Donald Trump closes in on US election victory

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Donald Trump is on course to win the United States presidential election in what would be a stunning political comeback with dramatic ramifications for the world. 
The Republican former president won a clutch of the battleground states that will determine who ends up in the White House, dealing a heavy blow to his Democrat rival Kamala Harris. His party also took control of the Senate, giving the Republicans sway over legislation.
While votes are still being counted, the emerging picture for Vice President Harris is grim.
Trump spent election night at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, watching the results come in as guests sipped champagne. Among those seen at the club were Elon Musk, the tech billionaire and vocal Trump backer; and Nigel Farage, the British member of parliament and Reform UK party leader. 
With U.S. TV networks calling the critical swing state of Pennsylvania for Trump, he emerged to claim his triumph. “This is a magnificent victory for the American people, that will allow us to make America great again,” he said to an ecstatic response from his supporters. He promised his second term would be a “golden age” for America. 
For America, the election marks a historic fork in the road: When the counting is finally done, either a convicted felon will be on his way back to power, emboldened and vowing “retribution” against his foes — as seems increasingly likely — or the U.S. will have elected its first woman as president.
The vote is pivotal for the rest of the world, too, with the future of European security and global trade in the balance. Trump has threatened to pull the U.S. out of the NATO military alliance and boasted about ending Russia’s war on Ukraine in a day. European governments have been trying to prepare for what — for some — will be the nightmarish prospect of a second Trump term.
World leaders, including Britain’s Keir Starmer and France’s Emmanuel Macron, lined up to congratulate Trump before his victory had been confirmed.
The president is not chosen by popular vote where the candidate with the most support across the U.S. wins. Instead, there are 50 state-wide contests, with one in the District of Columbia, in a system known as the “Electoral College.” The winner is the candidate with the most Electoral College votes across the country.
Pollsters and political experts reckon most of the states are sewn up for one candidate or the other, with only seven truly competitive battlegrounds. These are the so-called Rust Belt states, the former industrial heartlands of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania; and the Sun Belt states of Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada and Arizona in the southern and western parts of the country.
Trump has so far won Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina and is ahead in other races.
Voters across the country say their top priority this time was “democracy,” according to exit polling reported by NBC News, followed by the economy, abortion and migration. Trump is making inroads winning support from black and Latino men, in two crucial swing states — North Carolina and Georgia, surveys suggested.
The weeks and days leading up to the election have been tense. The campaign split the country, with many voters feeling they have a terrible choice to make between the outlandish and unpredictable Trump — or Harris, who has struggled to define herself or set out what she would do differently to President Joe Biden if she wins. 
The two sides have traded insults, with Harris branding Trump a fascist, while he has called her a “sleazebag.” The specter of violence has haunted the political atmosphere, too. Trump was targeted twice by would-be assassins, once escaping by the narrowest of margins as a bullet cut his ear. He has also indulged in his own violent rhetoric in recent days, suggesting Harris should fight Mike Tyson and one of her supporters should be shot at. 
Before the results came out, Trump and his team had been stoking the narrative that the contest was unfair or corrupted, without providing evidence that satisfied authorities. A judge in Georgia threw out Republican complaints over the process Tuesday. 
Bomb threats believed to originate from Russian disinformation activists targeted Georgia and potentially Michigan, both critical battleground states. 
There are 538 Electoral College votes in total, spread over 50 states and the District of Columbia. A simple majority — 270 votes — in the Electoral College will be enough for victory. 
This story is being updated. Steven Shepard and Meredith McGraw contributed reporting.