The Headlines - Trump Defeats Harris to Retake the Presidency

Episode Date: November 6, 2024

Plus, Republicans win control of the Senate.    Tune in every weekday morning. To get our full audio journalism and storytelling experience, download the New York Times Audio app — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.Tell us what you think at: [e-mail]. On Today’s Episode:Election Live Updates: Trump Fights His Way Back Into Power, by Jonathan WeismanRepublicans Clinch Control of the Senate, by Carl HulseAbortion on the BallotIsrael’s Netanyahu Fires Defense Minister, Citing ‘Gaps’ in Approach to War, by Adam RasgonNorth Korea Enters Ukraine Fight for First Time, Officials Say, by Michael Schwirtz and Julian E. Barnes

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today is Wednesday, November 6th. Here's what we're covering. Donald Trump has been elected the next president of the United States, defeating Kamala Harris. Trump's victories in the crucial battleground states of Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin will send him back to the White House. 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're going to help our country heal. Trump himself claimed victory before many news outlets had called the race, speaking in West Palm Beach, Florida, a little after 2 a.m. He was surrounded by his wife, children, campaign staff, and prominent supporters, and he credited his win to the wide coalition that voted for him.

They came from all quarters, union, non-union, African-American, Hispanic-American, Asian-American, Arab-American, Muslim-American. We had everybody and it was beautiful. It was a historic realignment. Votes are still being tallied in some states. Trump is on track to win not only the Electoral College, but also the popular vote. You know, going into election night, we thought that this was going to be close. We thought this would be a race that would stretch on for days and not weeks before we knew the outcome.

But Trump scored victory after victory, and he kept winning by fairly decisive margins. Adam Nagourney covers politics for the Times. So Donald Trump is the first president in over 100 years to retake the White House after having lost. And what is more remarkable about this is he left the White House in such disrepute. I mean, he was impeached twice, Republicans were saying his career was over, no one could imagine him coming back. And in the interim, since he left office,

he had been indicted and convicted of multiple felonies. So the idea that he could return to the White House after all that history is just remarkable. In his appearance early this morning, sort of declaring victory, J.D. Vance came out to speak for a few minutes and he goes, I think we just witnessed the greatest political comeback in the history of the United States.

And I don't think that's hyperbole. I think that really is what we saw. Looking ahead to what will be Trump's second term starting in January, there's a lot of things that he talked about during the campaign. He talked about imposing massive tariffs. He talked about doing a major deportation of what he would call illegal immigrants. I think he's coming in with a very clear agenda, and I would expect him to begin doing a lot of the stuff that he talked about.

Also last night, Republicans seized control of the Senate. They picked up at least two Democratic seats. In West Virginia, the state's Republican Governor, Jim Justice, won the seat formerly held by Joe Manchin. And in Ohio, Bernie Marino ousted Sherrod Brown. Republican incumbents also fended off Democratic challengers in some tight races, including in Texas, where Ted Cruz held onto his seat. The Republican victories end four years

of Democratic control in the Senate. In the House, control is still up for grabs. Many of the most competitive House races have yet to be called. Counting those votes, especially in California, may take days. especially in California, may take days. Meanwhile, measures to protect abortion rights were on the ballot in 10 states last night, and they passed in most of them.

But in Florida, South Dakota, and Nebraska, efforts to ensure access to the procedure failed. The results end what had been an unbroken winning streak for abortion rights ballot measures since Roe v. Wade was overturned. In all, Election Day went smoothly across much of the country. There had been widespread concerns about interference and disruption, and there were bomb threats called in at polling stations in multiple states, but they did not prevent people from casting ballots, and election officials described the process as generally calm, safe, and secure. Here's what else we're covering.

In Israel yesterday, there was a shakeup at the highest levels of the government. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister, Yoav Golanat, after the two repeatedly clashed over the strategy in Gaza. Golanat, who'd been pushing for a ceasefire, was seen as a moderate voice on the conflict, and he'd called Netanyahu's goal of achieving total victory over Hamas nonsense. The announcement sparked protests across Israel. Large crowds blocked traffic and lit bonfires on a major highway in Tel Aviv.

Netanyahu has already named Gallant's replacement Israel Katz, the country's foreign minister, who's a close ally of Netanyahu's and is unlikely to challenge him. And in other news, the Times has learned that North Korean troops are now actively fighting alongside Russia in its war on Ukraine. The North Koreans clashed with Ukrainian soldiers in the sliver of Russia that Ukraine has occupied

in recent months. A significant number of North Korean troops were killed, according to one U.S. official. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said the clashes mark a quote new chapter of global instability. Those are the headlines. Today on The Daily, Times political reporters Astead Herndon, Lisa Lair, and Nate Cohn break down last night's results. That's next in the New York Times audio app, or you can listen wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.