CBS News projected early Wednesday that Donald Trump will be the president-elect, ending a wild and unprecedented 2024 presidential race.
From President Biden’s sudden exit, Vice President Kamala Harris’ late entry and two assassination attempts against Trump, the path to this Election Day was historic and unpredictable.
Here are some key moments from the campaign:
Trump’s guilty verdict
Mark Peterson/New York Magazine via AP, Pool
Trump was found guilty in May 2024 of 34 felonies by the jury in his hush money trial in New York City, becoming the first former American president in history to be convicted of a crime. He was convicted on allegations of falsifying business records in an effort to hide a $130,000 payment to the adult film star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election.
Trump has denied the charges and maintained his innocence. Addressing the trial after the verdict came down, Trump called the situation “very unfair” and “rigged.”
DeSantis drops out
Charlie Neibergall / AP
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had entered the race fresh off a nearly 20-point victory in the Florida’s governor’s race in 2020, and had looked like the future for the party. But he ended his Republican presidential campaign ahead of the New Hampshire primary in January, following his significant loss to Trump in the Iowa caucuses.
Nikki Haley suspends her presidential campaign
Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images
Hours after winning just one state — Vermont — on Super Tuesday, the last remaining Republican in the race, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, suspended her campaign. Her dropping out cleared the path for Trump to get the nomination. Exit polls showed Trump leading Haley among broad segments of the GOP electorate, with voters saying immigration and the economy were their most important issues.
Haley stopped short of endorsing Trump, and later when asked by Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” if she thought Trump was a “good candidate,” Haley said “I think he is the Republican nominee.”
Biden’s fumbling debate performance
Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
Mr. Biden struggled through the first presidential debate against Trump in June, speaking in a hoarse voice and at times appearing to lose his train of thought while answering questions. Officials in Mr. Biden’s camp later attributed the president’s lackluster performance to a cold, which they said he’d had for several days, but Americans and some government leaders questioned whether the debate was a sign the 81-year-old politician would not be fit enough to serve a second term.
The Butler assassination attempt
Evan Vucci / AP
While Mr. Biden faced mounting pressures to end his reelection campaign after the debate, Trump was shot while speaking to a crowd of supporters from the podium of his July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The assassination attempt against the former president ultimately killed one spectator at the rally and critically injured two others, and eventually led the now-former director of the Secret Service to resign from her post. A bullet pierced Trump’s ear when the shooter opened fire onto the crowd, and Secret Service agents quickly rushed him from the stage.
Biden exits the race
Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Mr. Biden announced his decision to drop out of the presidential race on July 21, at the same time endorsing Harris for the Democratic nomination.
“While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for my term,” he posted in a statement on social media. “My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”
Harris launches her presidential campaign
Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool
Harris officially launched her campaign July 21, soon after Mr. Biden announced his decision to end his. The vice president’s entry into the into the race following his withdrawal revitalized the energy of their party, with Harris’ campaign raising hundreds of millions in its first week and drawing a medley of endorsements from the nation’s top Democrats.
“I am honored to have the president’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” Harris said in a statement announcing her campaign. “Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead.
Brat summer
CBS News
Two days after Mr. Biden bowed out and Harris’ bid emerged, the social media account on X previously dedicated to the president’s reelection pursuit transformed to focus instead on her campaign. The transition was marked by a neon green banner at the top of the social media profile bearing the title “kamala hq.” Its style and format imitated the cover of “Brat,” the album by British pop star Charli XCX whose then-recent viral tweet — “Kamala IS brat” — swept the Internet and sparked a frenzy of memes that seemed to engage Gen Z voters in a promising new way.
Harris supporters began to show up at rallies dressed in trademark green
“You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?”
Lisa Lake/Getty Images for MoveOn
With the explosion of “brat”-themed merchandise and viral videos linked to Harris’s campaign came another Internet trend, stemming from a speech where the Democratic nominee recalled something her mother used to say to her.
“‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?’” Harris said, quoting her mother. “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”
TikTok edits incorporating the “coconut tree” clip and elements from the Charli XCX album became enormously popular, and many felt the swarm of attention from young people previously unhappy with the election prospects helped kickstart the momentum of Harris’ bid.
JD Vance becomes the Republican vice presidential nominee
Alex Brandon / AP
Trump announced Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his vice presidential running mate in July, before accepting the Republican presidential nomination at the party’s convention in Milwaukee.
“After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” Trump said in a social media post.
Harris chooses Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate
Jae Hong / AP
Harris announced she’d chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her vice presidential running mate in August.
“One of the things that stood out to me about Tim is how his convictions on fighting for middle class families run deep. It’s personal,” Harris wrote on social media when she unveiled her pick.
“He grew up in a small town in Nebraska, spending summers working on his family’s farm,” the post continued. “His father died of cancer when he was 19, and his family relied on Social Security survivor benefit checks to make ends meet. At 17, he enlisted in the National Guard, serving for 24 years. He used his GI Bill benefits to go to college, and become a teacher. He served as both the football coach and the adviser of the Gay-Straight Alliance.”
Second apparent assassination attempt
Reuters/Marco Bello
In September, a man was taken into custody after pointing a high-powered rifle at the Florida course where Trump was playing golf. Secret Service agents said at the time they had engaged with the suspect and, with the man’s arrest, opened an investigation into the incident that FBI officials called an apparent attempted assassination of the former president.
A federal grand jury in Miami indicted Ryan Wesley Routh Tuesday on a charge of attempting to kill Trump on Sept. 15.
Harris and Trump’s first, and only, debate
Democracy News Alliance/news aktuell via AP Images / AP
Trump and Harris sparred in a contentious presidential debate in Philadelphia in September. The debate, hosted by ABC, saw the two candidates slashing over key issues like abortion rights, immigration, the economy and foreign policy.
“They’re eating the dogs … they’re eating the cats”
Rebecca Blackwell / AP
Among a medley of blatant falsehoods and baseless claims made by Trump during his debate against Harris was one that stood out from the rest. While speaking about immigration, the former president repeated a story that had been circulating on social media that alleged, confusingly, that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, were abducting and eating people’s pets.
Trump, Vance and others had already amplified those rumors prior to the debate, where Trump doubled down, saying: “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs — the people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating — they’re eating the pets of the people that live there and this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame.”
In response, ABC “World News Tonight” anchor David Muir told Trump during the debate that city officials in Springfield disputed the claims.
Racist Madison Square Garden rally draws outcry
Evan Vucci / AP
As the presidential race neared a close at the end of October, Trump held a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City and vowed to win his home state in the election. He didn’t, and the campaign event itself drove a wave of criticism after his guest speakers gave remarks that were riddled with offensive, racist comments. In part of the opening remarks that received significant backlash, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” in his speech.
Trump’s garbage truck stunt
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
As both Trump and Harris’ campaigns zeroed in on key battlegrounds in the lead-up to the Election Day, the Republican nominee addressed reporters in Green Bay, Wisconsin, while wearing a construction vest from behind the wheel of a garbage truck that was emblazoned with his campaign slogan.
The stunt, he said, was crafted “in honor of Kamala and Joe Biden” after Mr. Biden appeared to call Trump’s supporters “garbage,” although the White House and Mr. Biden clarified that remark was about the Madison Square Garden rally comedian.
Voters turn out in record numbers
John Locher / AP
Polling stations across the country have seen record-breaking turnout from voters in this election, with more than 78 million people casting ballots early, including more than 40 million who voted in person.
Trump was photographed with former first lady Melania Trump on Election Day, after they voted at the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center in Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump wins the presidency
Evan Vucci / AP
Trump defeated Harris to become the 47th president of the United States, CBS News projected early Wednesday morning. He received support on Election Day from multiple battleground states, which would have been vital to either candidate in order to win.
“I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president,” Trump said at his election headquarters in Florida on Wednesday, declaring victory. “And every citizen, I will fight for you, for your family and for your future. Every single day, I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body.”
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