Donald Trump's "resounding" election victory has given him a clear mandate to carry out his campaign pledges on the first day of his return to the White House, said the Republican's national press secretary.
Karoline Leavitt told Fox News soon after Trump was declared the winner of the 2024 election over Kamala Harris that he will now be able to launch "mass deportations" of illegal immigrants, expand oil drilling in the U.S, negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine and impose sanctions on Iran to "stop the chaos in the Middle East."
Polls had frequently suggested that the race between Trump and Harris was neck and neck, with the forecast models from 538 and veteran pollster Nate Silver suggesting that the vice president was the marginal favorite. Instead, the Republican is on course to win the popular vote, and possibly sweep all seven main battleground states.
Trump previously said he would only act as a dictator if he returned to the White House in January 2025 on "Day One," in order to implement his campaign policies. "I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill," Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity during a town hall event in December 2023. The inauguration is expected to take place on January 20, 2025.
Newsweek has contacted the Trump and Harris campaign team for comment via email.
Speaking to Fox News, Leavitt said Trump's clear victory means he can deliver the campaign policies voters wanted when they backed him.
"The American people delivered a resounding victory for President Trump, and it gives him a mandate to govern as he campaigned, to deliver on the promises that he made," Leavitt said.
"Which include, on Day 1, launching the largest mass deportation operation of illegal immigrants that Kamala Harris has allowed into this country. It includes drill, baby drill, and expediting permits for nuclear, for fossil fuels, for an above-all energy approach that's going to bring down the cost of living in this country.
"It includes, on Day 1, bringing Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table to end this war, and returning to the very tough sanctions on the Iranian regime so we can stop the chaos in the Middle East."
Leavitt said that the election results showed American people have been "longing" for the policies of Trump.
"They despise the policies of the Harris-[President Joe] Biden administration that have been implemented over the past four years, and the Harris-Biden administration will go down as the worst, weakest, most corrupt administration in our nation's history, and the American people proved that last night."
Leavitt added that neither Harris nor Biden has called Trump as of Wednesday morning to concede or congratulate him on his victory.
At time of writing, Trump has 277 Electoral College votes to Harris' 224, according to The Associated Press, with the Republican leading in the three as-yet-uncalled swing states of Arizona, Michigan and Nevada.
In his victory speech in Florida, Trump said his second presidential win and the GOP regaining control of the Senate meant the American people have given the Republican Party an "unprecedented and powerful mandate."
"This is a movement like nobody's ever seen before and, frankly, this was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time," Trump added.
"There's never been anything like this in this country, and maybe the, and now it's going to reach a new level of importance because we're going to help our country heal."
English (US) ·