The United States was ready to make one of the most consequential decisions in history as the nation decides whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris will be the leader of the free world.
Tens of millions of voters will stream to the polls to cast their ballots after an unprecedented campaign that saw two assassination attempts and the Democratic incumbent drop out.
The heavily-anticipated result will either deliver America’s first woman president or what once appeared to be an impossible comeback for Trump.
The rivals campaigned deep into Monday night – with Trump giving a speech in the early hours of Election Day in Grand Rapids – during a frenzied sweep of the swing states to pick up the critical final votes that could carry them to victory.
Businesses started to board up their windows and the National Guard was deployed around the country, braced for chaos when the results start to come in.
The rivals campaigned deep into Monday night, with Trump giving a speech in the early hours of Election Day in Grand Rapids in a frenzied sweep of the swing states to pick up critical final voters to carry them to victory
Kamala Harris stands hand-in-hand with Oprah Winfrey in her final rally of the presidential election with just hours until the first polls open
Harris, 60, turned to Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey and Ricky Martin for a star-studded final plea to voters in Pennsylvania while Trump held his closing event in the same spot he has done the last two elections.
Oprah issued a threat similar to one Elon Musk has put out from the opposite side of the aisle: that democracy is on the brink if the other candidate wins.
‘If we don’t show up tomorrow, it is entirely possible that we will not have the opportunity to ever cast a ballot again,’ Winfrey said.
She added: ‘All the anxiety and the fear you’re feeling, you’re feeling that because you sense the danger.’
The 78-year-old former president finished up the campaign where he finished his previous two, in Grand Rapids, Michigan with a marathon rally speech that stretched past 1:45am as attendees headed for the exits.
He told his loyal MAGA fans he would fix what Harris has broken while the vice president warned of the freedoms her rival would take away if elected.
‘Doing four of these in one day is a little difficult because not really because the love at every one of them has been like this, it makes it a lot easier,’ Trump said as he took the stage at Van Andel Arena at 12:15 am.
He remained his unpredictable self on the stump, at one point mouthing an insult toward former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Harris told the crowd in Philadelphia: ‘This could be one of the closest races in history. Every single vote matters’
Donald Trump brings his family on stage in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the final frantic day of campaigning in the presidential election
The former president also brought podcaster and former Fox News host Megyn Kelly to the lectern as she called for a return to ‘strong’ men
‘She’s an evil, sick, crazy… It starts with a B but I won’t say it. I want to say it,’ he said.
However, he rounded out with a message of hope for a victory for himself and his base.
‘The ball’s in our hand, all we have to do is get out the vote tomorrow. You get out the vote, they can’t do anything about it, we win. This will be the single greatest victory, politically speaking, in the history of our country.’
After more than 900 rallies over nine years, Trump seemed to accept that it could be his last time on the trail, while Harris told crowds: ‘We are not going back’.
‘This could be one of the closest races in history. Every single vote matters,’ Harris told the crowd in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the state that could ultimately decide the election.
‘And I pledge to always put country above party and self and to be a president for all Americans,’ she added in the speech where she didn’t mention Trump’s name.
A flurry of polls shows the race could be the closest U.S. election in decades. The pair are virtually inseparable in seven key battleground states that will decide the outcome and most pollsters say the race is a coin flip.
Those states are the ‘rust belt’ industrial powerhouses of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, and the so-called ‘sun belt’ states of Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina.
Oprah Winfrey told Harris fans in Philadelphia: ‘If we don’t show up tomorrow, it is entirely possible that we will not have the opportunity to ever cast a ballot again’
Lady Gaga joined the rally to sing ‘God Bless America’ before Harris and Oprah Winfrey took the stage
Katy Perry was part of Harris’s star-studded line-up on the final night of the campaign with a performance in Pittsburgh
Ricky Martin sung to the crowd during the warm-up for Harris in Philadelphia
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally in Memorial Hall at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024
A supporter wears a Trump-themed jacket while waiting in line to enter PPG Paints Arena ahead of a campaign rally for former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on November 4, 2024
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Reading, Pennsylvania, on November 4, 2024
Early voting surged with over 80 million Americans already casting their ballots by mail or in person.
Meanwhile, the world is anxiously watching as the outcome will have major implications for conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
In Washington D.C. growing numbers of businesses and office buildings are being boarded up in case violence follows a disputed result.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, just hours before the Election Day polls were due to open, Trump took to the stage in Grand Rapids, Michigan for a final rally exhorting his supporters to get to the polls.
In the first results of Election Day in the tiny New Hampshire community of Dixville Notch and its six residents – Trump and Harris tied with three votes each.
It was his fourth rally of the day and followed a mad dash across North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
‘If we win Pennsylvania, we win the whole ball of wax, it’s over,’ Trump told one of his crowds in Raleigh, Pennsylvania.
Later, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania he promised a new ‘golden age’ for America.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, from right, visits Old San Juan Cafe restaurant with restaurant owner Diana de La Rosa, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro during a campaign stop in Reading, Pa., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024
Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, speaks with local residents as she campaigns on November 04, 2024 in Reading, Pennsylvania
Harris remained in Pennsylvania throughout the day, the state that will likely decide the election
He told a raucous crowd: ‘Were on the one-yard line. I will fight for you. Kamala broke it, I will fix it. Kamala, you’re fired!’
Pennsylvania has the most votes in the Electoral College of any of the seven swing states, and it is seen as potentially the one that will decide the White House.
Harris went all-in on Pennsylvania on her final day of campaigning, with stops in four cities.
In Allentown, Pennsylvania she told a crowd: ‘We need everyone in Pennsylvania to vote. You are going to make the difference in this election.’
She ended with a rally on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, made famous in an iconic scene from the boxing underdog movie ‘Rocky’.
Harris framed herself as the ‘underdog’ in the race and leaned on her celebrity support as she was joined by Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey.
Taylor Swift, who has endorsed Harris, was last night at a Kansas City Chiefs game supporting her boyfriend Travis Kelce.
But Swift posted an ‘extremely important reminder’ to her 283 million followers to vote.
A political for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris is displayed on the Sphere, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada
Supporters of Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump attend a campaign rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., November 4, 2024
A final poll of the seven swing states by Emerson College Polling showed Trump ahead by two percentage points in Arizona, and one percentage point in Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina.
Harris had a two point advantage in Michigan, while Nevada and Wisconsin were tied.
At 78, Trump is the oldest major party nominee ever to run for U.S. president, and miraculously survived an assassination attempt on July 13, when he was shot in the ear before rising to his feet and shouting ‘Fight, fight fight!’.
Despite criminal convictions for falsifying business records over a hush money payment to a porn star, and the lingering specter of his supporters’ violent attack on Congress four years ago, he goes into Election Day with major advantages.
Polls show three quarters of Americans believe the country is on the ‘wrong track’ and widespread dissatisfaction with inflation during the Biden-Harris administration.
On the campaign trail Trump echoed Ronald Reagan by asking voters: ‘Are you better off than you were four years ago?’
Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump’s children (L-R) Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Tiffany Trump, Eric’s wife and RNC Co-chair Lara Trump and Tiffany’s husband Michael Boulos join a campaign rally
Supporters of Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump hold signs as they attend a campaign rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., November 4, 2024
Trump began a long day of rallies with a stop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in front of a crowd of his loyal MAGA fans
Harris countered by focusing heavily on the issue of abortion, and repeatedly, accusing Trump of being a ‘threat to democracy’ and wanting to be a dictator.
‘I will be a president for all Americans,’ Harris told a last-day crowd in Pennsylvania. ‘Momentum is on our side. Can you feel it?’
Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville said her closing argument declaring Trump a ‘threat to democracy’ would resonate.
He said: ‘I think national law is actually more important than the price of eggs because eggs can go up and down but peace, if you lose it, you might not ever get it back.’
David Kochel, Republican strategist, said: ‘The closing arguments have been made. It’s not really about persuasion now. It’s about turnout. And that’s where all the energy of the campaigns are going to be directed.
‘At this point, people’s minds are made up. There are very few people out there to convince at this point and if they’re deciding, they’re deciding between voting or sitting on the couch.’