Kamala Harris withholds election night speech with Trump on verge of victory

Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign announced that she would not speak to supporters on election night, as the US media projections indicated that Donald Trump is on the verge of securing a second term.

Trump, the Republican candidate, delivered a "victory" speech on Tuesday evening (local time), declaring: "America has given us an unprecedented mandate, and we are going to heal our country."

Meanwhile, Harris’s supporters held out hope for a last-minute change, as the vice president indicated that there are still votes yet to be counted.

Economic Times reported that Democratic campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond informed a watch party at Howard University, stating: "You won’t hear from the vice president tonight but you will hear from her tomorrow."

At the election watch party hosted by Howard University students in Washington, DC, a mix of emotions filled the room as early projections placed Trump ahead. Disheartened by the numbers, some attendees left early.

By Wednesday morning, CNN showed Trump with 266 electoral votes to Harris’s 195, with the required 270 to win.

Republican Donald Trump later claimed victory in the 2024 presidential race after Fox News projected he had defeated Democrat Kamala Harris, marking a significant political comeback four years after leaving office.

The projections from other media outlets in the US also started coming in for Trump as held leads in key battleground states, including Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia, with projections from Edison Research pointing to a likely win.

In parallel, Republicans regained control of the Senate, winning critical seats in West Virginia and Ohio.

Meanwhile, in the House, attention shifted to New York and California, where Democrats aim to regain seats from Republicans, potentially shaping the final balance of power in Congress.