Trump declares victory for the 'greatest political comeback in American history' after astonishing election night sweep

Former President Donald Trump took the stage and declared victory in the early hours of Wednesday morning, cementing an extraordinary political comeback.

Minutes earlier news organizations called the 2024 presidential race for him.

'We made history for a reason tonight, and the reason is that we overcame obstacles that nobody thought possible,' he said.

'And it is now clear that we've achieved the most incredible political thing.'

The moment of truth came earlier when Fox News called Pennsylvania, the biggest of the battleground prizes, followed by Wisconsin and then the entire race in his favor.

The Associated Press had still not called the election for Trump, but he claimed victory onstage nonetheless.

It meant Trump had won three of the key states, making victory inevitable.

'It's real,' screamed one young supporter who raced to the front of the crowd as if it were a mosh pit, high fiving friends and strangers.

Trump was joined on stage by family - including daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner who had been absent from the campaign - aides and political supporters.

He thanked his supporters and promised a golden age for the nation.

When he invited is running mate to the microphone, Sen. J.D. Vance said the result marked a remarkable turnaround in political fortunes.

'I thank you for the trust that you placed in me,' he said, 'and I think that we just witnessed the greatest political comeback in the history of the United States of America.'

Trump went on to paint a positive vision for the next four years under his control.

'Together we're going to unlock America's glorious destiny and we're going to achieve the most incredible future for our people.' 

'It's time to put the divisions of the past four years behind us, it is time to unite. And we're going to try, we have to try, and we're going to be successful at bringing us together... Success is going to bring us together, and we are going to start by putting America first.' 

The first big call was broadcast in the hall at 11:25pm, when North Carolina went to Trump.

The crowd's energy went quickly from nervously excited to joy mingled with relief.

And for supporters called 'garbage' and 'deplorables,' who had stuck with the candidate through election defeat, court cases, impeachments and the fall-out from the Jan. 6 riot, it carried a dose of political redemption.

Hours before polls closed, Trump claimed on his Truth Social site without evidence that there was 'a lot of talk about massive CHEATING' in Philadelphia, a Democratic stronghold.

It echoed his 2020 claims of election fraud in Democratic-controlled cities.

And it led to worries that he and his team could be preparing for a repeat of the legal and political challenges that ended with hundreds of his supporters storming the U.S. Capitol. 

'If I lose an election, if it's a fair election, I'm gonna be the first one to acknowledge it,' Trump told reporters after voting on Tuesday.

Allies said he may try to claim victory on election night even with millions of ballots to be counted and states to be called, as he did at the White House four days ago.  

But as the evening wore on it appeared that Democratic hopes of undecideds breaking their way evaporated, as result after result suggested Trump  

Roger Stone, longtime Republican provocateur and Trump ally, said he was on course for an extraordinary comeback, fueled by four criminal indictments.

'It's a story of perseverance. It's a story of resilience and just grit,' he told DailyMail.com. 'I mean, just grinding it out'