by Fred Lucas | The Daily Signal

President-elect Donald Trump asserted that American voters have “given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate” with his election to a second term.

Trump took the stage for a victory speech in front of supporters just before 2:30 a.m. after the 45th president defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

“Frankly, I believe this was the greatest political movement of all time, there’s never been anything like it in this country,” Trump told supporters.

He added, “Now we’re going to help our country heal.”

“We overcame obstacles that nobody thought possible,” Trump said, seemingly an allusion to the legal indictments against him at the federal level, and by state prosecutors in New York and Georgia.

He later added, “Look what happened. Is this crazy?”

Trump later made a reference to the two assassination attempts against him.

“We are going to make our country better than it has ever been,” Trump said. “Many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason. That reason was to save our country and to restore America to greatness. And now we’re going to fulfill that mission together.”

“The task before us will not be easy, but I will bring every ounce of energy, spirit, and fight that I have in my soul to the job that you’ve entrusted to me,” he added.

The Associated Press called the race at 2:24 a.m. Wednesday.

By the time Trump wrapped up his victory remarks, Decision Desk HQ reported Trump, a Republican, had 280 electoral votes to 224 electoral votes for Harris, a Democrat. Trump was expected to win the popular vote as well, for the first time. Fox News also projected Trump to be the winner.

“America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate,” Trump said. “We have taken back control of the Senate.”

After a surprise win in 2016 against Democrat Hillary Clinton, Trump lost in 2020 to Democrat Joe Biden. With this victory, Trump is the first president since Democrat Grover Cleveland to be elected to two non-consecutive terms.

Trump invited his vice presidential pick, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, to speak.

“I believe we just witnessed the greatest political comeback in the history of the United States of America,” Vance said.

He added, “After the greatest political comeback in American history, we are going to lead the greatest economic comeback in American history under Donald Trump’s leadership.”