President-elect Donald Trump has begun preparing for the Oval Office by naming Susie Wiles as his new White House chief of staff.
Wiles spearheaded his successful 2024 campaign and is the first of many appointees who will help to push his agenda, which includes the mass deportation of illegal immigrants, more trade tariffs and extended tax cuts.
The Republican meanwhile looks to be on course to win Nevada as he nears the completion of an astonishing clean sweep of the swing states, with only Arizona still to declare.
Trump shared a number of late-night election victory posts on Truth Social on Thursday – his first since his return to power was confirmed early on Wednesday morning.
The wave of posts included an Electoral College map, newspaper front pages recounting his triumph over Democrat Kamala Harris and a photo of a MAGA cap-clad Trump with the caption: “Get ready for the Golden Age.”
On Thursday, President Joe Biden addressed the nation from the White House Rose Garden and assured Americans there will be a “peaceful and orderly transition” from his administration to Trump’s and praised Harris for her “heart and effort” on the campaign trail.
Key Points
- Donald Trump picks Susie Wiles for White House chief of staff in first cabinet appointment
- President-elect on course to win Nevada as he closes in on swing state clean sweep
- Trump returns to Truth Social to cheer election win
- Joe Biden promises ‘peaceful and orderly’ transfer of power and praises Kamala Harris
- Trump says his mass deportation plan has ‘no price tag’
Vladimir Putin congratulates ‘brave man’ Trump on his election victory
13:20
Joe Sommerlad
The Russian president has congratulated Donald Trump on his election victory, praising his “brave” response to the attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 but admitting that even he has “no idea” what a second term will look like given Trump’s impulsive nature.
Kelly Rissman has more.
Joe Rogan calls on Trump ‘to unite everybody’ as president
13:00
Joe Sommerlad
The podcaster who interviewed both Trump and JD Vance but not Kamala Harris (her campaign was in talks with him but the two sides failed to agree a time) has already been credited by the likes of Elon Musk and Dana White with helping the Republican to victory with his last-minute endorsement.
He has since urged the president-elect against attacking his enemies, commenting on his popular show: “He’s got to unite people. He’s got to not attack the left, not attack everybody, let them all talk their s***, but unite.
“Now it’s time to unite everybody.”
Here’s Josh Marcus on the Democratic hunt for its own influencer kingmaker.
Ted Cruz’s daughter grimaces and says ‘don’t clap’ for Trump win
12:40
Joe Sommerlad
Here’s a nice little moment you might have missed amid this week’s seismic events: Caroline Cruz, 16, showing up her dad at his victory party after he saw off a challenge to his Senate seat from Democrat Colin Allred.
Ted Cruz’s daughter makes a face when her dad mentions Trump. She then tells her mom not to clap for Trump - “Don’t clap for that.”
— PatriotTakes (@patriottakes) November 8, 2024
Trump attacked Heidi Cruz’s appearance in 2016.
pic.twitter.com/N0Qv8G9prb
James Liddell has the story.
Mass racist text messages sent to Black people across America spark investigations
12:20
Joe Sommerlad
A deluge of racist text messages invoking slavery raised alarm across the US this week after they were sent to Black men, women and students, including middle schoolers, prompting inquiries by the FBI and other agencies.
The messages, sent anonymously, were reported in several states, including New York, Alabama, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
They generally used a similar tone but varied in wording.
Some instructed the recipient to show up at an address at a particular time "with your belongings," while others didn’t include a location.
Some of them mentioned the incoming presidential administration.
It isn’t yet clear who is behind the messages and there was no comprehensive list of where they were sent but high school and college students were among the recipients.
The FBI said it was in touch with the Justice Department on the messages and the Federal Communications Commission said it was investigating the texts “alongside federal and state law enforcement”.
The Ohio Attorney General’s office also said it was looking into the matter.
David Axelrod blames Democrats for becoming ‘smarty-pants, suburban, college-educated party’
12:00
Joe Sommerlad
The former senior adviser to Barack Obama has criticized the Democratic Party for snobbery and for disillusionment among working-class voters following its US election rout.
In an excoriating takedown of his own party, David Axelrod highlighted the Democrat failure to reach blue collar voters and large parts of the electorate who hadn’t gone to college.
In an interview with CNN on Thursday night, Axelrod said the Democrats had become an increasingly “smarty-pants, suburban, college-educated party”, suggesting that they failed to appeal to people from lower-class and non-college educated backgrounds.
“The only group that Democrats gained within the election on Tuesday was White college graduates, and among working-class voters, there was a significant decline,” he added.
Madeline Sherratt reports.
Pentagon braces for ‘major upheaval’ under new Trump administration
11:40
Joe Sommerlad
The Washington Post reports this morning that the Pentagon is braced for “major upheaval” once the 47 president takes office “amid fears that the once and future commander-in-chief will follow through on vows to deploy the military domestically against American citizens, demand fealty from key leaders and attempt to remake the nonpartisan institution into one explicitly loyal to him”.
Trump repeatedly threatened on the campaign trail to use the US Armed Forces against “the enemy within”, dismiss any general involved in the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and reverse “woke” decisions like the renaming of military bases associated with Confederate generals.
Professor Richard Kohn, a military historian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, tells The Post: “The greatest danger the military faces is a rapid erosion of its professionalism, which would undermine its status and respect from the American people.
“Mr Trump does not have a real understanding of civil-military relations, or the importance of a nonpartisan, nonpolitical military.”
Here’s more from Rhian Lubin.
Trump projected to have won Nevada by NBC
11:20
Joe Sommerlad
The president-elect is now projected to have won the western state by NBC News (we’re still waiting on the AP for their confirmation), a victory that would see him pick up a state he lost in both 2020 and 2016.
Trump campaigned often in Las Vegas and appears to have benefited from bolstering his support among Latino men to secure its six Electoral College points and near a clean sweep of the swing states with only Arizona still to report.
BREAKING: Donald Trump wins Nevada, NBC News projects. https://t.co/N3QAJY7r4l pic.twitter.com/dSVy5DFk7x
— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 8, 2024
Democrats turn their rage on one man: Joe Biden
11:00
Joe Sommerlad
The blame game for Kamala Harris’s loss is already in full flow, with top Democratic staffers in Washington DC reportedly placing the blame at President Biden’s door.
Katie Hawkinson has more.
Democrats can still win House of Representatives, Jeffries insists
10:40
Joe Sommerlad
While the Republicans are currently leading the race to control the House by 211 to 199 (with 218 needed for a majority), according to the AP, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries insists his guys can still win and prevent a complete Trumpian takeover of Congress, which would greatly smooth the passage of the new president’s legislative agenda.
“We still have a clear pathway to taking back the majority,” Jeffries told Spectrum 1 News on Thursday.
“Of course that runs through Arizona and Oregon and five races that are flip opportunities in California that are too close to call and too early to call.”
Responding to gains in his native New York, Jeffries said: “Well, certainly the biggest Democratic wins were right here in New York, and I’m so thankful to the coordinated campaign effort that was put together from the very beginning in the aftermath of the 2022 midterm elections… It was an all hands on deck effort.”
Democrats cling to false hopes of huge ‘vote gap’ between Biden and Harris
10:20
Joe Sommerlad
Less than 24 hours after Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States, social media users began pushing two conflicting narratives to suggest election fraud.
One revived false claims by the Republican that the 2020 vote was stolen from him and the other questioned how Vice President Kamala Harris could have received so many fewer votes in 2024 than President Joe Biden in 2020.
Both narratives hinge on a supposed 20 million vote gap between Harris and Biden.
Here’s a closer look at the facts.
Jubilant Trump allies joke prosecutors ‘need’ death penalty and threaten Letita James
10:00
Joe Sommerlad
Shocking stuff on Fox News’s The Five yesterday, when the following exchange took place between co-hosts Greg Gutfeld and Dana Perino as they basked in the glow of Trump’s win and wondered how the “lawfare” prosecutors who indicted the Republican in 2023 are coping.
“A lot of the people that were on this and wanted it so badly, how are they going to survive? Do you think they need therapy?” Gutfeld asked.
“Yes, they definitely need therapy, and maybe also the death penalty,” Perino responded.
“Yes, I think the death penalty,” the former agreed.
Fox News’ Dana Perino and Greg Gutfeld suggest “the death penalty” for Donald Trump prosecutors pic.twitter.com/rkPWnDlZUk
— aliciasadowski (@aliciasadowski6) November 7, 2024
Meanwhile, appearing on Benny Johnson’s online talk show, Mike Davis, reportedly a candidate to be America’s next attorney general, issued the following nasty threat against New York Attorney General Letitia James.
“I dare you to try to continue your lawfare against President Trump in his second term. Because listen here, sweetheart: We’re not messing around this time, and we will put your fat a** in prison for conspiracy against rights, and I promise you that.
“So, think long and hard before you want to violate President Trump‘s constitutional rights, or any other American’s constitutional rights. It’s not going to happen again.”
Trump's lawyer Mike Davis threatens NY AG Letitia James:
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) November 7, 2024
"I dare you to try to continue your lawfare against Pres. Trump... listen here, sweetheart, we're not messing around this time and we will put your fatass in prison for conspiracy against rights”
pic.twitter.com/pDPn6wrHo6
Here he is during the same interview declaring the mass deportation of illegal immigrants will be “glorious”.
"We're gonna deport a lot of people, 10 million people and growing - anchor babies, their parents, their grandparents. We're gonna put kids in cages. It's gonna be glorious."
— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) November 8, 2024
-Benny Johnson, linked to Russian disinfo, with Mike Davis, a possible Trump AG. pic.twitter.com/JPClwnVRs1
That came a day after Davis said he would like to drag Democrats’ “political dead bodies through the streets and burn them”, another disturbing statement on which Rhian Lubin has more below.
Joe Biden promises ‘peaceful and orderly’ transfer of power and praises Kamala Harris
09:40
Joe Sommerlad
Speaking from the White House Rose Garden yesterday, the president assured Americans there will be a “peaceful and orderly” transition to the new Trump administration.
“Yesterday, I spoke with President-elect Trump to congratulate him on his victory, and I assured him, I will direct my entire administration work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition,” he said.
Biden also praised Harris, declaring: “She gave her whole heart and effort, and she and her entire team should be proud of the campaign they ran.”
Here’s Andrew Feinberg’s report.
Trump returns to Truth Social to cheer election win
09:20
Joe Sommerlad
The Republican shared a number of late-night election victory posts on Truth Social on Thursday – his first since his return to power was confirmed early on Wednesday morning.
The wave of posts included an Electoral College map, newspaper front pages recounting his triumph over Democrat Kamala Harris and a photo of a MAGA cap-clad Trump with the caption: “Get ready for the Golden Age.”
Donald Trump Truth Social 10:38 PM EST 11/07/24 @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/TbUkFHcBVb
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) November 8, 2024
Donald Trump Truth Social 10:38 PM EST 11/07/24 @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/qQJBujQKA3
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) November 8, 2024
Donald Trump Truth Social 09:56 PM EST 11/07/24 @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/JVjas1mGaJ
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) November 8, 2024
Donald Trump Truth Social 10:38 PM EST 11/07/24 @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/fg2bFTfw6u
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) November 8, 2024
Donald Trump Truth Social 10:38 PM EST 11/07/24 @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/fdLnxIhNBq
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) November 8, 2024
Donald Trump picks Susie Wiles for White House chief of staff in first cabinet appointment
09:00
Joe Sommerlad
Good morning!
President-elect Donald Trump has begun preparing for the Oval Office by naming Susie Wiles as his new White House chief of staff.
Wiles spearheaded his successful 2024 campaign and is the first of many appointees who will help to push his agenda, which includes the mass deportation of illegal immigrants, more trade tariffs and extended tax cuts.
Here’s Alex Hannaford with an introduction to the “Ice Maidan”.
Elon Musk: King of the MAGA media universe
08:40
Oliver O'Connell
Elon Musk is now unquestionably the king of MAGA media.
Tech journalist Charlie Warzel once named it “the new media Upside Down”, riffing on Stranger Things. Sean Illing at Vox referred to it as “the fantasy-industrial complex”. Wikipedia simply calls it the “right-wing alternative media”.
To Musk, a born-again MAGA crusader who has spent the last two years reshaping one of the world’s major social networks in his image, this parallel universe of algorithm-aided disinformation is simply “citizen journalism” — even if his description does sound a lot like traditional journalism.
And after Donald Trump’s victory this week, the MAGA media universe might just be the new mainstream media.
Io Dodds reports from San Francisco.
Trump’s win teaches Joe Rogan that voting works
08:10
Oliver O'Connell
Joe Rogan elevated an election integrity conspiracy theory while celebrating Donald Trump’s presidential win, suggesting if the former president had not won the election, it may have been “rigged”.
“So, turns out voting works. It’s real,” Rogan said with delight on Thursday’s episode of The Joe Rogan Experience.
Ariana Baio reports.
Major abortion rights victories on Election Day still under threat from Trump and his allies
07:10
Oliver O'Connell
Alex Woodward and Bel Trew write:
Two years after the Supreme Court revoked a constitutional right to abortion, millions of voters across the country directly weighed in on the future of reproductive healthcare access in their states.
Voters in seven of 10 states with abortion rights measures on their ballots have agreed to expand protections or enshrine a right to abortion in their own state’s constitutions, effectively redrawing the map for abortion access.
But those victories — from Arizona to Colorado, Missouri, Montana and elsewhere — were followed by warnings from abortion rights advocates that president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration, and an emboldened Republican-dominated Congress, could soon upend hard-fought, newly enshrined protections.
Continue reading...
Who is on Trump’s enemies list?
06:10
Oliver O'Connell
For years, Donald Trump has threatened to go after countless political rivals who he claims have wronged him.
In speeches to supporters and rants on his Truth Social platform, he has on multiple occasions vowed to seek “retribution” and called his political opponents the “enemies from within.”
During an interview with Dr Phil in June, he issued an especially ominous threat. “Well, revenge does take time. I will say that. And sometimes revenge can be justified,” he said.
Here’s Rhian Lubin with a brief rundown of who might make the cut...
Online misogyny spikes after Trump victory with shocking ‘your body, my choice’ posts
04:40
Oliver O'Connell
Women are facing a barrage of deeply misogynistic comments online following Donald Trump’s US presidential election victory.
The Republican candidate defeated Kamala Harris following a chaotic campaign dogged by anger, insults and division, winning 51 percent of the popular vote on Wednesday, 6 November.
In the wake of the former president’s shocking political comeback, women have reported men are writing “your body, my choice” on their social media posts, among other troubling reproductive rights remarks.
Lydia Spencer-Elliott reports.
ANALYSIS: Conservatives hate Mitch McConnell. But he’s the architect of the Trump comeback
04:10
Oliver O'Connell
Eric Garcia explains that while MAGA may hate Mitch McConnell, a decision he made in February 2021 sowed the seeds that allowed the movement to grow and thrive and return Trump to the Oval Office.
‘Nostradamus’ pollster bashes rival after both election predictions flopped
03:40
Oliver O'Connell
With Donald Trump heading back to the White House, it’s not just the Democrats who face a reckoning, but pollsters as well.
Multiple high-profile polling gurus failed to accurately predict what ended up being a decisive victory for the former president on Tuesday, and now some of the experts are taking pot-shots at each other.
Political pollster and historian Allan Lichtman took a swipe at fellow elections forecaster Nate Silver on Wednesday, saying that ‘unlike his rival’ he will admit he was wrong about the 2024 result.
Ariana Baio has the story.
Why Trump will likely never see the inside of a prison cell — or be sentenced at all
02:40
Oliver O'Connell
In theory, the next President of the United States is supposed to face sentencing for his New York criminal trial conviction at the end of the month.
But following his election win this week it is looking increasingly likely that won’t happen and Donald Trump will once again evade repercussions for his actions.
Ariana Baio reports.
EDITORIAL: Europe cannot rely on Trump’s protection – it must take the lead on defence
01:40
Oliver O'Connell
As the US takes its isolationist turn and pivots its own defence efforts towards the Indo-Pacific and China, it is vital that Europe, including Britain, looks to its own resources.
After being busted for allegedly sexting a minor, a local Michigan official just got re-elected
00:40
Oliver O'Connell
Ken Fletcher, a Michigan Democrat, was re-elected on Tuesday – months after police arrested him for allegedly sexting a minor.
The Delta Township supervisor is facing charges of accosting a child for immoral purposes and using a computer to commit a crime. Officials arrested him in September and he resigned from his post.
Michelle Del Rey has the story.
Defamation case judge slams Giuliani’s ‘farcical’ excuses for failing to turn over property
00:10
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump’s former attorney Rudy Giuliani could be held in contempt of court if he fails to turn over property to election workers he defamed in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.
The cash-strapped former New York City mayor was ordered to a federal court hearing in Manhattan on Thursday after attorneys for a mother-daughter pair of election workers accused him of moving around and hiding a long list of valuables he has been court-ordered to turn over.
Alex Woodward has been closely following the case.
Full story: Trump says his mass deportation plan has ‘no price tag’ as he prepares to boot millions from the country
Thursday 7 November 2024 23:50
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to carry out the “largest deportation operation in American history,” deploying federal, state and local law enforcement to arrest, jail and deport potentially millions of people living in the country without legal permission.
A militarized operation would depend on detention camps to hold people marked for removal, and would invoke a centuries-old law previously used to detain Japanese Americans during the Second World War.
President-elect Trump told NBC News on Thursday, two days after defeating his Democratic rival Kamala Harris, that he has “no choice” but to implement large-scale deportations when he takes office in January.
Alex Woodward reports.
Election night ratings drop sharply from 2020 and 2016
Thursday 7 November 2024 23:30
AP
The idea of grabbing some popcorn and watching television to see who America has chosen for its next president was far less appealing this year than in the past.
The Nielsen company said that 42.3 million people watched election night returns between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump pour in Tuesday night. That’s down sharply from the 56.9 million who watched in 2020, when Trump competed against Joe Biden, and the 71.4 million who tuned in on election night 2016, Nielsen said.
Election night is often known as the Super Bowl for TV news, but this year even the NFL’s conference championship games were watched by more people.
Continue reading...
Full story: Trump makes first key administration pick and moves campaign head into top White House post
Thursday 7 November 2024 23:15
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump has made the first key appointment of his upcoming administration, announcing that campaign manager Susie Wiles will become his White House Chief of Staff.
In a statement, the Trump-Vance transition team said: “Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history, and was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns.”
Mike Bedigan reports.
Major abortion rights victories on Election Day still under threat from Trump and his allies
Thursday 7 November 2024 23:10
Oliver O'Connell
Alex Woodward and Bel Trew write:
Two years after the Supreme Court revoked a constitutional right to abortion, millions of voters across the country directly weighed in on the future of reproductive healthcare access in their states.
Voters in seven of 10 states with abortion rights measures on their ballots have agreed to expand protections or enshrine a right to abortion in their own state’s constitutions, effectively redrawing the map for abortion access.
But those victories — from Arizona to Colorado, Missouri, Montana and elsewhere — were followed by warnings from abortion rights advocates that president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration, and an emboldened Republican-dominated Congress, could soon upend hard-fought, newly enshrined protections.
Continue reading...
After years of Trump bashing it, Republicans now praise early voting
Thursday 7 November 2024 22:55
Oliver O'Connell
Prominent Republicans are praising early voting after Donald Trump’s win over Kamala Harris, despite years of the president-elect and his allies baselessly bashing the practice as fraudulent.
Former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel told NewsNation on Wednesday that an increase in early voting must be the “norm going forward” for the GOP.
“It was so critical that President Trump, he spoke out on this. I mean, there’s no better person that’s going to get voters to change their habits, to believe in it than President Trump,” she said.
Josh Marcus reports.
BREAKING: Trump names camaign co-chair Susie Wiles as chief of staff
Thursday 7 November 2024 22:48
Oliver O'Connell
President-elect Donald Trump has named campaign chief Susie Wiles as his White House chief of staff. She will be the first woman to hold the role when he takes office on January 20, 2025.
“Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history, and was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns,” President-elect Trump said. “Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again. It is a well deserved honor to have Susie as the first-ever female Chief of Staff in United States history. I have no doubt that she will make our country proud.”
A look back at our (mostly correct) Senate predictions after Trump’s big win
Thursday 7 November 2024 22:30
Oliver O'Connell
A week ago, The Independent made a list of predictions for the US Senate, thinking it unlikely but possible that Democrats would hold the chamber. After a surprisingly powerful performance by Donald Trump on election night, it’s clear that won’t be happening.
John Bowden looks at what we got right and what we got wrong...
