Trump touts 'powerful mandate' in Election Night victory speech

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday morning declared victory in the presidential race, marking a historic comeback for the Republican.

"Now, winning the popular vote was very nice, very nice, I will tell you a great a great feeling of love," Trump said. "America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate. We have taken back control of the Senate."

"I want to thank you all very much. This is great. These are our friends, we have thousands of friends on this incredible movement. This was a movement like nobody's ever seen before," he said Wednesday morning. "And now it's going to reach a new level of importance, because we're going to help our country heal."

"We overcame obstacles that nobody thought possible, and it is now clear that we've achieved the most incredible political thing. Look what happened is this crazy?" he asked. "But it's a political victory that our country has never seen before."

"I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being elected, your 47th, President and your 45th president," he added.

Trump declared victory despite the Associated Press not yet calling the contest. As of press time, it projected him to take 267 electoral votes to Vice President Kamala Harris's 214. He led in every swing state as of press time, however.

Other electoral projectors, such as Decision Desk, have called the race for Trump.

Trump's win makes him the first former president to reclaim the White House since Grover Cleveland in 1892.