Trump takes the lead as results from US presidential election trickle in

Donald Trump is now 24 electoral college votes away from winning the United States presidential election. 

The Republican Party candidate has now amassed 246 electoral college votes, with Vice President Kamala Harris of the Democratic Party polling 210 electoral college votes at the time of reporting.

There are 538 votes in the electoral college and it takes 270 — a majority — to win the presidency.

Trump is now projected to win the battleground states of North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Georgia, leaving Harris with a mountain to climb. There is currently no realistic pathway to a Harris victory.

A “hush” has descended on the Harris campaign headquarters, with various outlets reporting that the campaign would no longer be talking to the press until it is done and dusted.

The US presidential election has been a keenly contested one and was considered “neck-and-neck” and “too close to call” even before the first mail-in ballots were cast.

Immigration, border security and inflation were Trump’s strongest campaign points, while Harris campaigned on reproductive rights for women and building “an opportunity economy”.

Harris entered the race in July after US President Joe Biden’s shaky debate performance in June.

Barack Obama, a former US president, and a slew of celebrities had acted as Harris surrogates on the campaign trail.

Trump has promised to “tighten the border” and “root out illegal immigrants” if re-elected. The Republican Party candidate has repeatedly described the Democratic Party as “weak” and has maintained a hawkish stance on foreign policy.

The Republican Party has also taken control of the senate.