Election 2024 live updates: Trump names first-ever female chief of staff as Biden vows to ensure peaceful transition
President-elect Donald Trump names adviser Susie Wiles as first-ever female chief of staff after Kamala Harris delivers gracious concession speech, urging supporters not to lose heart
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.President Joe Biden assured Americans that there will be a “peaceful and orderly” transition to the next Trump administration in a speech in the Rose Garden at the White House on Thursday.
“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,” Biden said in a short speech in front of staff and press.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump is celebrating his election win by beginning the process of choosing who will join his second administration, as his conservative allies and surrogates jostle for position in the hope of securing a top role. He made his first pick on Thursday afternoon, naming campaign co-chair Susie Wiles as his chief of staff — the first woman ever to hold the position.
Kamala Harris meanwhile delivered a concession speech at Howard University, in which she said that, while she concedes the election, she will not give up the fight that fueled her campaign.
“The fight for freedom, opportunity, fairness, and dignity of all people, and ideals at the heart of this nation… that is a fight I will never give up,” the vice president said.
What happens next? The key dates until Trump’s second inauguration
Meet Susie Wiles, the ‘ice maiden’ who propelled Trump to victory – and could be his new chief of staff
Celebrities react as Donald Trump wins 2024 US election to become president
Melania speaks out for first time since Trump’s election win - but is absent from family photo
Scott Jennings: Election result ‘revenge of the regular old working class American’
The former Republican strategist has gone viral with this assessment of the vote, offered as part of Anderson Cooper’s CNN panel on Election Night.
Jennings, often a highly divisive presence, argued that the outcome served as “the revenge of the regular old working class American”, as well as “an indictment of the political information complex”.
He explained that the final weeks of the campaign had been dominated by accusations of Nazism and fascism against the Trump campaign and media narratives like the Puerto Rico joke, Liz Cheney’s support for Harris, disaffected Nikki Haley voters potentially tanking the Trump vote and, before that, the popularity of Tim Walz and Harris-Walz camouflage hats.
None of those talking points ultimately mattered, Jennings argued, accusing the liberal media of “ignoring the fundamentals” in the process, meaning the state of the economy and the cost of living, which is what the public finally voted on.
Here’s John Bowden on why the pollsters got it so wrong – again.
Why the polls got it wrong on Trump — again
An embarrassing night for forecasts raises questions about how to fix broken lines of communication
Watch: Morning Joe host says Trump win shows US is ‘far more to the right’ than ever in his lifetime
MAGA allies say they can finally admit Project 2025 ‘is the agenda’ for Trump’s second term
Donald Trump’s allies have boasted they can finally admit that Project 2025 is on “the agenda” when the president-elect returns to the White House next year.
Steve Bannon, Trump’s former White House chief strategist who walked free from prison just days before the election, took to his War Room podcast on Wednesday to consider the former president’s upcoming second term.
Bannon cited a social media post by conservative activist Matt Walsh, who baited Kamala Harris supporters about the right-wing blueprint.
“Now that the election is over I think we can finally say that yeah actually Project 2025 is the agenda. Lol,” Walsh posted on X in a likely bid to get a rise out of his political opponents.
“Matt Walsh, I think, is a very smart and funny guy," Bannon said on his podcast.
“Now that the election is over, I think we can finally say that, yeah, actually, Project 2025 is the agenda.”
Rhian Lubin reports.
MAGA allies say they can finally admit Project 2025 is Trump’s agenda
In an apparent attempt to troll their political opponents, MAGA allies gleefully announced the extreme conservative blueprint is ‘on the Trump agenda’
Re-election of Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar one of few election upsides for young progressives
In amongst all the bad news for Democrats yesterday, one bright spot for the party’s progressive wing was the re-election of representatives Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar in Michigan and Minnesota respectively.
The first two Muslim women to enter Congress are critics of Israel and important voices for Arab Americans.
They are also members of “The Squad” along with New Yorker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a collective that lost two other members earlier this year when Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush were de-selected in favor of opponents who had substantial financial support from the pro-Israel lobby group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Daily Show host has five-word question for America after it elected first convicted felon president
An angry Desi Lydic urged Americans to take a “good f***ing hard look” at themselves on last night’s show as she dissected Trump’s victory over Harris – and claimed the electorate would vote for anyone but a woman.
James Liddell reports.
Daily Show host’s five-word question for Americans electing first convict president
Desi Lydic urged Americans to take a ‘good f***ing hard look’ at themselves as she dissected Trump’s victory over Harris – and claimed that the electorate would vote for anyone but a woman
Elon Musk claims ‘being a normal person’ won Trump the election
The social media kingmaker spoke to Tucker Carlson yesterday and suggested that the Republican nominee won the vote this week because he went on Joe Rogan’s podcast and came across as “a normal person.”
The Harris campaign failed to agree a time slot with Rogan and the influential broadcaster duly delivered a late endorsement for Trump, which in turn saw him thanked by UFC boss Dana White at the candidate’s victory party in Florida in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Here’s more from Rhian Lubin.
Elon Musk says ‘being a normal person’ won Donald Trump the election
The billionaire told right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson that if Harris went on Joe Rogan’s show, it ‘would have been game over’
Obamas and Clintons ‘wish Trump and Vance well’ after election win
Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton all posted on social media yesterday wishing Trump and running JD Vance well after their election win (presumably through gritted teeth), leading by example in frankly accepting the result.
Both couples had been on the campaign trail for Harris but their efforts ultimately fell short.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, had a more pragmatic message for disillusioned and disappointed party activists yesterday:
Here’s more from Kelly Rissman.
The Obamas and Clintons wish Trump well after his election victory
The former presidents and first ladies had campaigned for Kamala Harris
Tim Walz says campaigning with Kamala Harris was ‘the honor and privilege of my life’
The Minnesota Governor was great fun on the campaign trail and attacked his task with zest.
Here he is paying tribute to the defeated nominee:
The Indy video team meanwhile has this look at where it all went wrong for the Democrats.
Where did Kamala Harris go wrong?
Vice President Kamala Harris faced numerous obstacles in her presidential campaign. Launching only in July, her run struggled to address voters’ core concerns on issues like the economy and immigration. She also faced a loss of support among some minority groups, including Hispanic men and Arab Americans. Ultimately, her close association with President Biden’s unpopular administration proved challenging to overcome, and she lost the election early on Wednesday morning as Donald Trump swept to a decisive victory. Harris assured the public there would be a “peaceful transfer of power”.
Justice Department reportedly looking to ‘wind down’ criminal cases against Trump
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly trying to “wind down” the federal criminal cases against President-Elect Donald Trump before he returns to the White House.
DOJ officials are considering ways to fizzle out the two federal criminal cases that Trump faces – one involving his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and the other related to improperly storing a trove of classified documents – in order to comply with its long-standing policy not to prosecute sitting presidents.
The policy in question states: “The indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would unconstitutionally undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions.”
New York attorney general Letitia James, however, is striking a more defiant note.
Here’s more from Kelly Rissman.
DOJ reportedly looking to ‘wind down’ the criminal cases against Trump
The Justice Department has a long-standing policy not to prosecute a sitting president
Democrat anger as blame game begins
“It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them,” Bernie Sanders said in a statement yesterday, setting the tone for the Democratic inquest already ongoing.
“While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they’re right.”
Green Party candidate Jill Stein likewise told Newsweek: “The Democrats have really lost credibility. They are seen as bought and paid for… Their primaries are rigged, power is top down.
“The Democrats betrayed their base. I don’t see them coming back. The economic disparities are real. People are tired of the Democrats. They need to move over and allow a proper opposition.”
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said: “It’s time to look in the mirror and make sure [we] either change our substance, if it needs to be changed, or change the way we communicate what we stand for.”
Most damning of all was Philadelphia Democratic Chair and former congressman Bob Brady, who told NBC10: “I would’ve liked to see the Harris campaign – especially the national campaign – coordinate with us a little bit. Talk to us a little bit. Give us a little bit more resources. Show us some respect. Didn’t happen.
“They were just elitist and went out there, did their own thing and didn’t include Democratic city committee or (ward leaders) or committee people. They just didn’t do it.”
Here’s more from Graig Graziosi.
Democrat anger as blame game begins over Kamala Harris’s devastating loss
Democrats are blaming everyone from Joe Biden to Tim Walz for Kamala Harris’s loss
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments