Trump sends shock waves around world as he is elected US president | First Thing

Republican hails greatest political movement of all time' after taking victory through battleground states. Plus, Americans explain what decided their vote

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Good morning.

Donald Trump has been elected the 47th president of the United States in a stunning comeback that has sent shock waves around the world, after he secured his path to victory through the country's battleground states.

What does this mean for Trump's legal woes? It looks like a get-out-of-jail card as the Trump ally and South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham told special counsel Jack Smith that it is time to look forward to a new chapter in your legal career" and to bring these cases to an end".

What about the House of Representatives? That race, where the Republicans were defending a majority, is yet to be called: only 376 of 435 seats had been announced at time of writing.