Donald Trump wins the 2024 US presidential election, making his way back to the White House

With his commanding victory over Vice-President Kamala Harris, Trump achieved a comeback that seemed unimaginable after the 2020 election ended with his supporters violently storming the Capitol after he refused to accept his defeat.

In the years that followed, Trump was widely blamed for Republican losses, indicted four times, convicted on 34 felony counts, ruled to have inflated his assets in a civil fraud trial and found liable for sexual abuse. He still faces fines that top more than half a billion dollars and the prospect of jail time.

But Trump managed to turn his legal woes into fuel that channelled voters’ anger. He seized on widespread discontent over the direction of a country battered by years of high inflation. And he spoke to a new generation – using podcasts and social media – to tell those who felt forgotten that he shared their disdain for the status quo.

‘Literally Anybody Else’ for US president? Man changes name in protest

Trump had entered the general election after sweeping the Republican primaries and routing a crowded field of candidates. The indictments against him dominated news coverage and forced even his rivals to rally around him as he cast himself as the victim of a politically motivated effort to hobble his candidacy.

A late June debate against President Joe Biden ended disastrously for the president, who struggled to put words together and repeatedly lost his train of thought.

When Trump arrived at the Republican National Convention to formally accept his party’s nomination for the second time weeks later, he seemed unstoppable. Just two days earlier, a gunman had opened fire at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, unleashing a hail of bullets that grazed his ear and left one supporter dead.

After the gunman had been killed, Trump stood, surrounded by Secret Service agents, his face streaked by blood, and raised his fist in the air – shouting “Fight! Fight! Fight!” – as the crowd erupted into cheers. The moment became a rallying cry for his campaign.

Trump had appeared to be on a glide path to victory. But just days later, Democrats, panicking over Biden’s age and ability to do the job for another four years, successfully persuaded the president to step aside, making way for Harris’ history-shattering candidacy.

But the change sent Trump into a tailspin. He had spent millions, he complained, beating Biden, and now had to “start all over” again – this time facing a candidate who was not only nearly two decades younger, but also a woman who would have become the country’s first female president.

Trump’s campaign insisted they did not fundamentally change their strategy with Harris as their rival. Instead, they tried to cast her as the incumbent, tying her to every one of the Biden administration’s most unpopular policies.

Harris played right into their hands. Asked during an October appearance on The View if there was anything she would have done differently than Biden over the last four years, she responded that there was “not a thing that comes to mind.”

The campaign decided early that it would focus much of its efforts on low-propensity voters – people who rarely turn out to the polls and are more likely to get their news from non-traditional sources.

To reach them, Trump began a podcast blitz, appearing with hosts who are popular with young men, including Adin Ross, Theo Von and Joe Rogan. He attended football games and UFC fights, where audiences erupted into cheers at arrivals broadcast live on sports channels.

The campaign also worked to create viral moments. Trump paid a visit to McDonald’s, where he donned an apron, manned the fry station and served supporters through the drive-through window.

Jump on the bandwagon with these idioms to get in the political groove

As the race headed into the race’s final stretch, Trump’s team continued to project confidence. They were on offensive, scheduling rallies in Democratic states like Virginia and New Mexico, as well as what was intended to be the marquee event of the campaign’s end: a rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

But the event was derailed long before he even took the stage as a series of pre-show speakers delivered vile, crude and racist insults, including a comedian who called Puerto Rico “a floating pile of garbage.”

While aides insisted they saw no impact on their polling even Trump’s most diehard supporters expressed concerns that the fallout was resonating with undecided friends and family members.

But yet again Trump caught a break. Biden, in a call organised by a Hispanic advocacy group, responded to the insults by calling Trump’s supporters “garbage.”

Trump quickly seized on the gaffe, coming up with the idea of hiring a garbage truck to ride in. Aides quickly scrambled to find a truck and print a “Trump” campaign decal to tape to its side.

Trump spent much of election night holding court with friends and club members.

While aides described him as confident, Trump watched the TVs that had been set up in the ballroom intensely as he mingled. This was more than an election, friends noted. He was fighting for his freedom. He will be able to end the federal investigations he faces as soon as he takes office.

After Fox News had called the race, Trump emerged, flanked by campaign staff and family.

“This will forever be remembered as the day the American people regained control of their country,” he said.