JD Vance and his Indian-American wife Usha Vance shared the stage with Donald Trump
Republican Donald Trump today claimed victory in the 2024 US presidential elections after various American media houses projected that he had defeated his Democrat rival Kamala Harris.
Speaking to a roaring crowd of supporters at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in Florida, Trump said "America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate". He also heaped praise on his running mate JD Vance and his Indian-American wife Usha Chilukuri Vance.
"I want to be the first one to congratulate -- now I can say Vice President-elect JD Vance. And his remarkable and beautiful wife, Usha Vance," he said.
Both were present on the dais along with Trump's wife, Melania Trump.
He is a "feisty guy", Trump further said while praising 40-year-old JD Vance.
Vadluru, a quiet village in Andhra Pradesh, is the ancestral home of Usha Vance, who will become the US Second Lady -- and the first who is not white -- if Trump is elected again. She met Vance at Yale Law School and the couple married in 2014 and have three children.
"We've made history for a reason tonight, and the reason is going to be just that we overcame obstacles that nobody thought possible," Trump said. "It's a political victory that our country has never seen before."
In his "victory speech", he also thanked Tesla and SpaceX boss Elon Musk, who has thrown his millions into backing the Republican presidential candidate since endorsing him in July.
"We have a new star, a star is born: Elon," Trump said. "He's an amazing guy."
Trump had earlier pledged to make the United States the "bitcoin and cryptocurrency capital of the world" and to put Musk in charge of a wide-ranging audit of governmental waste.
Donald "Trumps" Kamala Harris
Donald Trump is currently projected to win 267 electoral college votes, three short of the magic figure of 270. His opponent and incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris is trailing at 214.
A massive factor behind Trump's victory was the Republican sweep in seven swing states. From a 6-1 score in favour of Democrats in the 2020 polls, when Trump lost to Joe Biden, these seven states swung to a 7-0 advantage for the Republicans this year.
Trump has already won three swing states -- Georgia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina -- and is leading in Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nevada.
If the US voters choose Trump, the only president to be impeached twice and the first former president to be criminally convicted, he would become the first president to win non-consecutive terms in more than a century.
