Donald Trump, who promised to smash the American status quo and radically reshape the federal government, will be the next president of the United States. That reality became clear to millions of jubilant fans and anxious critics early this morning, when Trump passed the necessary 270 electoral votes. This afternoon, Kamala Harris conceded the race.

“It is OK to feel sad and disappointed, but please know it is going to be OK,” Harris said to a crowd of tearful supporters in Washington. “Here’s the thing: Sometimes the fight takes a while.”

By this evening, Trump’s electoral victory is shaping up to be substantial: He won all five of the battleground states that have been called so far, he leads by comfortable margins in the other two and he is on track to become the first Republican to win the popular vote in 20 years. The Republicans also took control of the Senate, which will allow Trump to more easily carry out his priorities. Control of the House has yet to be determined.

The results proved that Trump was not the historical aberration that Democrats hoped he would be. He was defeated in 2020, indicted over an attempt to overturn the election, convicted of felonies, shot by a would-be assassin and labeled a fascist by his former aides. But instead of fading away, he established himself as a force reshaping the country in his image.

“The real America becomes Trump’s America,” a historian said.

How Trump won

Trump became the first former president in more than 120 years to get elected for a second nonconsecutive term by shifting the country to the right. Compared to 2020, Trump made gains in every corner of the country and with nearly every demographic group. He made big gains in blue America, and appeared to make his largest gains among Hispanic voters.