Labelling it a ‘magnificent victory for the American people’, the 78-year-old declared on stage with his family he was going to ‘put the divisions of the past four years behind us’ after pipping VP Harris to a number of crucial swing states needed in order to secure the keys to the White House.
The two candidates, representing the Republican and Democratic parties, went into polling day (5 November) in a virtual tie.
But as the polls closed across the USA, the margin of error (around 3.1 percent either way) became clear, with Trump clearly getting more votes across the country in both states he was expected to win alongside the swing states needed to guarantee he will sit in the Oval Office from January 2025.
But after he is inaugurated, what will Trump actually do in the four years to come? Here we look at the key policies mentioned by Trump and his campaign during the 2024 US presidential election.
Trump has re-committed to his plans to build a wall along the USA’s border with Mexico. It was a flagship policy during his 2016 presidency, with the wall incomplete when he was beaten by Joe Biden in 2020.
He has flirted with the idea of using the Insurrection Act to achieve his means, which would give him the power to use the US Army to control the border.
On top of this, the president-elect said he will embark on the ‘largest deportation programme in history’.
Under Trump’s hard line approach to those without legal immigration status, as many as 11 million people could be removed from the country.
Zero information was given on how this would be funded during his presidency. A report from the American Immigration Council concluded that flights to remove all 11 million people without legal immigration status would cost $968 billion (roughly £751 billion).
Dancing his way to victory (John Moore/Getty Images)
Trump’s controversial ‘Muslim travel ban’ is also back on the cards, banning people from several countries in the world which have a majority of Muslim people living there.
“We will seal our border and bring back the travel ban,” Trump previously said.
“Remember the famous travel ban? We didn’t take people from certain areas of the world. We’re not taking them from infested countries.”
Trump on women’s rights
Trump appointed the US Supreme Court justices who helped overturn the historic Roe v Wade judgement that resulted in 20 states bringing in strict abortion laws.
Having called these laws as a ‘beautiful thing to watch’, Trump has said he will not push for a direct federal abortion ban.
During the campaign, Trump said he will give all women free IVF treatment for those who are struggling to become parents.
Donald Trump with his wife Melania and their youngest child, Barron (JIM WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)
Trump on foreign policy
Trump spent a lot of the campaign saying how global conflicts have grown since he lost to Biden in 2020.
On Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he has promised to reassess the USA’s approach to the conflict, with the Americans providing huge aid to Ukraine under the Biden administration. He has promised to end the conflict, without revealing how he might do this.
On Israel’s growing conflicts in the Middle East with the likes of Gaza and Iran, Trump has been critical of tactics used by Israel in achieving its aims. On protests in the USA from those supporting Palestine, Trump has threatened to strip foreign students of their visas if they take part in these.
Trump will head back to the Oval Office (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump on taxes, the economy, and environment
Trump says he will ‘end inflation’ without revealing how this could be achieved.
He has hinted at opening up the USA’s oil industry in a move he says could ‘make American affordable again’. Trump also is set to halt offshore wind power farms, claiming they ‘kill whales and birds’.
Trump has previously described climate change as an ‘expensive hoax’ while committing to clean air and water for US citizens.
He said he will lower interest rates, despite the POTUS not setting them or controlling them. He says he will up taxes on imports while cutting taxes worth trillions of dollars, all while deporting undocumented immigrants.
Justifying the tax cuts, he said it will be paid for through growth and the import tax. Trump hasn’t spoken on the issue of increased import taxes on goods from the likes of China, Brazil, and Mexico, potentially seeing price rises across the USA to mirror the cost increase.
