US election 2024: Donald Trump declares victory early and hails 'golden age' for America

Donald Trump previously prematurely claimed victory in the 2020 Presidential Election despite results still pouring in that would eventually hand the win to Democrat Joe Biden

Donald Trump has prematurely declared that he has won the US Presidential Election – despite votes still being counted.

The Republican firebrand prematurely declared he had won the election despite ballots still being counted in some swing states. Trump, who requires 270 electoral college votes to win the presidency, said:

Addressing crowds in Palm Beach, Florida, he promised the American people a new "golden age". He said: "This was the greatest political movement of all time and now it's going to reach a new level of importance because we're going to let our country heal.

"We've made history for a reason tonight and the reason is going to be just that. It is now clear that we've achieved the most incredible political... I mean look what happened, isn't this crazy?

"It's a political victory that our country has never seen before, nothing like this, I want to thank the American people for making me your 47th President and your 45th president."

Trump's premature declaration was predicted by some in Washington D.C. Independent Senator for Vermont Bernie Sanders previously said on Monday everyone "should be aware" that the Republican could announce an early victory.

Speaking to CNN's Kaitlan Collins, he said: "It's not 'what if,' Kaitlan. It is not 'what if' - he will." He claimed Trump would prematurely declare victory, adding: "That is what will happen. … This is why he has got to lose, because this is exactly how you undermine democracy: ‘The only way I can lose is if there’s fraud.’ Well, that means you can’t lose a legitimate election."

It comes following reports that the former president had been told by some advisers that he should prematurely declare himself the winner if he found himself ahead of Democrat Kamala Harris in battleground states. This is despite certain swing states such as Pennsylvania having previously taken days to formally declare a winner.

But the claims among which were reported in The Guardian noted even stalwart allies like his controversial White House strategist Steve Bannon suggested he should wait to declare victory to prevent him from looking foolish.

Trump previously declared an early victory in the heated 2020 Presidential Election against now-incumbent President Joe Biden. He went on to lose the presidential election as votes continued to pour in from key swing states where on-the-day ballots were counted separately to early and mail-in votes.

Trump then declared, without evidence, that the election had been stolen. He heaped pressure on Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes" to overturn the election result in the state.

On January 6, 2021, he mobilised supporters to protest against members of Congress who were confirming the result of the election. The incident was a prelude to the infamous riot at the Capitol building where Trump supporters forced their way into the chambers in one of the most consequential moments in modern American history.

Trump was heavily criticised for not calling on his supporters to leave the building for several hours.