President Cyril Ramaphosa has joined other world leaders in congratulating United States president-elect Donald Trump for his historic victory.
Republican presidential candidate Trump defeated Democrat Kamala Harris by securing more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the Presidency.
WORLD LEADERS CONGRATULATE US PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP
According to BBC, Trump’s victory marks a dramatic reversal in fortunes for the billionaire. He left office in 2021 with plummeting approval ratings and the country reeling following the Capitol riot – which saw his supporters attempt to block the certification of his loss to Joe Biden violently.
He narrowly avoided conviction in the Senate after becoming the first president to be impeached twice by the US House. The Republican leader in the Senate – Mitch McConnell – said Trump had “provoked” his supporters into attacking the Capitol.
He later became the first former president to be convicted of a criminal offence, after being found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
The South African previously reported that Trump was the first president in more than a century to win a non-consecutive second term.
He is also the only person to be elected as a convicted felon – he will face sentencing in a New York court for fraud on 26 November.
Already 78, Trump is on course to break another record as the oldest-ever sitting president during his four-year term. He will surpass Biden, who is set to step down in January at 82.
Following the historic victory, Ramaphosa took to X (formerly Twitter) to congratulate Trump.
“Congratulations to United States President-Elect Donald Trump on your return to the Presidency.
“I look forward to continuing the close and mutually beneficial partnership between our two nations across all domains of our cooperation. In the global arena, we look forward to our Presidency of the G20 in 2025, where we will work closely with the US, which will succeed us in the G20 Presidency in 2026,” Ramaphosa posted.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and many others also congratulated Trump and wished him well as he returned to the White House.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT DONALD TRUMP’S VICTORY?
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