Donald Trump has announced himself as the new president-elect of the United States, claiming victory over Kamala Harris in the race to become the 47th president.
Trump’s Republican Party was the first to reach the critical 270 electoral votes as official state counts were disclosed.
After promising a return to the presidential race in November 2022, Trump was confirmed as the Republican Party’s official candidate during the summer.
He initially took office as president in 2017, serving a term before being defeated by Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
Now as president-elect, Trump and his vice president, JD Vance, are set to be inaugurated in Washington D.C. on January 6.
Among Trump’s prominent supporters are SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk and rapper Kanye West.
During his 2024 campaign, President-Elect Trump has promised changes from maintaining the federal government’s bitcoin reserves to implementing stricter immigration policies.
Trump, who recently endorsed cryptocurrency, has pledged to establish the US as the ‘crypto capital of the planet’ as part of his campaign promises.
At a cryptocurrency conference in July, he promised significant changes, including a commitment to never sell off the federal government’s bitcoin reserves. He also aims to retain the current level of bitcoin holdings that the US has amassed from confiscating assets of financial criminals.
Bitcoin surged by 10 percent to a new high of over $75,000 on Wednesday morning (November 6), surpassing its previous record of nearly $74,000 set in March.
Financial analysts speculate Bitcoin might reach $125,000 by the end of the year following Trump’s election victory, though the market is notoriously volatile.
Trump claims he will ‘end inflation’ but did not provide details on how he plans to achieve this. He also stated he would reduce interest rates, although he lacks the authority to set or control them.
The President-Elect also intends to raise taxes on imports while reducing taxes by trillions of dollars, alongside deporting undocumented immigrants.
To justify the tax cuts, he suggested they would be offset by growth and import taxes.
The US Supreme Court justices who played a role in overturning the landmark Roe v Wade decision in 2022, leading to strict abortion laws in 20 states, were appointed by Trump.
While he described these laws as a ‘beautiful thing to watch,’ Trump has stated he will not push for a direct federal abortion ban.
During the campaign, Trump pledged to provide free IVF treatment for women struggling to conceive.
Remember when Trump vowed to construct a wall along the US-Mexico border? He’s aiming to revive this project after the 2016 proposal was left incomplete when he lost to Joe Biden in 2020.
He may utilize the Insurrection Act to pursue this, granting him the authority to use the US Army to secure the border.
Additionally, Trump is planning the ‘largest deportation program in history.’
As many as 11 million individuals could be deported under Trump’s ambitious new program, with an estimated cost of $968 billion, according to a report by the American Immigration Council.
Trump’s controversial ‘Muslim travel ban’ is also being reconsidered, targeting several majority-Muslim countries.
Throughout the campaign, Trump highlighted the growth of global conflicts since his defeat by Biden in 2020.
Regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he promised to reevaluate the US’s strategy, as the Biden administration has provided substantial aid to Ukraine. Trump vowed to end the conflict, though he has not disclosed how he intends to accomplish this.
With regard to Israel’s conflicts in the Middle East with entities such as Gaza and Iran, Trump criticized Israel’s tactics. As for protests in the US supporting Palestine, Trump threatened to revoke visas of ‘radical anti-American and anti-Semitic’ foreign students participating in them.
Despite previously dismissing climate change as an ‘expensive hoax,’ Trump has committed to ensuring cleaner air and water for the nation.
He plans to halt offshore wind power projects, claiming they ‘kill whales and birds,’ and suggested expanding the US oil industry as a move to ‘make America affordable again.’