Donald Trump has won the US presidential election, defeating Kamala Harris in a stunning political comeback with unpredictable consequences for the world.
Trump’s victory on Wednesday came on the back of one of the most hostile campaigns in US history and an unprecedented criminal conviction.
“It’s a political victory that our country has never seen before,” Trump told a victory party in Florida. 
Trump is the only person to be elected as a convicted felon. He will face sentencing in a New York court for fraud on November 26.
Already 78, Trump is on course to break another record as the oldest-ever sitting president during his four-year term. He will surpass Joe Biden who is set to step down in January at the age of 82.
Trump’s victory, following a campaign marked by chaos, incivility and a disregard for presidential norms, has onerous consequences both at home and abroad.
His threat of mass deportations of illegal immigrants has stirred deep concern in Latin America.
A second Trump term and his unrestrained isolationist and nationalist “America First” stance is also deeply unsettling for Europe, with the Republican repeatedly threatening to withdraw from NATO.
Reacting to the results, the French government spokeswoman said Europe must be willing to take charge of its own destiny.
“In a number a key sectors — defense, industrial recovery, decarbonization — we must take charge of our own destiny,” Maud Bregeon told the RTL broadcaster.
Trump has also repeatedly suggested he would end the conflict in Ukraine by pressuring Kiev to make territorial concessions to Russia.
