Afghanistan’s Taliban says it hopes for “a new chapter of relations” with the US after President-elect Donald Trump’s win.

The Taliban “expresses hope” that “the incoming US administration will adopt a pragmatic approach to ensure tangible advancement in bilateral relations, allowing both nations to open a new chapter of relations grounded in mutual engagement,” the Taliban’s foreign ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi said Wednesday.

The spokesman noted that the Doha Agreement signed in 2020 between the Taliban and the US during Trump’s first administration had “led to the end” of what he called “the twenty-year occupation” of American forces in Afghanistan.

He also urged Trump to take “a constructive role in ending the current conflicts” in the Middle East.

The Taliban’s sudden seizure of power across the country in August 2021 sparked a chaotic Western withdrawal and brought to a crashing end the United States’ two-decade mission in the country.

In September 2021, the Taliban announced the formation of a hardline interim government for Afghanistan. Four men receiving senior positions in the government had previously been detained by the United States at Guantánamo Bay and were released as part of a prisoner swap in 2014.

Former President Donald Trump will win the key battleground state of Michigan, CNN projects.

There are 15 electoral votes at stake in Michigan. It takes at least 270 electoral votes to win the 2024 presidential election.

Who won in 2020: President Joe Biden flipped the battleground state in 2020 after Trump won the state in 2016 as the first Republican to do so since 1988. Of the most competitive states, Michigan was the one Biden won most comfortably – by more than 150,000 votes and nearly three percentage points.

As Democrats are coming to grips with Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss to Donald Trump, the Harris campaign held a senior leadership call earlier today that one participant described as tearful.

That meeting leaned into a supportive message for the entire Harris team. According to this participant, there was also an acknowledgement on this call that the Harris team had “been through more than most campaigns.”

The US Secret Service is discussing whether to expedite protection for President-elect Donald Trump’s immediate family members to begin the transition period between Joe Biden’s administration and Trump’s over the coming months, a law enforcement official told CNN.

The move comes as the Secret Service has been strained by the increased protection afforded to Trump after his near assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania, this summer, followed by a second alleged attempt on his life in Florida in September. The threat environment against Trump has prompted the Secret Service to reevaluate when to begin protecting his family, the source said.

Agents have been pulled from investigative duties to help fill gaps in protective details, an issue that could abate somewhat as Trump’s trips across the country on the campaign trail have come to an end.

Clarification: This post has been updated to reflect the stage of discussion on Trump’s protective detail.

The ripple effect of Donald Trump’s election victory is already being felt in Washington, DC, where some defendants charged in the Capitol riot of January 6, 2021, could soon be pardoned by the incoming president, who has promised as much.

One rioter wasted no time in citing Trump’s victory to try and stave off a hearing in his case, saying he’s “expected” to receive clemency.

Carnell was convicted of all seven counts against him, including disorderly conduct in a restricted building. He’s one of more than 1,500 charged in the Capitol riot. More than 1,000 of them have been convicted.

As of now, his lawyers wrote, Carnell is “awaiting further information from the Office of the President-elect regarding the timing and expected scope of clemency actions relevant to his case.”

Federal Judge Beryl Howell quickly knocked down the request in a minute order Wednesday, telling Carnell the hearing would remain scheduled for Friday.

Trump has previously said he would pardon January 6 defendants, saying in July that “If they’re innocent” he “would pardon them.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, on October 31.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called President-elect Donald Trump Wednesday to congratulate him on his election victory.

According to the prime minister’s office, Netanyahu was among the first to call Trump.

“The conversation was warm and cordial,” a statement from the prime minister’s office read. It said “the two agreed to work together for Israel’s security” and “discussed the Iranian threat.”

Earlier, Netanyahu posted on X that Trump’s win was “historic” and “offers a new beginning for America.”

Homeland Security officials are bracing for a seismic shift in immigration policy under the incoming Trump administration, prompting some interagency calls Wednesday as people prepare for the weeks ahead.

One Homeland Security official describing the mood internally as a “mixed bag.” One of the questions top of mind among those in the department Wednesday is what will happen to Biden administration policies, like parole programs for certain nationalities that allowed beneficiaries to temporarily work and live in the United States.

“Shell shocked among the political,” another Homeland Security official said.

In his first days in office, President Joe Biden did away with many of the Trump administration’s controversial immigration policies. Now those policies may make a return.

For some at the Department of Homeland Security, that comes as welcome news. Over the last three years, the Biden administration grappled with multiple border crises, garnering fierce criticism internally and externally among Republicans and Democrats.

Biden administration officials ultimately landed on a much harsher stance on the US-Mexico border that resulted in a dramatic drop in migrant crossings over recent months.

Still, some in the department’s immigration enforcement agencies touted Trump’s win.

“There is a lot of optimism and hope,” another Homeland Security official said.

Nikki Haley speaks in Fort Worth, Texas, in March.

Nikki Haley, former Republican presidential candidate and South Carolina governor, congratulated Donald Trump for his projected win.

Haley served as UN ambassador under Trump during his first term.

“The American people have spoken. Congratulations to President Trump on a strong win. Now, it’s time for the American people to come together, pray for our country, and start the process of a peaceful transition. That begins with Kamala Harris conceding. You can’t just talk about unity in a campaign, you have to show it regardless of the outcome,” Haley posted on X.

Harris has reached out to Trump, aides tell CNN, but has yet to connect with him today. It is her intention, aides say, to speak with him before her 4 p.m. ET address.

With the presidential election called for President-elect Donald Trump, the Biden administration is now preparing for a peaceful transfer of power to its predecessor 76 days from now — even though Trump’s team has actively skipped a series of key deadlines during the initial planning process.

Representatives from Trump’s team met with federal agency transition planners last week to discuss “post-election readiness,” according to a White House official.

But the president-elect still has not signed a pair of critical memoranda of understanding (MOU) with the Biden administration to unlock transition activities that could begin as soon as Wednesday to ensure the next administration can hit the ground running quickly and begin to receive the information needed.

Stier added, “The Biden team undoubtedly will do everything they can to square this circle but there are legal limits to what they can do without the Trump team’s agreement to follow the law.”

Led by the White House Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration, planning for a transition began before either the Republican or Democratic Party had selected its 2024 nominee.

CNN has reached out to the OMB and GSA for comment.

Trump’s transition team is chaired by Linda McMahon, who led the Small Business Administration through his first term, and Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick.

Several Biden appointees who also served under former President Barack Obama have suggested their experience preparing the 2016 transition has provided both muscle memory and a cautionary tale: Hours spent preparing memos and briefings could be met by an incoming administration that has no desire or need for them.

Trump has also indicated that he plans to enact sweeping changes for career officials in federal government, including changing thousands of those jobs into politically appointed positions, CNN has reported. Policy experts have warned that federal workers could be fired unless they put loyalty to Trump ahead of serving the public interest.

Read more about the presidential transition.

In the wake of a decisive victory for a candidate they’ve warned is a threat to democracy, President Joe Biden and his close advisers are in a moment of reckoning and reevaluation.

Among those close to the president, there are two opposing views, according to people involved in the conversations: that Biden should have remained the candidate because he had stronger coalitions in the Blue Wall state, or that Democrats’ steep losses in the executive and the legislative branch are due to his deep unpopularity.

And there is another school of though, which that Biden himself has voiced: that the blame lies with former President Barack Obama and House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi for tossing Biden to the side on two separate occasions.

The outcome also calls into question what Biden’s legacy tour will look like, given the West Wing’s hope that the president could spend his final months in office touting his economic and foreign policy achievements. Foreign leaders, whom Biden will meet face to face later this month at two major summits, are now rushing to posture for a Trump presidency. And voters overwhelmingly suggested they are unhappy with the economy, on which this election became a referendum.

Jeff Bezos in London in 2022.

Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder and chairman, congratulated Donald Trump on Wednesday for an “extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory” after the former president won re-election, wishing Trump “all success in leading and uniting the America we all love.”

“Big congratulations to our 45th and now 47th President on an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory. No nation has bigger opportunities,” Bezos posted on X. “Wishing (Donald Trump) all success in leading and uniting the America we all love.”

The reaction comes a week after Bezos, the owner of The Washington Post, defended his decision to withhold his newspaper’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, asserting it created the “perception of bias.”

Bezos, however, acknowledged the “appearance of conflict” of his decision, noting that his ownership of Amazon and space exploration firm Blue Origin has been a “complexifier for the Post.”

News of the vetoed endorsement immediately sparked backlash from Post reporters and readers alike, resulting in the resignation of nearly one-third of the paper’s editorial board and 250,000 readers canceling their subscriptions as current and former staffers accused the Amazon founder of anticipatory obedience.

In the immediate aftermath of the election Tuesday, Amazon’s stock rose Wednesday morning, up nearly 3% in trading.

Jamie Dimon speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in December 2023.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has no plans to join president-elect Donald Trump’s administration, a person familiar with the matter told CNN on Wednesday.

Dimon, among the most influential executives in Corporate America, has frequently been floated as a potential Treasury secretary under a Democratic or Republican president. Yet the source told CNN that Dimon does not plan to serve in government at this time.

In July, Trump told Bloomberg Businessweek that Dimon is someone he has “a lot of respect for” and someone he would consider for the prominent role of Treasury secretary. Those comments were a sharp departure from Trump’s previous criticism of Dimon. (Days later, Trump said he didn’t know who said that he would consider Dimon.)

However, Dimon thinks the best way to support the nation right now is by staying at JPMorgan Chase and supporting long-term economic growth, the source said. Reuters previously reported Wednesday that Dimon would stay at JPMorgan Chase.

Dimon, whose wife reportedly knocked on doors in support of Vice President Kamala Harris, recently accelerated his retirement timetable. Dimon, 68, had long joked that stepping down was “five years away” but in May said stepping down is “not five years anymore.”

JPMorgan’s share price spiked 10% on Wednesday in the wake of Trump’s victory.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally in Philadelphia on November 4.

Vice President Kamala Harris will implore her supporters across the nation to accept the results of the presidential election during an afternoon concession speech at Howard University, aides say, in an address that is intended to strike similar themes to the closing days of her campaign. She’ll also urge the country to work together to find areas of “common ground.”

Harris has reached out to President-elect Donald Trump, aides tell CNN, but has yet to connect with him today. It is her intention, aides say, to speak with him before her 4 p.m. address.

The vice president is working on her concession speech at the Naval Observatory, alongside her lead speechwriter Adam Frankel and other advisers. The remarks are still coming together, aides say, but they expect her to thank her supporters and offer a message aimed at the younger voters she often reached out to on the campaign trail.

The Harris campaign invited supporters to return to the Yard at Howard University, where a night of dancing and jubilation steadily turned into disappointment for thousands of followers as election returns came in. Many stayed past midnight, but began leaving when it became clear Harris would not make an appearance.

President Joe Biden appears during a news conference at the White House on October 4 in Washington, DC.

In the immediate aftermath of Kamala Harris’ loss to Donald Trump, some Democrats are holding President Joe Biden responsible.

There are a myriad of ways in which party officials are quickly scorching Biden for Trump’s imminent return to the White House. For many, it goes as far back as the president’s decision to seek reelection for a second term, rather than keeping his 2020 campaign pledge to be a “transition” and “bridge” president.

In the scenario where Biden had decided not to seek another four years at the White House, Democrats say, there would have been a robust Democratic primary contest to choose the party’s next nominee — and with it, time for that nominee to set up and run a distinct campaign of their own.

Instead, the president’s decision to stay in the race despite concern from many Democrats — leading to Biden ultimately being forced out of the race just several months out from Election Day — gave Harris no choice but to run an unusually truncated race.

The party also never got an opportunity to decide, the official lamented, on whether vice president was, in fact, the strongest nominee to put forward against Trump.

In the end, Harris’ few-months sprint to Election Day was “the Biden campaign with Harris at the top of the ticket. It was the Biden campaign with new posters,” the official said.

President-elect Donald Trump’s win could have profound consequences for the goal to keep global warming below the critical threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius – above which scientists say the impacts of climate change will start to exceed the ability of humans and ecosystems to adapt.

Trump’s win comes during a year of unprecedented heat, which has contributed to more extreme storms, drought and wildfires, science shows. The US recently suffered back-to-back major hurricanes supercharged by ocean heat, while parts of South America are suffering through punishing drought, shrinking tributaries to the Amazon River.

As a candidate, Trump vowed to once again pull the US out of the landmark Paris climate agreement, in which the 1.5 degree-limit is enshrined. As CNN has previously reported, some former Trump officials floated the idea of pulling the US entirely out of the United Nations treaty to confront climate change. Doing so would end US participation in international negotiations and make it harder for a future US administration to re-enter them.

On Wednesday, several world climate advocates issued statements of concern.

“The US election result is a setback for global climate action, but the Paris Agreement has proven resilient and is stronger than any single country’s policies,” Laurence Tubiana, CEO of European Climate Foundation, said in a statement. “There is powerful economic momentum behind the global transition, which the US has led and gained from, but now risks forfeiting.”

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum attends a press conference in Mexico City on November 6.

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said that she was waiting on confirmation of the result but “there is no cause for concern” if Donald Trump wins the US presidential election, as CNN has projected.

“To our countrymen and countrywomen, to their relatives who are here, there is no cause for concern,” she said in her daily media conference.

Immigration was a fixture throughout Trump’s presidential campaign and the former president frequently attacked Mexico for “letting people come in through our border.” On Monday, in one of the final speeches of the 2024 campaign, Trump said “on day one” he would launch “the largest deportation of criminal program in American history.”

It remains unclear how Trump’s mass deportation plan would work, but analysts have said if he were to follow through with his campaign promise, it would be costly.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs congratulated Donald Trump on his projected win in a statement released on Wednesday.

“We respect the American people’s choice and offer our congratulations to Mr. Trump for his election,” the ministry said.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has yet to publicly comment on the election results.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally on November 4 in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Vice President Kamala Harris will deliver remarks at 4 p.m. ET at Howard University following her loss to former President Donald Trump, a source familiar with the plans tells CNN.

Harris is also expected to call Trump to concede the election, the source said.

Inflation is likely to rise in the United States and around the world if newly elected US President Donald Trump follows through on his campaign promises to cut taxes, crack down on immigration and hike tariffs on all imported goods.

Together with a Republican majority in the US Senate, Trump’s historic reelection, which CNN projected Wednesday, puts the former president in a strong position to implement his potentially radical economic agenda.

US stock markets opened sharply higher, buoyed by Trump’s decisive victory, while the dollar is rallying against major currencies as traders price in higher domestic inflation and therefore fewer interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. (Higher interest rates tend to boost the value of a currency by attracting more capital from abroad as investors seek bigger returns.)

Trump tariffs: Investors are also acting on expectations that Trump’s plans for higher tariffs will hurt the global economy, increasing demand for dollars, which are considered a safe haven, according to Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at financial technology firm Ebury.

The stronger dollar reflects expectations that Trump will cut taxes, hike tariffs and clamp down on immigration, which are all inflationary and likely to mean more elevated interest rates in the years to come, according to Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown.

Read more on inflation and Trump here.

Former President George W. Bush speaks in Dallas in 2022.

Former President George W. Bush offered his first statement on the 2024 presidential campaign Wednesday, congratulating former President Donald Trump on his victory.

He thanked President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for their service, and highlighted the election’s turnout as “a sign of the health of our republic and the strength of our democratic institutions.”

“Laura and I are grateful to the election officials, poll workers, and volunteers who oversaw a free and fair election. We join our fellow citizens in praying for the success of our new leaders at all levels of government,” he said.

Bush remained notably silent on the 2024 race, declining to endorse a candidate amid calls from Republicans like former Rep. Liz Cheney and former aide Nicolle Wallace to throw his support behind Harris.

His daughter, Barbara Bush, knocked on doors in battleground Pennsylvania on Harris’ behalf.

Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller speaks during a press conference on July 16 in Milwaukee.

Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller told CNN on Wednesday that the campaign views former President Donald Trump’s expected win with the popular vote as something that “changes everything,” arguing it gives the president-elect confidence to enact his agenda without fear of alienating a broad swath of the country.

As of Wednesday at 10:24 a.m. ET, CNN has not projected that Trump has won the popular vote.

Miller said, from the campaign’s view, the entire race boiled down to one key issue: the economy. Those close to Trump have acknowledged in recent hours that while they believe that the border and crime, the other top issues they repeatedly prioritized throughout the 2024 cycle, also played a major role in his success, Americans’ concerns about their financial stability is what won them the race.

However, Trump’s current Day One priority is to reinstate his former administration’s border policies and reverse those of President Joe Biden, Miller said.

More on Trump’s victory: Another tactic the campaign believes paid off is the inroads they made with the Arab-American community, particularly in the Blue Wall states of Michigan and Wisconsin, he added, in addition to their success with Black and Latino communities across the battleground states.

Former President Trump and his allies are keeping close track of who reaches out and when, according to multiple sources.

Trump, who values loyalty as well as flattery, has reveled in the reach outs from foreign leaders leading up to the election and asked privately why certain leaders hadn’t tried to contact him.

World leaders have already begun congratulating the president-elect, including leaders from across Europe and Africa, while a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry said they hope for “peaceful coexistence” with the United States just before Trump clinched the election.

Earlier this year, when it began to look like the former President would win Iowa, Trump kept tabs on which Republicans backed him and when, which formed some of how he dealt with specific individuals — he has done the same thing when it comes to the world stage.

Europe was not surprised by Donald Trump’s election victory and European Union members are prepared to defend their values, an EU diplomat told CNN.

“The feeling is now more than ever that the Union is a respectable lady in her 70’s, and no longer the fragile little sister of the United States,” added the diplomat, who is not permitted to speak on the record about closed door meetings.

They added that the EU is “ready to face the challenges of the world and defend its values, with all its partners and allies. And that remains, whatever the outcome of the elections here or there can be.”

Some context: Europe has strongly supported Ukraine’s fight against Russia, sending billions of euros in aid and weapons. Ahead of the election, the EU has also worked to increase its own defense capabilities outside of the US-led NATO alliance.

Kamala Harris supporters embrace as they watch poll results at the Harris-Walz watch party at Howard University in Washington, DC, on Tuesday.

Harris campaign aides and allies are in a state of shock and disbelief the morning after Election Day, reeling from their candidate’s loss to Donald Trump.

“Stomach in knots,” one source close to the campaign said. “Terrible,” another source said, describing how they were feeling.

Until the end, the Harris campaign had maintained that the election was likely to be close, with the outcome potentially to be determined on the margins in a handful of key states. But the scope of Harris’ defeat – even as it was still coming into clearer focus Wednesday morning – was stunning to those who have been working over the past several months to get Harris elected.

“If you’re winning New Jersey by five? There’s something bigger at play here,” they said.

In 2020, Biden had defeated Trump in New Jersey by around 16 percentage points.

In the lead-up to election night, Harris campaign officials had projected confidence about the vice president’s standing, citing conversations with teams on the ground and internal data. But that confidence evaporated early Wednesday.

“It was gloomy,” another source close to the campaign said, describing the mood among Harris campaign officials overnight. “Pennsylvania was the nail in the coffin.”

“The caveats won,” the source said. “She had all the headwinds. All the numbers were headed the wrong way for her.”

For many of Harris’ campaign aides, the processing of the emotions surrounding the election results are also colliding with the practical implications of the end of any presidential campaign. Many are packing bags and getting ready to vacate the temporary homes they had set up in battleground states, as they contemplate what comes next in their careers.

Harris, too, will be preparing to leave the Naval Observatory come January. As of Wednesday morning, she had not yet addressed the American public after ultimately skipping her election night party in DC the previous evening at Howard University.

Vice President-elect JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance greet the crowd at the Trump-Vance election night watch party in the early hours of Wednesday.

Sen. JD Vance posted a message of thanks Wednesday morning after the Trump-Vance ticket won the 2024 presidential election. In the message, Vance said he will “never stop fighting” for “ALL” Americans.

“THANK YOU! To my beautiful wife for making it possible to do this. To President Donald J. Trump, for giving me such an opportunity to serve our country at this level. And to the American people, for their trust. I will never stop fighting for ALL of you,” Vance posted on X.

Vance, 40, will become the first millennial to serve as vice president.

Traders wear hats in support of President-elect Donald Trump at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

US stocks rose sharply Wednesday morning following a decisive and consequential victory for former President Donald Trump in Tuesday’s US presidential election.

The Dow soared 1,334 points, or 3.2% at the market open. The S&P 500 surged 2% higher and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose by 1.8%. If the Dow maintains its implied gains throughout the trading session, it will mark the sixth-best point gain ever for the index — but nowhere close to a record percentage gain.

Markets were mostly juiced by the fact that the election was decided relatively quickly. The election — and the widely held belief that Trump and his allies could contest the result in courts — has served as a cloud over the US economy and stock market in recent months. Markets, in particular, crave certainty, and the clear path forward will allow companies to adjust their business and hiring plans.

But stocks may also be reacting to Trump’s victory, in particular. Trump flipped several swing states from President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, and Republicans also took control of the Senate. Several key House races remain undecided. A so-called red wave could usher in an era of deregulation and other pro-business laws and policies that investors believe could benefit the stock market.

CNN’s Matt Egan in New York, Anna Cooban and Olesya Dmitracova in London, Juliana Liu in Hong Kong and Nicole Goodkind contributed reporting.

As world leaders send congratulatory messages to President-elect Donald Trump, their aides are feverishly gaming out how to setup potential meetings with Trump in the coming months, multiple sources familiar with the early planning efforts explained.

World leaders are open to all options, including making trips to New York or Mar-a-Lago, sources said. Many of them are eyeing meetings before Trump’s January inauguration.

Still, even loose plans have not been sketched out for possible meetings. For now, those who have sent congratulatory messages to Trump are awaiting response from him and his team as they also work to be in contact with people close to Trump, they said.

Foreign leaders are relying on their experience with Trump during his first presidency, when flattery and personal attention paid dividends, as they approach him following his win.

One foreign diplomat said there is a better understanding of Trump compared to 2016, which is part of what led to the flood of congratulatory notes even before the race was officially called.

President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pose for photos at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, in April 2018.

The diplomat said in their view, leaders are following a model set by the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who headed directly to New York following Trump’s victory in 2016 for a meeting a Trump Tower, toting a set of gold-plated golf clubs as a congratulatory gift.

Donald Trump didn’t just win the White House. He also grew more than $1 billion richer Wednesday.

Trump Media’s stock, which trades under the ticker symbol “DJT,” spiked 35% in premarket trading, implying an astounding market value of about $9 billion.

Trump is the dominant shareholder in the conservative social media company, which has scant revenue and is losing money.

The president-elect’s 114.75 million shares are worth about $5.3 billion based on premarket trading, up from $3.9 billion when trading ended on Election Day. Of course, those are only paper gains and in practice it would be difficult for Trump to sell much of those shares without tanking the price.

For months, Trump Media has served as a proxy for how traders think the election will end.

With Trump’s election odds falling, the company’s share price crashed to record low after record low in September.

But between September 23 and the end of October, Trump Media more than tripled in value — a stunning spike driven by bets that Trump would win the White House.

Read more about Trump’s social media stock here.

Former Rep. Liz Cheney on Capitol Hill in 2022.

Former Rep. Liz Cheney is reacting to Donald Trump’s win over Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Our nation’s democratic system functioned last night and we have a new President-elect. All Americans are bound, whether we like the outcome or not, to accept the results of our elections,” Cheney said in a post on X.

“We now have a special responsibility, as citizens of the greatest nation on earth, to do everything we can to support and defend our Constitution, preserve the rule of law, and ensure that our institutions hold over these coming four years. Citizens across this country, our courts, members of the press and those serving in our federal, state and local governments must now be the guardrails of democracy,” she continued.

Cheney campaigned alongside Harris, urging Republicans to set aside party differences to back the Democrat and reject a candidate she says poses a threat to democracy.

Chris LaCivita, left, speaks to members of the media in Atlanta on June 27.

People close to the former president are crediting Donald Trump’s success, in part, to his 2024 political operation, arguing it was the most disciplined campaign he ever had.

They argued that campaign leadership, helmed by political operative Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, helped instill a sense of coordinated control across the Republican Party, extending to the RNC, that helped counteract Trump’s proclivity to get in his own way.

Wiles in particular, who was hired in 2021, was able to maintain her position of power and close personal relationship with Trump throughout, a rarity compared to the former president’s past campaigns.

A notable success was Trump’s ability to expand the electorate, they said. The campaign’s strategy to find and create first time voters, as well as low- to mid-propensity voters, was a defining tactic that ultimately paid off, first in the caucuses and primaries and eventually in the general election.

President-elect Donald Trump arrives to speak during an election night event at the Palm Beach Convention Center on Tuesday in West Palm Beach, Florida.

If you’re just joining our coverage of the 2024 presidential election, good morning.

Early this morning, CNN projected Donald Trump will defeat Vice President Kamala Harris and return to the White House.

There are several states that are still too close to call, and the vote count is still ongoing. They are:

Reaction is coming in: As Trump was declared winner, Republican lawmakers congratulated him on his reelection, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, Sen. Lindsay Graham, Sen. John Thune and Sen. John Cornyn.

Around the world, international leaders have also started congratulating Trump and said they look forward to working with him.

A look at the demographics: Notably, some key demographics where the vote swung toward Trump included among women, where Harris’ edge with women did not exceed either President Joe Biden’s or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s. Also Latino voters, and men in particular, swung toward Trump. They have been moving toward Trump since 2016 and Latino men tipped in his favour this year.

What to expect Wednesday: Harris has not yet spoken since Trump was declared winner. However, Harris campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond told supporters gathered Tuesday at her election night event at Howard University that Harris will return to the campus Wednesday to “address the nation.”

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio speaks during a Trump campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Monday.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said on Wednesday he was impressed by the way Donald Trump won the presidency by “fundamentally remaking the Republican Party.”

Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, also touched on the Hispanic vote and said experts were discussing how Trump wouldn’t be competitive because celebrities, such as Bad Bunny and Jennifer Lopez, were not supporting him. Trump made gains among Latino men and won that cohort by 8 points, four years after losing them by 23 points. It’s a result that showed his campaign’s efforts to court those voters paid off.

Rubio, who has been one of Trump’s most outspoken supporters throughout the campaign, was in attendance last night at the Trump campaign’s watch party.

A number of African leaders have expressed their desire to strengthen their relationships with the United States after congratulating President-elect Donald Trump on his election victory Wednesday.

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu extended his “heartfelt congratulations,” saying he “trusts that President Trump will bring the world closer to peace and prosperity.”

Zimbabwe’s President, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, also congratulated Trump, writing that “the world needs more leaders who speak for the people. Zimbabwe stands ready to work with you and the American people to build a better, more prosperous and more peaceful world.”

Liberia’s President George Weah called Trump’s election a “dawn of a new beginning for the American people and marks an opportunity for renewed hope.”

Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of South Africa, said on social media that he also looks forward to “continuing the close and mutually beneficial partnership between our two nations across all domains of our cooperation.”

Some context: In 2018, Trump sparked outrage after reportedly venting frustration over the US welcoming people from “shithole countries” including Africa. African diplomats to the United Nations called his comment “outrageous, racist and xenophobic.” Despite this, in 2020, data released by the Pew Research Center showed that most Kenyans and Nigerians, and 42% of South Africans, believed that Trump “will do the right thing regarding world affairs.”

Bernie Moreno poses for a photo during an election watch party in Westlake, Ohio, on Tuesday.

Republicans will win the US Senate majority, CNN projects, shifting the balance of power in Washington and putting the chamber in position to boost Donald Trump’s presidency.

With several races still to be declared, Republicans now have 52 seats in the chamber and will assume control under a yet-to-be chosen Republican leader when the new Congress convenes in January.

The Senate takeover was the first big success of the night for Republicans, while the destiny of the House of Representatives, where the GOP is trying to defend its narrow majority, remains up in the air.

The new GOP Senate will be in a position to back Trump’s agenda and to resume the ex-president’s significant reshaping of the judiciary with scores more conservatives.

The Republican march to control started early on election night when West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice was projected to pick up the Senate seat vacated by retiring Democrat-turned-independent Sen. Joe Manchin. Democrats had stopped contesting the seat after Manchin announced he wouldn’t seek reelection.

In Ohio, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who has served in the chamber for three terms, will lose his reelection bid, CNN projects, in a state that has gone from a perennial political bellwether during his tenure to a deep red stronghold. The new Republican senator will be businessman Bernie Moreno, a vehement Trump supporter.

And early Wednesday morning, CNN projected that in Montana, Republican businessman Tim Sheehy, a retired Navy SEAL, defeated three-term Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.

Read more about the outstanding races here.

China said it hopes for “peaceful coexistence” with the United States, shortly before Donald Trump secured reelection as US president.

“China’s US policy is consistent and clear. We view and handle our relations with the US under the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Wednesday morning.

Officially, the Chinese government presented a neutral stance on the election, calling it “an internal matter of the United States.”

Meanwhile, Chinese state media has attempted to portray the vote as a reflection of deep social divisions and political dysfunction in the United States, amid broad sentiment in China that no matter who wins, tense bilateral ties are unlikely to improve.

Elon Musk embraces President Donald Trump during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds in Butler, Pennsylvania, on October 5.

No single business leader did more to support former President Donald Trump’s candidacy than Elon Musk. But the billionaire and his business empire face both positives and negatives after Trump won back the presidency in Tuesday’s election.

Early Wednesday, investors were already betting that Donald Trump’s win will also be a win for Elon Musk’s major public holding, Tesla, sending shares of his electric vehicle maker up more than 12% in premarket trading. That lifted the value of the 411 million shares of Tesla that Musk owns outright by more than $12 billion.

Musk has donated nearly $119 million so far to a political action committee he set up to support Trump, according to Federal Election Commission filings. He’s appeared with Trump at rallies and hosted a fawning interview with him on X, his social media platform.

Early Wednesday, investors were already betting that Trump’s win will also be a win for Musk’s major public holding, Tesla (TSLA), sending shares of his electric vehicle maker up 14% in premarket trading. But there are risks for Tesla, even from Trump’s victory.

Much of Musk’s massive net worth can be traced to the government support his companies, such as Tesla and SpaceX, have received over the years. Even if Vice President Kamala Harris had won, much of that money would have continued to flow. But even if some of the government support for electric vehicles is now trimmed or cut off, as is likely with Trump’s victory, Musk’s wealth will remain firmly intact. In fact, Tesla could benefit if government support for EVs ends.

Read more to find out what Trump’s win means for Musk’s companies, including Tesla, SpaceX and X.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street in London on Wednesday.

European leaders have emphasized Europe’s close ties with the United States on Wednesday, posting early congratulations to Donald Trump as it became evident that he was going to win the US presidency.

The leader of the European Union, Ursula Von Der Leyen, “warmly congratulated” Trump on his victory nearly two hours before CNN projected his win.

The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, also stressed the EU and the US’ “enduring alliance” and “historic bond.”

The leaders of France, Germany and Spain are among several European leaders to congratulate Trump.

Italy’s President, Giorgia Meloni, who heads a hard-right administration, said “Italy and the United States are ‘sister’ nations, linked by an unshakable alliance, common values and a historic friendship.”

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, an ally of Trump, meanwhile called the win “the biggest comeback in US political history.”

Separately, the UK’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was looking forward to working with Trump in the years ahead and continuing the “special relationship” between the two countries.

Britain’s Foreign Minister, who described Trump as a “woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathizing sociopath” in a 2018 article, was more diplomatic in his congratulatory post on X Wednesday.

While both leaders congratulated Trump, France’s President Emmanuel Macron pledged to work alongside the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz towards a stronger Europe given the “new context” of a likely Trump presidency.

NATO’s Secretary General, former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, said that Trump’s leadership will “again be key to keeping our alliance strong.” In congratulatory tweet sent before Trump was confirmed winner of the US presidential vote, Rutte said “I look forward to working with him again to advance peace through strength through NATO.”

A Ukrainian service member fires a howitzer D30 towards Russian troops near the frontline city of Toretsk, Ukraine, on October 25.

With the reelection of Donald Trump, Ukraine may soon have to adjust to a dramatic reduction in US support that could have a decisive impact on the war with Russia.

Throughout his campaign, the Republican president-elect and his running mate, JD Vance, have cast strong doubts on continued US commitment to Kyiv as the war drags on more than two and half years after Russian forces invaded. Moreover, Trump has made comments that suggest the US could pressure Ukraine into an uneasy truce with Russia.

Trump’s victory comes at a precarious moment in the conflict for Kyiv. Russia has steadily been making gains in the eastern Donbas region, which Russia’s President Vladimir Putin aims to capture in full.

Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said the situation on the front line “remains difficult” and certain areas “require constant renewal of resources of Ukrainian units” in a statement on Telegram Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, Russia is understood to be bolstering its manpower with North Korean forces. As many as 10,000 North Korean troops are in Russia’s Kursk region and are expected to enter combat against Ukraine in the coming days, US officials have warned.

Read more about what Trump’s victory could mean for US support for Ukraine here.

Republicans in Congress are congratulating Donald Trump on his historic reelection.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement, “With President Trump back in the White House, there is no obstacle too great and no challenge too difficult.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham called on special counsel Jack Smith to end his federal investigations into Trump.

“To Jack Smith and your team: It is time to look forward to a new chapter in your legal careers as these politically motivated charges against President Trump hit a wall,” Graham posted on x.com.

Sen. John Thune said on X, “The incoming Senate Republican majority will work hand-in-hand with the Trump-Vance administration to lower costs for families, secure our southern border, and renew America’s energy dominance.”

Earlier, CNN projected that Republicans will win control of the Senate. It remains unclear which party will hold the majority in the House.

Sen. John Cornyn said in a statement, “I’m confident President Trump will hit the ground running to restore the Office of the President to what it should be – one that keeps the American people safe and prosperous.”

Cornyn added, “Come January, we must be ready to confirm his nominees, pass a budget, address our debt, extend the Trump tax cuts, and reverse Kamala Harris’ disastrous border security policies.”

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, just after midnight Tuesday.

Donald Trump’s election victory will return him to the White House, but both his allies and detractors have made clear his second time around will look nothing like the first.

With the Republican Party now entirely his, its anti-Trump figures banished for good, Trump will enter the Oval Office with both the experience of having done the job before and a wealth of resentments over how he believes the system failed him.

Figures who once hoped to act as stabilizing forces — including a string of chiefs of staff, defense secretaries, a national security adviser, a national intelligence adviser and an attorney general — have abandoned Trump, leaving behind a string of recriminations about his character and abilities.

They’ve been replaced by a cohort of advisers and officials uninterested in keeping Trump in check. Instead of acting as bulwarks against him, those working for Trump this time around share his views and are intent on upholding the extreme pledges he made as a candidate without concern for norms, traditions or law that past aides sought to maintain.

Trump’s axis of influence has shifted greatly since he left office in January 2021. While his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, were once prominent campaign surrogates and senior White House staffers, they’ve since stepped away from the daily churn of politics. Ivanka Trump has made clear she has no plans to return to the West Wing, and while Kushner has been involved in the transition efforts, sources familiar with his thinking said he is unlikely to leave his private equity firm.

Instead, Trump has found himself relying on people like Donald Trump Jr., Elon Musk and Susie Wiles throughout his third run for the White House.

Read more about a reimagined Trump White House here.

As the nation waits to hear from Vice President Kamala Harris Wednesday morning, those close to her are calling for her campaign to be allowed the space and time to process their tremendous loss.

Going into Election Night, Harris’ team voiced confidence in multiple pathways to reach 270. And they maintained they made a strong case when it came to offering the country a new generation of leadership, restoring reproductive nights and warning against the threat, in their view, a second Trump presidency would portend for the country. As the election results convey, those arguments did not win the day.

Vice President Kamala Harris appears on The View on Tuesday, October 8.

It was supposed to be everything short of a free ad – a panel of women not containing their excitement to welcome Kamala Harris, ready to introduce her to their committed daytime audience of exactly the type of women the vice president’s campaign always hoped were going to be critical to her base.

It was a moment that encapsulated one of the biggest challenges facing her campaign – which, in the end, proved insurmountable.

“What, if anything, would you have done something differently than President Biden during the past four years?” co-host of ABC’s “The View” Sunny Hostin asked Harris, looking to give her a set for her to spike over the net.

“There is not a thing that comes to mind,” she said.

Even Harris realized she had a problem, trying to adjust a moment later by saying she would put a Republican in her Cabinet.

Aides didn’t wait until Harris was off the set to start trying to clean it up. A Democrat who had spoken with her told CNN at the time that she didn’t want to name her differences with President Joe Biden – including a higher capital gains tax rate, a bigger child tax credit and a tougher border policy – because she thought it would look disloyal to the man who had picked her as his running mate and then stepped aside for her.

The thud fell in a campaign already struggling with a listless October, which had replaced the late summer exuberance and a September debate that nearly everyone political observer other than Donald Trump acknowledged she crushed. As aides new to the Harris orbit exerted control, she struggled with preparation. She grew hesitant, losing some of the confidence and swagger that had defined the early weeks of her reintroduction to the country. Aides who had successfully pushed her out of her comfort zone earlier in the year felt like they were running into the kind of walls she used to put up.

Read more on Harris’ campaign here.

President Donald Trump appears in court for his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 28.

President-elect Donald Trump has been reelected to the White House as a convicted felon who is awaiting sentencing in his hush money case in New York and still working to stave off prosecution in other state and federal cases.

It’s an extraordinarily unique position for him to be in: Never before has a criminal defendant been elected to the nation’s highest office, just as an ex-president had never been criminally charged until last year.

In the meantime, a judge in New York is set to sentence the former president later this month after holding off on handing down the punishment ahead of Election Day to avoid any appearance of affecting the outcome of the presidential race – though Trump’s lawyers are expected to ask the judge to put off the sentencing now that he’s the president-elect.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Read more about the four criminal cases here.

President-elect Donald Trump will be America’s 47th president, CNN projected Wednesday, after mounting the most momentous comeback in political history that will hand him massive, disruptive power at home and will send shockwaves around the world.

Four years after leaving Washington as a pariah, following his attempt to overturn the 2020 election to stay in office, Trump’s victory defied two assassination attempts, two presidential impeachments, his criminal conviction and many other criminal charges.

The former president outpaced his own performance in a losing cause four years ago, putting the states of Georgia and Pennsylvania back into the GOP column and retaining North Carolina for his party – all of which Democrats had targeted as part of the vice president’s path to the White House.

Trump campaigned on searing authoritarian-style rhetoric and false claims that the nation’s towns and cities were under “occupation” from foreign criminals and gangs. But he also tapped into a palpable thirst for change among Americans still feeling the painful aftereffects of a now cooled run of high inflation. And he warned that only he could stop a slide to World War III as foreign crises rage.

Given the extreme nature of his campaign, his election may also augur a period of national and international turmoil. Trump has vowed to use his second term to seek “retribution” against his political adversaries and mused aloud about using the military against “the enemy from within.” Overseas, US allies are bracing for the return of the wild unpredictability in US foreign policy that Trump whipped up in his first term. There are also concerns about his willingness to enforce NATO’s bedrock principle of mutual defense.

Trump’s return to power is also certain to end the federal prosecutions that resulted from his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

Read more about what to expect from a Trump presidency here.

Vice President Kamala Harris will win New Hampshire, CNN projects.

There are four electoral votes at stake in New Hampshire. It takes at least 270 electoral votes to win the 2024 presidential election.

Who won in 2020: President Joe Biden carried the state and won the general election.

Former first lady Melania Trump, former President Donald Trump and Barron Trump at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday, November 6, 2024.

Former President Donald Trump will defeat Vice President Kamala Harris in a historic political comeback, recapturing the White House following an election loss in 2020, CNN projects.

Trump will return to the nation’s highest office four years after inciting a violent insurrection at the US Capitol as part of an effort to hold on to power as he refused to accept the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to President Joe Biden.

Trump’s election presents an unprecedented legal situation as the president-elect was scheduled to be sentenced in New York criminal court this month after being convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records earlier this year. Trump also faces other criminal charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith in his ongoing federal election subversion case. The former president made the multiple criminal charges against him a focal point in his 2024 campaign as he argued he was being unjustly targeted and vowed to seek “retribution.”

Trump, 78, will also become the second former president in history to win back the White House after losing a reelection bid while in office — Grover Cleveland was the first. Trump is now the same age that Biden was when Biden became the oldest president in US history to be inaugurated.

The former president’s election comes months after surviving two assassination attempts against him. Since his first successful White House bid in 2016, Trump has reshaped the GOP in his image and holds an iron grip over a party that once appeared ready to move on from him after the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021.

Former President Donald Trump leaves a rally at Festival Park on June 18 in Racine, Wisconsin.

Former President Donald Trump will win the key battleground state of Wisconsin, CNN projects.

There are 10 electoral votes at stake in Wisconsin. It takes at least 270 electoral votes to win the 2024 presidential election.

Who won in 2020: President Joe Biden flipped Wisconsin back to blue by less than a point after Trump narrowly won the state in 2016. Trump’s win broke the streak for Democratic presidential candidates – they had won the previous seven elections.

As Trump’s campaign celebrates an almost certain win and begins contemplating the makeup of a future administration, they are also pointing to another overnight victory: Republicans taking back control of the Senate.

Those close to the former president told CNN that Trump’s likely victory is even more solidified with GOP control over Congress’ upper chamber, acknowledging at this early stage that the makeup of the Senate will allow a smoother pathway to confirming a future Cabinet and greenlighting his agenda.

The former president used similar rhetoric while taking a victory lap at his election party early Wednesday morning.

“America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate. We have taken back control of the Senate – wow that’s good,” he told his supporters.

Keep in mind: While CNN has projected that Republicans will win control of the Senate, it is still unclear which party will hold the majority in the House.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has no plans to congratulate Donald Trump, the Kremlin spokesperson said, adding, “Let’s not forget that we are talking about an unfriendly country that is both directly and indirectly involved in the war against our state.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is carefully monitoring information on the US election and is unlikely to give an official assessment until it sees “concrete words and actions.”

Peskov highlighted “significant statements” from Trump, including what the Kremlin referred to as “his desire to end the ongoing policies of extending old wars and starting new ones.”

“As he prepares to enter, or when has already entered the Oval Office, we recognize that sometimes statements take on a different tone. Therefore, we are carefully analyzing everything, observing, and will draw conclusions based on specific words and actions,” Peskov said.

“We have repeatedly said that the US is in a position to help bring an end to the conflict. Of course, this cannot be achieved overnight.”

When asked if Trump might be offended by Putin’s lack of congratulations, the Kremlin spokesman added: “It’s practically impossible for relations to worsen any further. Relations are currently at their lowest historical point.”

Separately, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, Kirill Dmitriev, congratulated Trump on Wednesday morning as he edged closer to victory, saying it opens “new opportunities” for resetting relations with Russia.

“Despite a large-scale disinformation campaign directed against them, Trump and his team demonstrated unique strength and resilience, winning the presidency,” said Dmitriev, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, in a statement to CNN on Wednesday.

CNN’s Matthew Chance contributed reporting.

The Iranian government said there is “no significant difference” in who becomes president in the US, state media reported, with ex-President Donald Trump on the brink of reclaiming the White House.

According to Tasnim News, the state media agency in Iran associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, “The spokesperson for the Iranian government, Fatemeh Mohajerani, confirmed that the general policies of Iran and the United States are consistent.”

Mohajerani added that “necessary measures have been planned in advance,” according to Tasnim.

Mohajerani also said the election of the United States president has “no connection” to Iran and that the “general policies of the US and Iran are unchanged,” Tasnim reports.

European markets opened higher Wednesday, tracking Tuesday’s gains on Wall Street, as Donald Trump looked likely to win the US presidency. The Stoxx Europe 600 index, the benchmark for the region, was up 1.3%. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC rose 0.9% and 1.3%, paring earlier gains, while London’s FTSE 100 was trading 1.1% higher on the day.

Mark Haefele, a chief investment officer at Swiss investment bank UBS, said Wednesday that the potential for Trump to introduce tariffs on imports is “a concern” for European companies.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown, also noted Wednesday that while “Trump’s more renegade approach to trade is likely to push the US further away from global institutions and the rules-based order built up over many decades… expectations are high that a Trump presidency will mean fewer regulations on big tech and big finance.”

Former President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky sit down for a meeting on September 27 in New York City.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated former President Donald Trump on Wednesday and said he appreciates his commitment to “peace through strength,” as he appears poised to clinch victory in the US presidential election.

CNN has not yet called the race for Trump and votes are still being counted across several states.

Zelensky said in a social media post, “I recall our great meeting with President Trump back in September, when we discussed in detail the Ukraine-U.S. strategic partnership, the Victory Plan, and ways to put an end to Russian aggression against Ukraine.”

“We look forward to an era of a strong United States of America under President Trump’s decisive leadership. We rely on continued strong bipartisan support for Ukraine in the United States,” he added. “We are interested in developing mutually beneficial political and economic cooperation that will benefit both of our nations.”

During his campaign, Trump suggested he will end support for Kyiv’s war effort and claimed he could settle the war “in one day.” Terms of a peace plan floated by his vice presidential nominee JD Vance included conditions Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for, such as Russia retaining land they have occupied and Ukraine giving a “guarantee of neutrality.”

Vice President Kamala Harris will win New Jersey, CNN projects.

There are 14 electoral votes at stake in New Jersey. It takes at least 270 electoral votes to win the 2024 presidential election.

Who won in 2020: President Joe Biden carried the state and won the general election.

President Donald Trump is projected to win multiple key battleground states and is poised to clinch the presidency for a second time. There are some key takeaways in how the country’s politics have shifted over three straight elections with Trump on the ballot.

CNN’s exit poll results from 2016, 2020 and 2024 reveal how a sour economy was a drag on Vice President Kamala Harris, how she failed to drive an uptick in support among women even though there was an uptick in support for abortion rights, and how Latino men, in particular, gravitated toward Trump.

Here are just a few differences over the years:

To see how the differences have grown in graphs, read our story here.

Vice President Kamala Harris will win Minnesota, CNN projects.

There are 10 electoral votes at stake in Minnesota. It takes at least 270 electoral votes to win the 2024 presidential election.

Who won in 2020: President Joe Biden carried the state and won the general election.

Former President Donald Trump has gained 266 electoral votes — just four away from the 270 he needs to be elected 47th President of the United States.

Here’s what happened overnight:

Trump’s speech in Florida: The former president addressed supporters in Florida in the early hours of Wednesday morning and thanked the American people for their support. “We have a country that needs help and it needs help very badly. We’re going to fix our borders and we’re going to fix everything about our country,” Trump said, promising Americans that “every single day I will be fighting for you” and said he would usher in the “golden age of America.” CNN has not yet called the presidential race and votes are still being counted in several states.

Republicans will control the Senate: Republicans will win the US Senate majority, CNN projects, shifting the balance of power in Washington. The Republican march to control started early on election night when West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice was projected to pick up the Senate seat vacated by retiring Democrat-turned-independent Sen. Joe Manchin. In Ohio, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who has served in the chamber for three terms, will lose his reelection bid, CNN projects, in a state that has gone from a perennial political bellwether during his tenure to a deep red stronghold. The new Republican senator will be businessman Bernie Moreno, a vehement Trump supporter.

Battleground projections: Early on Tuesday evening, Trump swept reliable red states and Vice President Kamala Harris picked up blue strongholds. Later on, Trump picked up North Carolina, Georgia and Pennsylvania, and Harris’ path to 270 shrank considerably.

Harris will speak later today: The campaign’s co-chair Cedric Richmond told supporters the vice president wasn’t going to speak Tuesday evening, but is expected to speak today. In brief remarks to the hundreds of supporters who remained on Howard University’s campus, Richmond said there were still “votes to count” and the campaign was committed to making sure “every vote is counted.”

People sit out in a public area as an electronic board (above) displays the numbers on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in afternoon trading in Tokyo on November 6.

Asian markets are broadly higher during mid-afternoon trade, tracking gains on Wall Street, as Trump edged ever closer to the presidency.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 2.6% higher, while Australia’s S&P ASX gained 0.8%.

Some background: Last month, Japanese voters delivered a stinging rebuke to their country’s longtime ruling party, led by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, which has governed almost continuously since 1955, lost its parliamentary majority in the powerful lower house for the first time in 15 years.

On Wednesday, Chinese shares bucked the regional trend. The Shanghai Composite Index was in negative territory, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was trading 2.7% lower.

US stocks rallied in after-hours trading on Tuesday night and bitcoin hit a new record as Wall Street digested early presidential election results.

Former President Donald Trump’s allies are already discussing potential administration positions, three sources familiar tell CNN.

Those with particular positions in mind have begun reaching out to members of Trump’s inner circle to try and talk themselves up.

Trump, who is known to be superstitious, largely avoided these conversations in recent weeks, despite allies trying to position themselves favorably.

Occasionally he would float names as possible administration picks, but would not engage further. This is likely going to be impossible moving forward, as those who believed they proved their loyalty to Trump begin ramping up their efforts.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at an army base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, on October 31.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Donald Trump on “history’s greatest comeback,” as the former US president appeared poised to clinch victory in the US presidential election.

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also congratulated Trump on his “historic return to the White House” in a tweet on Wednesday, describing him as a “true and dear friend of Israel, and a champion of peace and cooperation in our region.”

CNN has not yet called the race, and votes are still being counted across several states. However, according to CNN projections, Trump only needs four more electoral votes to win the presidency.

Trump, who often claims he was the most pro-Israel president in modern history, once touted his close, personal relationship with Netanyahu. But their relationship has soured in recent years, and the former president has been reluctant to speak with him throughout the ongoing war this past year.

During his administration Trump enacted multiple policies to Israel’s benefit, including moving the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights and backing multiple countries in Middle East and North Africa to normalize relations with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords.

Netanyahu previously called Trump the greatest friend Israel has ever had and heralded him for “unequivocally” standing by Israel during Trump’s tenure as commander in chief.

This post has been updated with Herzog’s remarks.

Based on CNN’s current projections, Vice President Kamala Harris’ path to victory is shrinking.

Former President Donald Trump has 266 electoral votes and Harris has 195 electoral votes, CNN projects. That means Trump only needs to win four more electoral votes to win the presidency.

CNN has projected that Trump will win several key battleground states — including North Carolina, Georgia, and more pivotally, Pennsylvania.

Here’s the latest look at where things stand:

Former first lady Melania Trump, former President Donald Trump and Barron Trump at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday, November 6, 2024.

Former President Donald Trump told his supporters early Wednesday that this moment will “help this country heal.”

According to CNN projections, Trump only needs four more electoral votes to win the presidency. CNN has not yet called the race for the former president and votes are still being counted in several states.

“We have a country that needs help and it needs help very badly. We’re going to fix our borders and we’re going to fix everything about our country,” Trump said.

“It’s now clear that we’ve achieved the most incredible political thing… look what happened, is this crazy?” Trump added.

At a convention center in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump promised Americans that “every single day I will be fighting for you” and said he would usher in the “golden age of America.”

Trump was joined on stage by members of his family and his wife, Melania Trump, as well as his running mate, JD Vance, and House Speaker Mike Johnson.

This post has been updated with additional remarks from Trump.

Detroit voters at the polls inside Central United Methodist Church on November 5 in downtown Detroit.

Some of the remaining ballots left to be tabulated in Detroit are being brought into the city’s counting center, a top official said in the early hours of Wednesday.

City election workers had been waiting for a final batch of 4,500 ballots to be delivered. A portion of those ballots are now in the convention center where votes are being counted, while other ballots from that tranche are still undergoing signature verification before they can be tabulated.

“That’s it tonight,” Detroit Elections Department Chief Operating Officer Daniel Baxter told reporters, adding that as signatures are verified on the outstanding ballots, they’ll be brought into the center to be counted.

The 86,000 absentee ballots that Detroit was able to count ahead of Election Day, thanks to Michigan’s new laws, have already been reported to Wayne County, Baxter said.

About 14,000 absentee ballots were received in the city today, including the 4,500 that are being processed currently.

Former President Donald Trump celebrated Republicans winning control of the Senate while speaking at an address to supporters early Wednesday morning. CNN has projected the GOP will win control of the Senate in a significant victory for the party.

“America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate. We have taken back control of the Senate – wow that’s good,” he told his supporters.

CNN has not yet called the race for the former president and votes are still being counted across several states, however according to CNN projections he only needs four more electoral votes to win the presidency.

“And the Senate races in Montana, Nevada, Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania were all won by the MAGA movement they helped so much,” Trump said.

“The number of victories in the Senate was absolutely incredible,” he added.