Live: Trump pledges ‘golden age of America’ as he nears US presidential victory

Republican Donald Trump is on track to return to the White House in the US presidential race against rival Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Associated Press news agency said earlier this morning that Kamala Harris cannot lose Pennsylvania and reach 270 electoral votes, so with the state being called for Donald Trump shortly before 7.30am GMT, his path to the presidency looks clear.

Here’s all the latest:

8.45am

We’re ending PA’s live page now. Thank you for reading.

8.42am

Foreign Secretary David Lammy has offered his congratulations to Donald Trump.

“The UK has no greater friend than the US, with the special relationship being cherished on both sides of the Atlantic for more than 80 years,” he said on X.

“We look forward to working with you and @JDVance in the years ahead.”

In 2017 Mr Lammy said he would protest if “racist and KKK/neo-Nazi sympathiser Trump” visited London.

8.41am

French President Emmanuel Macron said he is “ready to work together” with Donald Trump “with respect and ambition”.

Mr Macron, who became leader of France in 2017 and was re-elected in 2022, worked with Mr Trump during his first stint in the White House, but their relationship was said to have soured with time.

The Republican Party chief accused Mr Macron of “insulting” Nato allies in 2019 after the French leader claimed the alliance was “brain dead”.

Five years later, Mr Macron posted to X, apparently ready to rekindle their working relationship.

“Congratulations, President @realDonaldTrump,” he wrote. “Ready to work together as we did for four years. With your convictions and mine. With respect and ambition. For more peace and prosperity.”

8.36am

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has said that Donald Trump is going to be a “genuine radical”.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “He’s going to be a genuine radical.

“What you are going to see from this Trump administration, and I’m guessing that Elon Musk will be the man that is tasked to do it – is there will be a big fightback against the administrative bureaucratic state which is far too big, far too powerful and actually very undemocratic.”

He added: “What is very interesting about the Trump movement is that its critics call it all sorts of nasty names, the truth is in many ways it’s bringing Americans together.”

8.33am

Iran’s rial currency fell on Wednesday to an all-time low as Donald Trump was on the verge of clinching the US presidency again. The rial traded at 703,000 rials to the dollar. In 2015, at the time of Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers, it was at 32,000 to the dollar.

Mr Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord in 2018 sparking years of tensions between the countries that persist today.

8.25am

Sir Keir Starmer said the UK-US special relationship will “continue to prosper” following Donald Trump’s “historic election victory”.

The Prime Minister said: “Congratulations President-elect Trump on your historic election victory. I look forward to working with you in the years ahead.

“As the closest of allies, we stand shoulder to shoulder in defence of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise.

“From growth and security to innovation and tech, I know that the UK-US special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come.”

Sir Keir will be keen to build bridges with Mr Trump after the Republican politician’s campaign filed a legal complaint about Labour activists supporting Kamala Harris.

8.22am

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has congratulated Donald Trump on his “historic election victory” and said that “as the closest of allies, we stand shoulder to shoulder in defence of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise”.

8.20am

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has also congratulated Mr Trump in a social media post.

8.14am

Donald Trump vowed not to let his supporters down before he left the stage at his campaign party in Florida to music and raucous applause.

The likely next US president said: “It’s time to put the divisions of the past four years behind us. It’s time to unite.

“Success is going to bring us together and we are going to start by all putting America first. We have to fix it because together we can truly make America great again for all Americans.

“So I want to just tell you what a great honour this is. I want to thank you. I will not let you down.

“America’s future will be bigger, better, bolder, richer, safer and stronger than it has ever been before. God bless you and God bless America. Thank you very much.”

The crowd erupted in cheers and applause, and YMCA by the Village People – a song often used at his rallies was played as Mr Trump left the stage.

8.12am

Mr Trump has said the US presidency is “the most important job in the world”.

Addressing supporters, he said: “This is a great job, there’s no job like this – this is the most important job in the world.

“Just as I did in my first term, we had a great first term, a great, great first term governed by a simple motto – promises made, promises kept.

“We’re going to keep our promises.

“Nothing will stop me from keeping my word to you, the people.

“We will make America stay strong, prosperous, powerful and free again.”

8.10am

Mr Trump said “many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason”, while speaking to supporters at a presidential campaign party in Florida.

He added: “And that reason was to save our country and to restore America to greatness, and now we are going to fulfil that mission together.

“We’re going to fulfil that mission.”

A gunman attempted to assassinate Mr Trump during his speech at an outdoor campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July. The former president suffered an injury to his ear and his attacker was shot dead.

8.03am

Donald Trump said this will “forever be remembered as the day the American people regained control of their country”.

Speaking at his campaign party in Florida, the Republican candidate said: “I want to thank the millions of hardworking Americans across the nation who have always been the heart and soul of this really great movement.

“We’ve been through so much together, and today you showed up in record numbers to deliver a victory … probably like no other. This was something special.

“We’re going to pay you back, we’re going to do the best job, we’re going to turn it around.

“It’s got to be turned around fast and we’re going to turn it around, we’re going to do it in every way.

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

7.55am

7.52am

Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance has hailed the Republicans’ victory as “the greatest political comeback in American history”.

Speaking on stage alongside Mr Trump to supporters in Florida, the man who looks likely to be the next vice president of the United States said: “I appreciate you allowing me to join you on this incredible journey.

“I thank you for the trust that you placed in me, and I think that we just witnessed the greatest political comeback in the history of the United States of America.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, we’re never going to stop fighting for you, for your dreams, for the future of your children, and after the greatest political comeback in American history, we’re going to lead the greatest economic comeback in American history under Donald Trump’s leadership.”

7.50am

Kamala Harris has won Minnesota.

7.48am

Donald Trump said there was “no other path to victory” for Kamala Harris after the Republican candidate won the US swing state of Pennsylvania.

He said winning the popular vote was “very nice” as he addressed a rally of supporters at West Palm Beach, Florida, adding: “It’s much easier doing what the networks did, or whoever called it, because there was no other path.

“There was no other path to victory. We also have won the popular vote. That was great.

“Winning the popular vote was very nice, very nice I will tell you. A great feeling of love.

“We have a great feeling of love in this very large room with unbelievable people standing by my side.

“These people have been incredible, they made the journey with me and we’re going to make you very happy.”

7.46am

Mt Trump added: “We have taken back control of the Senate. Wow that’s good… It was amazing to look at all of those victories. Nobody expected that. Nobody. Thank you very much for that and you have some great senators and great new senators and it also looks like we’ll be keeping control of the House of Representatives.”

He also thanked his “beautiful wife Melania” who “has the number one best-selling book in the country” and his “whole family and “amazing children”.

7.44am

Mr Trump told supporters in Florida: “I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honour of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president.

“Every citizen I will fight for you, for your family and your future. Every single day I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body.

“I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe and prosperous America that our children deserve, and that you deserve.

“This will truly be the golden age of America.

“This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again.”

7.38am

“America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate,” Mr Trump said as he hailed Republican victory in the Senate.

7.38am

Walking up to the stage at 2.25am local time to a raucous ovation as God Bless The USA by Lee Greenwood was played, the former president told the crowd: “This is a movement like nobody’s ever seen before, and frankly this was I believe the greatest political movement of all time. There’s never been anything like this in this country and maybe beyond.

“And now it’s going to reach a new level of importance because we’re going to help our country heal… we have a country that needs help and it needs help very badly. And we’re going to fix our borders. We’re going to fix everything about our country.

“We made history for a reason tonight and the reason is that it’s going to be just that. We overcame obstacles that nobody thought possible and it is now clear that we’ve achieved the most incredible political thing. Look what happened. Is this crazy?”

7.35am

Mr Trump has claimed he has won a “magnificent victory for the American people” in the US election, and said he will “help our country heal”.

7.30am

Mr Trump is addressing supporters in West Palm Beach, Florida, surrounded on stage by his family.

7.26am

Donald Trump has won the key swing state of Pennsylvania.

7.08am

Republican Monica De La Cruz of Texas has won re-election as her party showed growing strength along the US-Mexico border.

7.05am

7am

6.58am

John Curtis will succeed Mitt Romney in the US Senate after the Republican breezed to victory over his Democratic opponent Caroline Gleich in deeply red Utah.

6.53am

Donald Trump has won the 2nd Congressional District in Maine and one electoral vote.

6.45am

6.39am

A gathering of Democratic Party supporters at a London bar has largely emptied out after they watched Donald Trump maintain his lead in the US presidential election results.

Many of those at the Democrats Abroad UK event looked despondent, with some appearing close to tears as Ms Harris’s prospects of victory narrowed.

Few people who left the event on Tuesday night had returned early on Wednesday morning.

David Mulholland, 53, told the PA news agency: “It’s not looking good.”

Mr Mulholland, who is from New Orleans, added: “Especially with the guy who’s basically been given a green light by the Supreme Court to be a dictator.”

6.30am

6.20am

A UK-based Democrat at a London gathering of party supporters said the night has “got worse and worse” for Kamala Harris.

Jill Turetzky, who votes in South Carolina, told the PA news agency: “I showed up today really excited. I was just watching everything that Kamala’s done, I’d read her autobiography – I love her.

“And it started going wrong and got worse and worse. There are still some states and it is still possible, but it’s very, very unlikely.”

Ms Turetzky, 55, said she was “sad” about how the election night had unfolded.

She added: “You can look around the room, there were more than 400 to start and now so many people have gone.”

6.17am

Kamala Harris has won New Hampshire.

6.03am

Donald Trump has won the 1st Congressional District in Nebraska and one electoral vote.

6am

Donald Trump has won the swing state of Georgia.

5.56am

5.51am

A Harris adviser has said the vice president will not speak on election night and that the campaign believes ‘we still have votes to count’.

5.47am

5.45am

Voters have elected two black women to serve simultaneously in the US Senate for the first time. Delaware’s Lisa Blunt Rochester and Maryland’s Angela Alsobrooks prevailed in their races, doubling the number of black women ever elected to the Senate – from two to four.

5.41am

Donald Trump is reported to be heading from his Florida estate to his election watch party in Palm Beach.

5.37am

5.30am

5.22am

Abortion rights advocates lost on a Florida ballot measure but prevailed in four other states, including Missouri, where an amendment clears the way to undo one of the nation’s strictest bans.

5.10am

Kamala Harris has won the 2nd Congressional District in Nebraska and one electoral vote.

5.08am

The Republicans have won a US Senate majority, seizing control of the chamber for the first time in four years.

5.05am

Democrat Nancy Pelosi has won re-election to the US House of Representatives in California’s 11th Congressional District.

5.02am

Kamala Harris has won Hawaii.

4.57am