DONALD Trump was this morning on the brink of one of the greatest comebacks in political history.
With more than 100 million votes counted, the Republican was outperforming bitter rival Kamala Harris in most of the the critical swing states.
Donald Trump is within a whisker of winning the presidency for a second timeReuters
APKamala Harris’ supporters in bits as their candidate crashes to defeat[/caption]
His early surge was enough for the bookies to hail him nailed on for a stunning victory.
Trump’s billionaire cheerleader Elon Musk declared: “Game, set and match:”
And at a bash at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, close pal Nigel Farage said: “The mood is joyous. This is the most incredible political comeback in any of our lifetimes.”
Confidence that he was on his way back to the White House built from the moment the first polls closed at midnight UK-time.
In the critical swing states, early counting showed him doing significantly better against Harris than he did when losing to Joe Biden in 2020.
At around 4am, he clinched his first big victory – with the Associated Press calling North Carolina for the former President.
Georgia was next to fall to Trump just before 6am, by a margin of around 51-48 per cent.
It was four years ago when Trump famously pleaded with the state’s election chief to “find him” the 11,000 votes needed to cling on.
And then just after 6am Fox called the crucial battleground of Pennsylvania for him too.
It put him within a whisker of the 270 needed for victory – with Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin all up for grabs.
As the walls closed in on Harris, Betfair’s Sam Rosbottom told The Sun’s Never Mind The Ballots: “She can’t come back from this.”
He also defied an opinion poll which had grabbed headlines by predicting he would lose Iowa.
Other swing state races remained too close to call, and some Democrats had not given up hope of Harris turning the night around.
But Republicans Abroad spokesperson Sara Elliot said her candidate had given Harris a “shellacking”.
She told Times Radio: “This is what we would call in America a shellacking, a thumping.
“It is definitely not what we expected in some ways, being that the polls were as close as they are.”
Pals of Harris briefed reporters that they were concerned her path to the White House was becoming “too narrow”.
Harris had gone to ground this morning after pulling out of a planned speech at her own party in Washington.
Her campaign co-chair told the gathered supporters – where the mood was “pretty grim” – that they “won’t hear from the VP tonight”.
At a Democratic event in London, there were shouts of “no, that can’t be right” as projections showed Trump surging ahead among Latino voters in Michigan.
His strong showing with Latinos came just days after a row when a comedian referred to Puerto Rico as “garbage” during one of his rallies.
The betting markets went bananas as early results saw Trump way up on the last election in a series of swing states.
Bookies say it’s all over
The bookies have said this race is all but over – now giving Donald Trump a 99 per cent chance of winning.
Hundreds of millions of pounds have been wagered on a Trump comeback throughout the night as results showed him doing better than expected.
Betfair has him odds-on to sweep all seven swing states, with Kamala Harris just a 2 per cent chance of keeping her presidential dreams alive.
As the walls closed in on the Democrat, punters bet big on a Trump victory.
Betfair’s Sam Rosbottom told The Sun’s Never Mind The Ballots: “She can’t come back from this.”
He added: “Donald Trump is now as short as 1/20 to win the US election, the same low that Hillary Clinton was matched at overnight in 2016.
“However, Trump only went as big as 12/1 eight years ago. Kamala Harris is currently 28/1 and if she wins from here it will be the biggest ever comeback in US Election history on the Betfair Exchange.
“The Republican is now as short as 1/4 to win the popular vote, he’s projected to win in Georgia and North Carolina, and is the firm favourite to in the remaining five swing states.
“As things stand, the Presidency is Donald Trump’s to lose.”
By 5.30am Betfair gave him a 99 per cent chance of winning the White House after punters wagered hundreds of millions on him.
And the pro-Harris New York Times even forecast him to take the popular vote, which would make him the first Republican to achieve the feat since 2004.
Team Kamala put a brave face on the bruising night even as the walls closed in around her.
Her campaign manager said they “still see a path to victory, largely through the blue wall”.
As Trump cruised towards victory, his closest pals last night gathered at his Mar-a-Lago home, with Musk, Farage, Robert Kennedy Jr and Dana White among the attendees.
Trump – who beat Hillary Clinton in 2016 before losing to Joe Biden four years ago – would be the first president for more than a century to serve nonconsecutive terms.
The New York businessman’s return to the White House comes despite a string of scandals and legal battles.
He was twice impeached by Congress – but acquitted – and has been dragged through the courts for the January 6 Capitol riots and sexual harassment.
Earlier this year he was convicted of falsifying business records.
Trump has long claimed to be the victim of a Democrat-led “witchhunt” and has effectively used his legal rows to whip up his support base.
The Senate has flipped to Republican control, with the House of Representatives on a knife-edge.
Bitcoin has surged in anticipation of a Trump presidency, with the Republican a backer of cryptocurrency.
The National Guard was placed on standby in Washington DC amid fears of violence — regardless of whether Trump wins.
Shops, bars and offices were also boarded up across DC — with concerns that it will become the focal point of unrest again as it did in January 2021.
Meanwhile, both the Republicans and Democrats had hundreds of lawyers across the seven key swing states ready to challenge wafer-thin results in critical counties.
Last night Mr Trump tweeted on his Truth Social account: “A lot of talk about massive CHEATING in Philadelphia. Law Enforcement coming!!!”
The local district attorney immediately hit back, saying there was no “factual basis” to Trump’s claims about the city, in Pennsylvania.
Larry Krasner, a Democrat, said: “If Donald J Trump has any facts to support his wild allegations, we want them now. Right now. We are not holding our breath.”
Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
