How did Trump pull it off?

Republican Donald Trump has won over Democrat Kamala Harris in the US presidential election, avenging his own loss to President Joe Biden four years ago.

How did Trump pull it off? He had the fortune of running when Americans were frustrated by high prices and, to a lesser extent, illegal immigration across the US southern border.

Those were Trump's signature issues, ones that proved to be anvils that weighed down Vice President Harris' candidacy. The result was a quicker-than-expected set of returns that placed Trump on the cusp of securing the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House. Here are some takeaways from the exit polls and results:

TOUGH SLEDDING

The national exit poll of voters conducted by Edison Research underscored what public opinion surveys had long shown: Voters are in a bad mood and have been for some time.

Three-fourths of voters surveyed by Edison said the country was going in a negative direction. Of those voters, 61 percent went for Trump. Of the voters who called themselves "angry," 71 percent backed the Republican.

Voters who believe abortion should be a legal procedure in most instances surprisingly only backed Harris 51 percent to 47 percent, suggesting Trump's efforts to blur his position may have partially negated one of her largest advantages.

Trump said he opposed a federal abortion ban but that states are free to pass laws as restricted or unrestricted as they choose.

VOTERS OF COLOR

The Trump campaign put a great deal of effort into persuading Black and Latino voters to defect from Democratic Party – and there were some indications those efforts paid off.

In North Carolina, exit polls showed Trump boosting his share of the Black vote to 12 percent, from 5 percent in 2020. He garnered the support of 20 percent of Black male voters, the poll said. According to the Edison national poll, Trump's support among Latino male voters jumped 18 percentage points from four years ago.

Supporters of US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump celebrate as election results coming in at a Republican watch party at Ingleside Hotel in Pewaukee, Wisconsin yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

A GENDER GAP?

Harris' campaign was looking to exploit a large gender gap in the electorate, with the hope that legions of women voters would flock to the vice president because of issues such as abortion rights.

But Trump seemed to hold onto the support of at least white women voters, according to exit polls. Black women overwhelmingly supported Harris.

In Pennsylvania, Trump was maintaining close to the same level of support among white women voters that he enjoyed in 2020. That was also true in Georgia.

Tearful supporters react to election results during an election night event for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris at Howard University in Washington, DC yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

AN AGE GAP

The national exit poll showed Trump slightly edging Harris among men between the ages of 18 and 44 and beating her solidly with men 45 and up.

In Michigan and Wisconsin, Trump was up 5 percentage points with overall voters under 45 compared with four years ago. In Nevada, he jumped 6 points with those voters.