Heartbreak for Harris supporters as they see states fall one by one

Trump's win marks clear and decisive shift to the right in the polarised country

- Marina Lopes

History felt within reach at Howard University as thousands of supporters gathered to watch Vice-President Kamala Harris become the country's first female leader. But as the electoral map on the screens turned from grey to red, joy dissolved into fear and, finally, despair.

One by one, the states fell. Former president Donald Trump's electoral count climbed steadily, and as the weight of what was unfolding settled in, cheers turned to silence, dancing to stillness. Hours later, in a decision as final as the electoral numbers on the screen, the Harris campaign announced that she would not address the crowd.

Trump's win, followed by Republican victories in the Senate and likely in the House, marked a clear and decisive shift to the right in the polarised country.

For Ms Harris, the path to the presidency had always been steep, the bearer of continuity when the electorate was craving change.

One exit poll found that 73 per cent of voters thought the country was headed in the wrong direction. Ms Harris faced an uphill battle convincing voters that she was not, in fact, steering the ship.

"In terms of the influences that normally structure outcomes in American presidential elections, all those forces are on Trump's side. The approval rating and performance concerns about the Biden administration are very much in Trump's favour," said political science professor John Mark Hansen at the University of Chicago, who specialises in elections. "So there was never any prospect that Americans were going to run away with a landslide."