As Ireland wakes up (those of us who haven’t pulled an all-nighter watching CNN’s ‘magic wall’ at least) Donald Trump has declared victory in the US presidential election after securing the key swing state of Pennsylvania.
It all happened just before 7.30am (Irish time) as Trump took a clear lead with 267 Electoral College votes, ahead of vice-president Kamala Harris who is currently on 224.
At the time of writing, Trump was just three confirmed votes short of the magic 270 majority. After winning Pennsylvania, Trump needs to win just one of Wisconsin, Nevada or Arizona, states in which he appears ahead, to secure a second term in the White House.
If you did have to get a few winks in the early hours, The Irish Times US election liveblog is an excellent place to catch-up on how this nail-bitter of an election count played out overnight.
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In his overnight report, Washington Correspondent Keith Duggan sums up the likely outcome in two words: “Maga redux”. He reports from the Harris election night HQ, Howard University, where her supporters tried to maintain the mood of a party that never fully began, even as it began to dawn that Trump was on the cusp of a comeback.
Political Editor Pat Leahy outlines the likely political impact of a second Trump presidency for Ireland, noting that “over strong coffees, political leaders in Dublin and all over Europe are turning to their officials and asking: what now? What does this mean for us?”
Cliff Taylor looks at the likely economic consequences and notes that Trump’s return to the White House means there are some big risks ahead for the Irish economy.
Meanwhile, Steven Carroll reporting from Trump’s home state of Florida, outlines how the Maga supporters danced to what appears to be the former president’s favourite song, YMCA by the Village People, as the results rolled in.
Our videographer Enda O’Dowd has been outside Trump Tower in New York where he had a chat with Alison Jackson, the woman behind the somewhat controversial Trump wax work sculpture that toured the city on election day.
While it was announced in Washington that Harris would not be addressing supporters until much later today, Trump did address his supporters this morning.
Thanking the crowd as they chanted “USA”, Trump said it was: “The greatest political movement of all time” and he promised the his presidency would be a “golden age of America”.
Keep following our liveblog for all the latest updates as results continue to flow in.
Best Reads
Back home, Conor Gallagher’s story on how the Garda Inspectorate has recommended that some gangland informants should be permitted to commit criminal offences in certain circumstances is our page one lead. The idea is that, mirroring systems in other countries, permitting some criminal activity by sources could help prevent or detect more serious offending.
And what of our own election? Political Editor Pat Leahy lays out the likely choreography of how it will be called, probably this Friday in an explainer here.
Miriam Lord details Labour TD Ged Nash’s unfortunate “run-in with a gourd” that has left him on crutches for the general election campaign as well as a highly personalised clash between Danny Healy-Rae and Paul Murphy, and the opprobrium heaped on the Kerry TD for his remarks about Murphy’s child in the Dáil.
Harry McGee and Jennifer Bray report on how a Green Party memo which would outline how the €3 billion Climate and Nature Fund would be allocated was blocked by Taoiseach Simon Harris and Tánaiste Micheál Martin in advance of being brought to Cabinet.
McGee also reports on how former RTÉ political correspondent and Northern editor David Davin-Power was remembered as an intelligent and consummate broadcaster, a great storyteller and a loyal family man at his funeral Mass on Tuesday.
Playbook
The Dáil kicks off with an opportunity for TDs to raise ‘Topical Issues’ at 9.10am.
There is a debate on a Sinn Féin private members’ motion on the abolition of the Carer’s Allowance means test at 9.58am.
Leaders’ Questions is at noon.
Government business in the afternoon (from 1.05pm onwards) includes the proposed Dáil approval of the extradition treaty between Ireland and the United Arab Emirates, the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2024 and the Appropriation Bill 2024.
There will be motions without debate on supplementary estimates (ie extra funding this year) for a series of Government departments – a key ‘clearing the decks’ measure before the election is called.
The Finance Bill – the legislation underpinning tax measures announced in the budget, is to be debated in the Seanad from 2.30pm.
The Committee on Health will be examining issues facing Local Drug and Alcohol Task Forces at 9.30am.
More supplementary estimates for the departments of rural and community development; and tourism, culture, arts, sport and media, will be considered at the relevant committees during the day.
The Committee on Agriculture will look at governance issues in the horse racing sector in its first session (5.30pm) and the eradication of TB in its second session (7pm).
The full Dáil, Seanad and Committee schedules can be found here.
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