Donald Trump is heading to the White House. Again.

The race for the White House is finally over, and Donald Trump has come out on top as called by Associated Press News.

In May, the Republican became the first US president to be convicted of a crime. Now, he's preparing to return to the oval office as the 47th president of the United States.

On X (formerly Twitter), Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese congratulated the President-elect on his victory.

"Congratulations to President Donald Trump on his election victory," Albanese wrote. "Australians and Americans are great friends and true allies.

"Working together, we can ensure the partnership between our nations and peoples remains strong into the future."

The former president and Vice President Kamala Harris faced off in what started off as a close race before Trump took the lead over Harris, overperforming in certain states. Victories in battleground states including North Carolina, Georgia, and Pennsylvania helped push Trump over the line.

This campaign trail has not been a "typical one" — Harris said so herself last week.

Between controversial topics like abortion and immigration, to Harris' late entrance into the race, it's been a journey.

Trump and his vice presidential running mate, JD Vance, will be sworn in on January 20, 2025.

Watch: Presidential debate highlights between Trump And Biden 2024 . Post continues below.

What has Trump said?

Despite giving very little detail about what his administration plans to do, Trump has not shied away from sledging the Democrats or extolling the virtues of Republicans on the campaign trail.

Just last week, Trump told his supporters they were voting to stop "the most sinister and corrupt forces on Earth".

Speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania, he pledged to "restore America's promise" and "take back the nation".

With 267 of the 270 votes he needed to secure the presidency, Trump took to the stage to address his supporters, celebrating his win before it was confirmed.

"We have thousands of friends for this incredible movement. This was a movement like nobody's ever seen before," Trump said to the room.

"And frankly this was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time. There's never been anything like this in this country." 

Speaking about the state of the country, Trump addressed his plans to fix the issues he believes to be more pertinent.

"And now it's going to reach a new level of importance because we're going to help our country heal," he continued. "We have a country that needs help and it needs help very badly. We're going to fix our borders, we're going to fix everything about our country."

Trump thanked this voters, and expressed his gratitude for being elected to become the President of the United States for a second time — his victory was confirmed shortly after Trump delivered his speech.

"I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honour of being elected your 47th president… and your 45th president."

"And every citizen, I will fight for you and your family." 

"I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered," he said last week.

"And we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail or we will kick them the hell out."

Trump has repeatedly criticised the Democrats for allowing a "mass invasion", claiming Biden and Harris failed to protect the US's borders and jobs — a key argument of his.

During the presidential debate with Harris, Trump went as far as making the bizarre claim that migrants were "eating the pets" of people who lived in Ohio.

Another recurring claim from Trump was the Democrats were cheaters, with the former president warning that would be the only possible explanation if he lost.

Trump has long falsely claimed he was the legitimate winner of the 2020 election, despite being charged with conspiracy to defraud the US for illegally trying to overturn the results.

He has previously promised to fire the justice department's special counsel "within two seconds" to get the case scrapped.

Trump's victory would likely result in the federal criminal cases against him being dismissed, with state criminal cases possibly being frozen until he leaves office, according to NBC.

The former president's stance on abortion rights has also been a source of contention.

He has said he would not support a federal abortion ban and believes the matter should be left to individual states.

However, he did not confirm if he would veto a ban if it were passed by congress.

Trump promised to "prevent World War 3" and accused Harris of creating the "worst inflation" in US history.

On guns, Trump "believes that every American has a God-given right to protect themselves and their family and has proven through his actions that he will defend law-abiding gun owners", CBS reports.

His campaign told CBS he would "terminate every single one of the Harris-Biden's attacks on law-abiding gun owners his first week in office and stand up for our constitutionally enshrined right to bear arms".

Listen to Trump Faces Backlash for Rally Comments About Women on The Quicky. Post continues below.

What has JD Vance said?

Trump's running mate, Ohio senator JD Vance was once among the former president's major critics, even labelling him an "idiot" ahead of the 2016 election.

Now, he's one of Trump's most fierce defenders.

Vance, who wrote the bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy, also took the stage at the rally.

After thanking Trump for choosing him to be his running mate, Vance applauded Trump for achieving "the greatest political comeback in the history of the United States of America".

"Well, Mr. President, I appreciate you allowing me to join you on this incredible journey," Vance said.

"And under President Trump's leadership, we are never going to stop fighting for you, for your dreams, for the future of your children. And after the greatest political comeback in American history, we're going to lead the greatest economic comeback in American history under Donald Trump's leadership."

Last week, he hit out at critics that claimed Trump was a fascist.

The Republican has been a vocal opponent of abortion rights, going as far as suggesting anti-abortion laws should not include exceptions for rape or incest in 2021.

However, he has softened his position recently and says he is aligned with Trump in opposing a federal blanket ban on abortions and leaving it up to individual states.

Vance also supports Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration and has consistently stood by Israel, consistent with Trump.

What has Kamala said?

The Vice President and Democratic nominee had a "very different" vision for the country than that held by Trump.

But she decided not to speak, as announced by her campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond. "We still have votes to count… so you won't hear from the Vice President tonight," he told those who had attended Harris' watch party at Howard University. "She will be back here tomorrow."

"Go H-U and go Harris," he concluded.

Speaking during her September debate with the former president, Harris said her plan for the country was to be "focused on the future", while Trump's was "focused on the past, and an attempt to take us backward".

Last week, at the same site where Trump addressed his supporters before they stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, Harris highlighted the danger of Trump returning to power.

"These United States of America, we are not a vessel for the schemes of wannabe dictators," she said.

Harris warned Trump was a chaos agent who would bring "more division" to America if he won.

Throughout the campaign, Harris backed many of Biden's continuing measures such as providing tax credits to middle-class and lower-income families and supporting small business.

Abortion rights were at the heart of Harris's 2024 campaign, as she argued for federal legislation that would restore the constitutional right to abortion.

On gun control, Harris has said she favoured the US Constitution's second amendment (the right to bear arms) and said in her presidential debate with Trump that she and Walz both own guns.

However, she had been hoping to "ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require universal background checks, and support red flag laws that keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people".

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance and former US President Donald Trump during a campaign rally. Image: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images.

Will Trump follow through with Project 2025?

Project 2025, a 900-page policy book to reshape the American government under an ultra-conservative vision, has been a recurring talking point this campaign.

The plan — created by the prominent conservative think tank, Heritage Foundation — outlines a sweeping overhaul of the executive leadership in the US government if Trump was to win this election.

Some of the policies include national book bans in schools, deporting all illegal immigrants, prosecuting anyone who mails abortion pills, striping away the public service and allocating more power to the president.

Trump's campaign has vigorously distanced himself from the document, despite CNN reporting 240 people involved in Project 2025 have ties to the former president.

Trump claims he knows "nothing" about it.

"The hope is that this handbook will be handed to his administration to hit the ground running," Foreign Policy's Amelia Lester told Mamamia's twice-daily news podcast The Quicky earlier.

Lester said people latched onto the document as a "roadmap for what the people around Donald Trump are hoping to achieve in his second term".

As for what it means now Trump is back in power, we're yet to tell.

"This document really is the best clue as to what might happen, because there are so many people who put it together who he will very likely appoint in his second term," Lester said.

At this stage, Trump's official stance is: "I have nothing to do with Project 2025."

Feature image: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images.