Washington: Mr Trump's victory will have a sweeping impact on global politics, including in the UK where Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's government may have to grapple with upheaval in America's security and defence approach. Donald Trump will return to the White House after claiming a stunning US election victory over Democrat opponent Kamala Harris. Mr Trump, who previously served as president between 2017 and 2021, picked up his first swing state after he was declared the winner of North Carolina.

Around an hour later he was declared the winner of Georgia - taking back the state he narrowly lost to Joe Biden in 2020. He was projected as the winner of Pennsylvania shortly afterwards - touted as the most pivotal of the seven battleground states. Mr Trump's victory was confirmed when he surpassed 270 electoral college votes by winning the state of Wisconsin, and he remains on course to claim all seven swing states. Ms Harris' aides had earlier said she wouldn't speak until later on Wednesday as her path to victory narrowed and defeat seemed certain. The lectern where her supporters hoped she would be delivering a historic victory speech at Howard University in Washington DC was instead seen protected with rain covers.

 

Meanwhile, Mr Trump headed to Palm Beach in Florida to declare victory to a crowd of his supporters hours before the election result was confirmed. Mr Trump told his supporters: "We're going to help our country heal. "We have a country that needs help, and it needs help very badly. We're going to fix our borders. We're going to fix everything about our country and we've made history for a reason tonight."

 

During a speech where he doubled down on his promise to crack down on illegal immigration, Mr Trump promised those who were gathered a "golden age of America". He added: "This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to 'make America great again'." The president-elect briefly paused his speech as the crowd chanted "USA, USA, USA!".

 

Mr Trump continued: "America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate. We have taken back control of the Senate. Wow. "Wow. That's great." He added that the Senate races in Montana, Nevada, Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were "all won by the MAGA

 

Mr Trump then invited his running mate JD Vance to speak, with the incoming vice president saying: "I think that we just witnessed the greatest political comeback in the history of the United States of America. "And under President Trump's leadership, we're never going to stop fighting for you, for your dreams, for the future of your children. "And after the greatest political comeback in American history, we're going to lead the greatest economic comeback in American history."

 

Once the vote counting was under way, three Trump campaign officials told Sky News' US partner network NBC News that the mood at his Mar-a-Lago resort was moving away from "cautious optimism" towards "optimism". Republicans have also taken control of the Senate from the Democrats.