Donald Trump declares 'magnificent victory' in speech to jubilant supporters

Technically, this isn't over. But let's be straight: this is all over bar the shouting.

Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States. He will be only the second man in history to serve two non-consecutive terms as president.

Here he is at 78 years old, facing multiple scandals over his career, multiple court cases - criminal and civil, a conviction, sentencing in three weeks' time, and escaping death but a fraction from an assassin's bullet.

And here he is, having persuaded what looks like a majority of the American people to send him back to Washington into the White House.

In some Democratic Party circles, the postmortem is already beginning despite a result not officially having been called yet.

One Democrat political operative in DC texts to say the party "needs to flush out elitist snobs in DC for a start".

Others have told me the same, albeit less bluntly - that while they praise the efforts of the campaign, they feel the party as a whole has an 'image problem' at a time when basic, everyday things like the cost of living are front of mind for most voters.

This Democrat despair brings to mind a conversation I had with a Republican at one Trump rally who said their candidate had completely "reimagined" the Republican party from its country club voter stereotype to appealing to working class families, while the Democrats had become the "party of Hollywood".

These are big generalisations, but ones Republicans publicly, and some Democrats privately, now share.

Trump says he survived assassination attempt 'for a reason'published at

Trump just briefly mentioned the assassination attempt made on him in July, which he survived after a bullet grazed his ear at a campaign rally.

He tells the crowd his life was "saved for a reason" - a suggestion that was made throughout his campaign.

Trump says he'll bring "every ounce of spirit and fight" to the White House, and that being president is the "most important job in the world". He adds that he'll run his government on the motto: "Promises made, promises kept."

And that's that - as is customary with Trump speeches, YMCA is played as he leaves the stage.

As a reminder: Trump has declared victory in this election but he's not yet reached the required number of electoral college votes. He's four shy of the 270 he needs. Kamala Harris is on 218.