News - World: Former President Donald Trump holds a slight lead over Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race and appears to be closing in on a second term in the White House.  

US media projected Trump having secured victories in 26 states, including Texas, Florida and Ohio as well as several other Republican-leaning states.

This is while Harris has secured victories in 19 states, including the big states of California, New York and Washington.

So far, Trump has won 267 electoral votes and Harris 224. All results are unofficial until local election officials across the country verify the outcome in the coming days.

A candidate also needs 270 electoral votes to secure the presidency.

Addressing supporters at the West Palm Beach Convention Center in Florida on Wednesday morning, Trump declared victory but Harris has yet to concede.

In his typical rambling speech, Trump pulled on some of the themes he used in his campaign, saying he is going to make the economy and the country great again. 

The 2024 US presidential campaign has been a particularly volatile one. Security has been ramped up to unprecedented levels given concerns over possible civil unrest, election chicanery, or violence against election workers.

The states of Oregon, Washington and Nevada have activated the National Guard, with the Pentagon saying at least 17 states have placed a total of 600 National Guard troops on standby if needed.

Nineteen states have enacted election security enhancement laws since 2020, the National Conference of State Legislatures says.

In Washington, high metal fencing has been erected around the vice president’s residence and the White House, and some shopfronts have been boarded up.

The emergency measures follow the election chaos from 2020, particularly after Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021 aiming to halt certification of the election results that confirmed Joe Biden as the winner.

Under the complex American political system, the overall result is not decided by the national popular vote but the electoral college in which each state’s number of electors is weighed roughly by the size of its population. 

Each candidate needs 270 votes in the electoral college to clinch victory, and the battleground is formed of those states where polls indicate a state could go either way.

If the previous election is anything to go by, it could take several days for the overall result to be announced.

In 2020, it took four days for Pennsylvania to be called for Joe Biden after a knife-edge result that secured him the Oval Office.

As a result, swing states, such as Michigan and Pennsylvania, could prove to be crucial for both of the candidates.

The US election comes amid stark differences between the two candidates on how to conduct their foreign policy.

Harris has faced criticism over her foreign policy experience. A draft of the Democratic Party platform for 2024 has also failed to provide answers on how she would deal with a raft of issues.

While Trump is a dyed-in-the-wool supporter of Israel, few expect a Harris administration to turn away from Israel. 

As for US-Iran relations, both Harris and Trump have expressed hardline views on the Islamic Republic, with Harris calling it the US’ “greatest adversary”.

In Europe, the prospect of a second Trump term has proved to be deeply unsettling for some, with the Republican repeatedly threatening to withdraw from NATO.
Source: Press TV