It’s Donald Trump’s America – again – and it seems some people are taking the news better than others.
A German newspaper only needed a single, albeit, explicit word to respond to the Republican’s comeback.
‘Fuck.’ Given this particular word’s Germanic origin, you well and truly can’t get any more German than this.
Die Zeit, a weekly newspaper published in Hamburg, ran the uncensored headline for an opinion piece by author Nele Pollatschek published online on Wednesday.
Pollatschek wasted no time, asking the reader what they would do if they ever saw a ‘mushroom cloud on the horizon’.
‘Last time, Trump’s advisors stopped him from doing too much nonsense,’ The Misfortune of Other People author said.
‘Except that he replaced them for exactly that reason. That’s why this time he has very explicitly surrounded himself with people whose core competence is loyalty.’
Pollatschek, who has written for the paper since October, said she was among the countless people tuning into the election results live.
‘Half past five is also a perfectly appropriate time for feeling helpless, for feeling sorry for yourself, for panicking and for sheer horror,’ she wrote.
‘Curiosity is at a low point in the early hours of the morning. The problem, of course, is that the story of Donald Trump has been exhausted since 2016.’
‘At 3:01am, the score is 154 for Trump, still 27 for Harris. Extremely interesting, you think, and put the vomit bucket next to the couch,’ she added.
Seven things Trump says he will do as president
1. Carry out mass deportations
From 2021 to 2022, about 1.1 million people were deported from the US. Trump has vowed to increase this tenfold as well as complete his wall slicing through Mexico, build more camps to detain immigrants and carry out more raids.
2. Tariffs, tariffs and more tariffs
On top of tax cuts, Trump has promised to slap a tariff on most goods made overseas – likely 10%. He’s claimed this will be good in the long run, but experts say this may raise consumer prices and spark a global trade war.
3. Tear up climate regulations
‘Drill, drill, drill’ sums it up really. Trump isn’t exactly a fan of green policies, so fossil fuels, gas-chugging cars and withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement will be the focus of his administration.
4. End the Ukraine war
‘In 24 hours’ to be exact. There’s been no real indication of how he’d do this, but he has suggested he’d do so by simply letting Russia take what Ukrainian land it has hobbled up so far.
5. No abortion ban
Reproductive rights were something both voters and Kamala Harris have expressed worry about, given Roe v Wade was binned by the Supreme Court. Trump, despite what some of his hardcore supporters want, has resisted calls to ban abortion nationwide.
6. Pardon Jan 6 rioters
Three years after a mob tore through the Capitol in Trump’s name, about 1,240 people were arrested on crimes ranging from trespassing to seditious conspiracy. Trump says he’ll pardon any convicted rioters.
7. So long, Jack Smith
‘Within two seconds’ the special counsel will be out. Smith, in case you’ve forgotten, indicted Trump over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election and over his alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Germany has a lot to be worried about. The country is home to top automakers like BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, which all saw their share prices slump after Trump’s election win given he is likely to impose tough tariffs on the industry.
Europe’s economy is fragile, too. Trump warned last month the EU will have to ‘pay a big price’ for not buying enough American exports.
Germans aren’t exactly fans of Trump, with nearly three-quarters supporting Kamala Harris. And neither are other newspapers like Die Tageszeitung, which wrote on its homepage: ‘Why though?’
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz seemed to strike a slightly more neutral tone. ‘For many decades, Germany and the United States have been working side by side to promote prosperity and freedom on both sides of the Atlantic,’ he said.
‘Together with you, I want to continue this successful work for the benefit of our citizens.’
What role will Elon Musk have in Donald Trump’s administration?
Trump cemented his win in the election by winning the key battleground state of Michigan to become the 47th president of the United States.
It is an incredible political comeback for the former president who refused to accept defeat to Joe Biden four years ago, sparked a violent insurrection at the US Capitol, and survived two assassination attempts during this year’s campaign.
Trump’s message of throwing a wrecking ball at America’s status quo appealed to tens of millions of voters in almost every key demographic, taking back control of a nation worried about spiralling grocery and gas prices, angry about rising immigration and irritated with the Biden-Harris administration, if exit polls are any indication.
So Trump’s top team will have a lot on their plates.
One name on the felon’s mind is likely Elon Musk, who posted a low-resolution meme of himself in the Oval Office on his social media site X after Trump’s victory seemed certain.
Trump has ruled out Musk being on his cabinet but said he wants the tech billionaire as some sort of high-ranking administration official.
Secretary of state, America’s top foreign policy official, may go to Richard Grenell. An ex-former Fox News contributor, he’s been gunning for the post pretty much since 2020.
Mike Pompeo, former CIA director, fervent Israel supporter and Trump’s own ex-boss, is seen by pundits as a strong contender for secretary of state for defence.
But money is on the minds of most Americans, making treasury one of the most important roles in the cabinet. Robert Lighthizer, long in Trump’s ear for trade, is considered by pundits to have a solid shot at being tapped.
Donald Trump Jr, the president-elect’s older son, and Robert F Kennedy Jr, who threw his toadying support for Trump after stopping his presidential bid as an independent, are also in the running for major administration jobs.
Could Elon Musk run for President in 2028?
It’s hard to comprehend the thought of another election, but given Musk’s swift rise into Trump’s political sphere, some might be wondering whether the SpaceX owner will ever try for the Oval Office.
Probably not, Musk has said.
‘My grandfather was American, but I was born in Africa, so I cannot be president,’ he said in October. ‘But I actually don’t want to be president. I want to build rockets and cars. I believe we want to be a spacefaring civilisation.’
Kamala Harris conceded defeat after winning Maine, claiming two more electoral college votes, but this result was too little, too late for the now outgoing vice president.
‘Sometimes the fight takes a while. That doesn’t mean we won’t win,’ she told supporters.
Previously the 45th president, Trump is the first person convicted of a felony to be elected president and, at 78, is the oldest person elected to the office.
He said the Republicans had ‘taken back control of the Senate’ and that ‘America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate’ during his victory speech in West Palm Beach, Florida.
After walking out to ‘God Bless the USA’ by country music star Lee Greenwood, he was joined onstage by his wife Melania, his children and his campaign support staff.
‘This was frankly the greatest political movement of all time, there has never been anything like this in this country, and now it’s going to reach a new level of importance as we’re going to help our country heal,’ he told the cheering crowd.
Moments ahead of his speech, Fox News, a right-wing broadcaster, and NBC, a left-wing broadcaster, said Trump had triumphed over Democrat candidate and Vice President Harris after a tough fight.
The first state to declare Trump the winner was Kentucky at midnight UK time. This was soon followed by Indiana, West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama and Oklahoma.
The balance also largely tipped in his favour after Florida – a state with one of the highest votes in the Electoral College – declared him the winning candidate an hour later.
Other key states that Trump won include Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
Harris, meanwhile, kept a stronghold on the northeast coastline, with states such as New York and New Jersey remaining blue, while Washington, Oregon, and California along the west coast voted Democrat.
Nevada and Arizona are the only states left to declare their results.
World leaders congratulated Trump, with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer calling his win a ‘historic election victory’ and Russia’s Security Council deputy head Dmitry Medvedev giving his verdict.
The election result mirrored polling and betting odds in the days and weeks leading up to Election Day. While Harris and Trump were virtually 50/50, some recent polls and betting markets had the Republican candidate narrowly ahead in critical battleground states.
The 2024 election had shaped up to be among the closest in American history, with tensions reaching a fever pitch.
In Washington, DC, the Secret Service had 10-foot-tall fencing installed around the White House, Harris’ Naval Observatory residence and other crucial buildings. Storefronts were boarded up amid fears of riots breaking out.
What are swing states and why are they important?
‘Swing states’ are those of the 50 United States where both major political parties have a genuine chance of winning over the majority of voters in a presidential election.
For this election, the seven states that both the Democrats and Republicans agreed meet the criteria for being swing states, are: Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin and, of course, Pennsylvania.
Elsewhere, ballot boxes were set on fire and voters fought with poll workers.
Hours before the final result was called, a series of fake bomb threats were made at polling stations in Georgia and Michigan, with the FBI quashing the rumours that an attack was going to take place and blaming Russia for the threats.
The reports were later denied by the Russian Embassy in the US, which described them as ‘malicious slander’.
Trump overcame a slew of attempts by Democrats to stop him on the campaign trail, including being charged in four separate criminal cases. In the end, none of these stopped him, as none went to trial before the November election.
Instead, Trump managed to get roughly half of America on his side.
At his Madison Square Garden rally, held in the Democratic stronghold of New York City nine days before the election, tens of thousands of his supporters of all ages and ethnicities filled the arena and streets outside.
In mid-July, Trump suffered minor injuries after surviving an assassination attempt and has since embraced some faith leaders’ beliefs that God protected him so he could win the presidency and ‘save’ America.
The gunman, a Republican named Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot dead at the scene by officials.
Two months later, multiple shots were fired while Trump was golfing at the Trump National Golf Club in West Palm Beach. He was not hurt in the second shooting.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, a contractor and Ukraine activist living in Hawaii, was charged with the shooting.
Harris, 60, who entered the race in late July when Biden dropped out, ran her campaign on the promise to be ‘a president for all’ and to uphold freedom.
What happens after the votes are counted?
After every vote has been counted and verified for each state, the Electoral College swings into action.
Members of the Electoral College are scheduled to convene in each state on December 17 to certify the result, while the declaration of the result in Congress will occur on January 6, 2025.
The winner will then be sworn into office in a ceremony known as the inauguration on January 20, 2025.
The period between the election and the inauguration is known as transition and gives the new administration time to appoint cabinet ministers and make plans for their term.
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.
MORE: Appalachian locals say JD Vance’s career is built on ‘wild claims’
MORE: George Clooney blamed for Donald Trump’s US election win by outraged Americans
MORE: This charity shop can’t tell the difference between door knobs and sex toys
