Former President Donald Trump won the United States presidential election in the early hours of the morning Nov. 6 after election day Nov. 5.
Trump, the Republican candidate who will be the second president to serve non-consecutive terms and the first convicted felon to serve as president, defeated Vice President Kamala Harris, who would have been the first Black and South Asian woman to serve as president. As of Nov. 7, Trump has won 295 of 538 votes in the Electoral College, surpassing the 270 votes needed to win, and is leading in the popular vote, while Harris has won 226 electoral votes.
Trump has familial ties to Georgetown University: Two of his children, Eric Trump (MSB ’06) and Tiffany Trump (LAW ’20), graduated from Georgetown. Ivanka Trump, one of Trump’s daughters, attended the McDonough School of Business for two years before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
Trump’s youngest son, Barron Trump, reportedly considered matriculating at Georgetown in September but now attends New York University Stern School of Business.
Trump hosted his election night campaign event in West Palm Beach, Fla., where he accepted the win and made his victory speech. Harris conceded the election Nov. 6 in a speech at her alma mater, Howard University, in Washington, D.C., where she thanked supporters.
At his event, Trump said his reelection represents a time to change the nation.
“This is a movement like nobody’s ever seen before and, frankly, this was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time,” Trump said in his victory speech. “There’s never been anything like this in this country, and maybe the, and now it’s going to reach a new level of importance because we’re going to help our country heal.”
Harris, in her concession speech, said she accepts the results of the election but will not give up on her service to U.S. citizens.
“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,” Harris said at Howard University. “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, hear me when I say, the light of America’s promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting.”
Trump’s major policy initiatives include restricting immigration by aiming to create harsh asylum and deportation policies, trade through creating high tariffs and restricting social services, such as the Department of Education and Social Security.