Trump's battleground wins stoked celebration of his 'most improbable comeback story'
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Donald Trump backers who gathered in South Florida began the evening with cautious optimism – and ended it by celebrating the cusp of a historic victory.
"Look what happened!" Trump told his followers in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. "Is this crazy?"
Many of his supporters who gathered at the Palm Beach County Convention Center for his watch party spent five to eight hours eagerly awaiting results to flow in from pivotal swing states.
As state after state went to Trump, optimism turned to confidence and then to euphoria. Trump delivered a speech after winning Pennsylvania, notching 267 of the 270 electoral votes he'll officially need to win the White House. He has a clear path in the other states that have yet to be called.
"It's exhilarating," said Jovita Carranza, a U.S. Treasurer and administrator of the Small Business Administration during the first Trump administration, standing at a table near the back of a cavernous ballroom. "The numbers are coming in strong."
"There are people in here who worked very hard to get those numbers," Carranza said of the revelers around her. The convention center drew supporters of the former president, in additional to his top campaign staff, like co-campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita.
Supporters marveled at how far Trump has gotten, after a contentious presidency, two impeachments, indictments in four separate criminal cases, a criminal conviction, expensive judgments in civil lawsuits and defeat in the 2020 election. The most shocking moments of the 2024 presidential election also came over the summer as Trump faced two assassination attempts, including a shooting at a Pennsylvania campaign rally in which one man, Corey Comperatore, was killed.
"All that stuff," said Stephen Hamilton, 58, a businessman who said he flew down to Palm Beach County from his home in New Jersey to be a part of history.
Trump "is a very tough guy," Hamilton said. "Resilient."
The sound system at the watch party alternated between '70s and '80s rock-and-roll and television news broadcast of the elections. The escalating cheers of the crowd hit a crescendo at 1:47 a.m. EST, when Fox News projected that Trump had won enough electoral votes to win the presidency for a second time.
Some Trump supporters said the night reminded them of his 2016 victory over former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Others said there is no comparison.
"I don't think it's reminiscent of anything," said Hogan Gidley, a media spokesman in Trump's first White House. "This is the most unbelievable, most improbable comeback story in the history of American politics."
Trump backers at the event dismissed Trump's legal charges – and criticism from Democrats and even some GOP rivals – as unfair attacks.
The former president has long claimed without evidence that prominent Democrats have been involved in his four indictments. Still, the president still faces a sentencing in his New York criminal tied to hush money payments, as well as state charges in Georgia and two federal cases.
One of the speakers early Wednesday morning – Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White – told the crowd that "this is what happens when the machine comes after you."
Trump "keeps going forward," White said. "He‘s the most resilient man I‘ve ever met in my life. This is karma, ladies and gentlemen. He deserves this."
A number of former Trump officials came to the watch party, as did a cross-section of the "Make America Great World." That included Corey Lewandowski, the former 2016 campaign manager who was re-hired as a 2024 campaign adviser in August, and Trump's former attorney, Rudy Giuliani.
There were people with shirts in the American flag motif and leather biker vests. Others showed up in business suits and evening dress.
"We're anxious to see President Trump become president again," said Larry Snowden, president of an organization called Club 47 USA, earlier in the evening.
Snowden, 78, a retired business executive who lives in Boca Raton, Fla., said he didn't even think of the possibility of Trump losing: "My mind will only accept that he's going to win."
Others were more cautious.
"We were hoping," said Miriam Campos, 82, a retired banker who lives in Miami Lakes.
As old Trump hands made the rounds at the Palm Beach County watch party, they reflected on the political journey that began with a 2015 announcement speech at Trump Tower in New York City.
"Historic; unprecedented," Lewandowski said.
"Nobody's ever seen a movement like this before," Lewandowski, reflecting on the consensus Republicans appeared to build on Election Day. The GOP also notched victories in critical Senate races and are set to take control of the upper chamber next year. "It's been incredible."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How battleground wins stoked celebration of Trump's 'improbable' night