Former President Donald Trump was elected to a second term in the Oval Office four years after he lost the role, according to multiple projections.
Trump’s election marks the conclusion of a tumultuous campaign season that included two assassination attempts against him, his original Democratic rival President Joe Biden stepping down in favour of Vice President Kamala Harris, and his own continued claims, without evidence, that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
“I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honour of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president,” Trump told supporters in West Palm Beach, Florida around 2.30 am.
Only one president, Grover Cleveland, has previously served non-consecutive terms in the White House.
Others including Martin Van Buren tried and failed to return to the White House.
Of the states seen as battlegrounds, Trump secured the electoral votes in battleground states including Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, meeting the 270 threshold in the Electoral College to become president in January.
Catholic analysts who spoke with OSV News have pointed to areas of alignment and divergence with his platform and Catholic social teaching on issues ranging from abortion and in vitro fertilisation to immigration to climate and labour.