Any doubt that Americans were willing to “go back” to Trump, as the Democrats cast it, was dispelled early on. After that, it was only a question of who would prevail in a clearly close race.

Officials projected confidence early, saying the momentum was with the former president despite many commentators feeling Kamala Harris surged in the campaign’s final days. As for the persistent gender gap in the polls, senior Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski said: “Women do not vote only on their gender … It’s a fallacy.”

Across town in Palm Beach proper, Trump waited at home, the Mar-a-Lago resort, with his “very special people” – among them Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, UFC boss Dana White, leader of the conservative Reform UK party Nigel Farage and Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart.

Also present was former Liberal Party vice president Teena McQueen, who told this masthead of the “electric” atmosphere inside. “Unbelievable – best night of my life,” she said, adding facetiously: “If he wins Virginia, it’s because Mrs Rinehart and I went to a rally in Salem.”

Trump didn’t win Virginia in the end, but it didn’t matter. It soon became clear he would hold on to his bases in Florida and Texas. Then he cruised to victory in Iowa, despite a polling scare late in the campaign. North Carolina, too, held for Trump. And later it firmed that he would regain Georgia, the deep southern state Joe Biden snatched by a narrow margin in 2020.

Trump’s motorcade left Mar-a-Lago about 1am for the short drive across the lagoon to West Palm Beach, but Trump kept the raucous Convention Centre crowd waiting until 2.30am, moments after the networks called the crucial state of Pennsylvania in his favour, just about sealing victory.

When the victor finally appeared, flanked by his family and a slew of senior aides, it was almost as though it were any of his countless campaign rallies. Trump’s anthem, God Bless the USA, played as he lingered by the podium; he went on a lengthy tangent about Elon Musk’s rockets, and there were the usual remarks about MAGA being “the greatest political movement of all time”.

But in between all that, Trump claimed the win and tried to strike a more conciliatory, optimistic tone than was his custom in this highly negative and divisive campaign. “We’re going to help our country heal … Success will bring us together,” he pledged.

“We have a country that needs help. We made history for a reason tonight … We overcame obstacles that nobody thought possible. Look what happened. Is this crazy?”

It was also a “massive victory for democracy and for freedom”, Trump said, while his running mate and vice president-to-be, J. D. Vance, dubbed it the greatest political comeback in the history of the United States. (Farage described it similarly, posting on X: “He’s done it again. The most incredible political comeback of our lifetime.”)

The crowd included Trump loyalists of many stripes. Televangelist Paula White, who delivered an invocation at Trump’s inauguration and later became his special faith adviser, arrived flanked by her rocker husband, Jonathan Cain, keyboardist and guitarist for the band Journey.

“I watched her do amazing things; we fed the hungry during COVID, and we got Jerusalem to be the capital [of Israel]. She did a lot of great things with him and whispered in his ear a couple of good things,” Cain said.

ola LoBello, from the conservative lobby group Moms for America, attended with her daughter and said a Trump win was necessary to save the country. “She’s going to give me grandkids in the future, and I want this to be a safe America,” she said. “The way it’s going right now, I don’t feel it’s safe at all.”

While most guests donned cocktail dresses and frocks, many wore jeans, chinos, or colourful suits or clothing in the pattern of the American flag, lending the event a more relaxed vibe. Many more were accessorised with red MAGA caps and badges.

Inside, upwards of 15 American flags adorned the stage, and small tables stocked with bottles of wine and plastic tumblers dotted the room (though NBC reported it was a cash bar). At first, Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News played on the big screen, but it was later switched to CNN, prompting a small group to chant “CNN sucks”. Still, the favourable calls kept coming, no matter the channel.

Plenty of ordinary Trump supporters wandered past the entrance to try to get inside, but security was tight for the invite-only event. Most of the world’s media was also refused accreditation, with journalists and camera operators camped on the streets interviewing punters and attendees.

It was also reported that a number of journalists initially approved to cover Trump’s election night events had their credentials revoked after writing stories critical of Trump and his campaign in a continuation of his long-standing animosity toward the press.

At a nearby bar, Florida real estate developer and Trump supporter Patrick Jones drank a vodka soda and watched PBS on the big screen. “I’m going to vote Republican every election, no matter what,” he said. “I don’t want them [the Democrats] to take away the money I’ve earned.”

Jones, 31, said Trump was “not the greatest guy”, but it did not matter. “There are probably people with better character, but I don’t really care about that. It’s more about the Republican ideals,” he said.

Later, as Trump’s cheery guests spilled out onto the streets chanting and singing, a handful of Palm Beach locals rocked up to catch a glimpse of the action. One woman, wearing a T-shirt saying “I’m voting FELON”, led her young children forward for a better view.

Nearby, Palm Beach resident Teresa Kelly waved a flag with Trump’s face emblazoned over the American Stars and Stripes. “I’m relieved,” she said. “He’s done so much for this country in the past, and I believe he’s going to do that again.”

With AP

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/best-night-of-my-life-rinehart-mcqueen-front-and-centre-at-trump-s-victory-party-20241106-p5kocb.html

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