Top Republicans celebrated President-elect Donald J. Trump’s victory, and even some of his critics in the party congratulated him on Wednesday, while Democrats largely remained quiet as they awaited remarks from Vice President Kamala Harris.
The outcome of Tuesday’s election shattered Democrats who thought they had vanquished Mr. Trump in 2020 only to see him thunder back to the presidency. But Republicans were emboldened by the prospect of Mr. Trump’s return alongside control of at least one chamber of Congress, the Senate.
Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the outgoing Republican leader, who has had a strained relationship with Mr. Trump, declared it a “happy day” as he addressed reporters at the Capitol. And Senator Mitt Romney, the Utah Republican who has criticized Mr. Trump and did not publicly back a candidate this year, also congratulated Mr. Trump, writing on social media that the “people have spoken.”
One of the most outspoken Trump critics on the right, former Representative Liz Cheney, a former congresswoman from Wyoming and a daughter of Mr. Bush’s vice president, stopped short of congratulating Mr. Trump, but said in a statement on social media that the country’s “democratic system functioned last night.”
“We now have a special responsibility, as citizens of the greatest nation on earth, to do everything we can to support and defend our Constitution, preserve the rule of law, and ensure that our institutions hold over these coming four years,” added Ms. Cheney, whose opposition to Mr. Trump has been rooted in his efforts in his overturn the 2020 election.
Mr. Trump, criticizing Ms. Cheney’s hawkish foreign policy positions, said in the final days of this year’s race that she should be put on a battlefield “with nine barrels shooting at her.”
Former President George W. Bush, who remained publicly quiet leading up to Election Day despite the dreams of Democrats that he might endorse Ms. Harris, broke his silence to congratulate Mr. Trump and to thank President Biden and Ms. Harris for their service.
“The strong turnout in this election is a sign of the health of our republic and the strength of our democratic institutions,” Mr. Bush, the last Republican president before Mr. Trump, said in a statement, seemingly trying to reassure Trump critics who have cast him as a threat to American democracy.
Mr. Trump’s allies focused on how his message had resonated with voters. House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana and a stalwart ally of Mr. Trump, said in a statement that the outcome had shown that Americans were eager for tougher borders and what he called a “return to common sense.”
Mr. Johnson projected confidence that Republicans could maintain their slim four-seat majority in the House, though it may be days or weeks until enough races are called for that to be determined.
Despite Mr. Trump’s victory atop the ticket, Democrats flipped two House seats in New York and a newly drawn district in Alabama. Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the top House Democrat, appeared optimistic about his party’s chances of winning control of the chamber.
In a statement, Mr. Jeffries said the House remained “very much in play” for Democrats, who would need to pick up congressional seats in Arizona, Iowa and Oregon.
Many Democrats had little to say publicly on Wednesday as Ms. Harris prepared to concede the presidential race.
But Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York, a Democrat, issued a statement that seemed geared toward rattled residents of her deep-blue state. “I want New Yorkers to know that as your governor, I am committed to safeguarding the rights, freedoms and values we hold dear — no matter what lies ahead,” she said.
At City Hall in New York City, Mayor Eric Adams congratulated Mr. Trump and urged a peaceful transfer of power. “As Americans, we respect the will of the power of the people,” said Mr. Adams, who is a Democrat but had criticized the Biden administration on immigration and rejected efforts by his party to cast Mr. Trump as a fascist.
Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia — a Republican who appeared with Mr. Trump in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene but whose already rocky relationship with him grew further strained after he refused to help Mr. Trump reverse the 2020 result — wrote on social media that he looked forward to working with Mr. Trump “to put hardworking Americans first and get our country back on track.”
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