Donald Trump is set to move back into the White House as the 47th President of the United States of America.

He will be the first convicted felon to win a presidential election in the US, and only the second person in history to serve two non-consecutive terms, after President Grover Cleveland in the late 1800s.

Preliminary results on Wednesday evening showed Trump with a commanding lead over democratic nominee Kamala Harris’ electoral college votes.

By 5:30pm NZT, the Associated Press (AP) had called North Carolina and its 16 electoral votes for Trump, and by 7pm, AP had called Georgia and its 16 votes for Trump as well, two key battleground states in the race for the White House.

Of the votes counted by 8:30pm NZT, Trump leads Harris by more than 5.2 million in the popular vote, with many news organisations also reporting Trump leading Harris in the other five swing states.

By 11.35pm NZT, AP reported Trump had won Wisconsin, delivering him the 270 electoral votes required to assume office.

AP has also called the Senate for the Republican Party, which also led the House for most of the evening.

Combined with a 6:3 conservative leaning in the Supreme Court, it marks the probable Republican control of all three branches of the United States government.

President-elect Trump took the stage to claim victory at 8:24pm NZT as AP called Pennsylvania and its 19 electoral votes for Trump, saying there was “a great feeling of love in this very large room” before thousands of his supporters at the West Palm Beach Convention Centre in West Palm Beach, Florida.

His running mate, JD Vance, called it “the greatest political comeback in the history of America”, promising “the greatest economic comeback” would follow.

Te Pirimia o Aotearoa, Christopher Luxon, took to X (formerly Twitter) to congratulate the incoming US President.

The 47th President and the 50th Vice President of the United States are set to be inaugurated in a ceremony on the steps of the US Capitol on January 20, 2025, but Trump has two court dates before then.

Before his return to office, he is scheduled for sentencing on November 26 (local time) for 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to influence the 2016 election by hiding a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.

He also awaits a trial date for charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights, all related to the January 6, 2021, United States Capitol attack.

US families ‘exit plan’

In October this year, Te Ao Māori News spoke with Hera Smith, a Māori American who said there were families who planned to leave the US if Trump returned to office.

“If Trump is elected, I know that there are families who are already planning the exit plan from the United States, and I do know that there are some who are considering Aotearoa.

“Will we be one of those whānau? We would be one anyway. Will that accelerate our return home? Maybe so, because at the end of the day, I’m a mother and I have to look out for my children’s safety," she said.

US Indigenous leader, Joy Enomoto, had told Te Ao Māori News no matter the outcome of the election it was going to be bad for everyone.

“If Harris gets into office, the first black Indian woman in American history, there’s going to be violence. If Trump gets into office, there’s going to be riots, there’s going to be uprisings.”

She said the former president’s administration dismantled numerous protections for working-class individuals.

“Trump is a nightmare. When he was in office the first time, so many things, so many protections were gutted for working class people ... He absolutely hates Hawaii.”

CEO of the Country: How Trump rose to power

Unlike most other past presidents, Trump is the only one to never have a political career prior to entering office or even any military service.

In 1968, he received a bachelor of science in economics from the University of Pennsylvania. Three years later, his father made him president of the family real estate business, which he would rename ‘the Trump Organization’.

Not only was Trump a businessman, he was also known to be a reality tv star, hosting the show ‘The Apprentice’ for 14 seasons, with Arnold Schwarzenegger hosting the 15th and final season.

According to The Washington Post, Trump nearly suffered a catastrophic financial failure, but with the help of the show, he earned $214 million during the broadcast, which helped him build himself up again.

His political career is a bit over the place with him denying rumours of a potential run for president in 1987 - but said if he ever did, he would win.

In 1999, Trump formed a committee to explore running for president with the Reform Party in the 2000 election. A July poll showed him with seven percent support against George W. Bush and Al Gore. Though he eventually dropped out, Trump still won the Reform Party primaries in California and Michigan before leaving the party.

He was speculated to run in the 2012 US elections but he did not, instead endorsing Republican nominee Mitt Romney for president.

In mid-2015, Trump officially announced his candidacy for president, during which he created the slogan ‘Make America Great Again’.

His main promise during that election was building a wall between the US and Mexico border, he did not deliver on this when in office.

In 2016, he won against Hillary Clinton, winning the electoral college votes but not the popular vote. He became the 45th President of the United States taking over from Barack Obama.

In 2020, he ran for a second term, only to be beaten by President Joe Biden.