Biden pledges smooth transfer of power after Harris’ loss to Trump
As Trump begins to build out his administration, Biden addressed the nation for the first time since the election where he aimed for unity after a grueling campaign for Harris. NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez reports for "TODAY."
Israel announces new ambassador to the U.S.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced the appointment of Yechiel Leiter as the new ambassador to the United States.
Leiter was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and is a historian of philosophy, rabbi and former chief of staff to Netanyahu when he served as finance minister.
Leiter replaces Ambassador Mike Herzog, a retired general and brother of Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Leiter's son, Maj. Moshe Yedidya Leiter, died while fighting in Gaza last November.
Biden administration prepares for possible migrant surge before Trump takes office
The Biden administration is making plans for a possible surge in border crossings ahead of a Trump presidency, according to two U.S. officials and exchanges between immigrants on WhatsApp groups. NBC News’ Julia Ainsley has more on the potential increase at the border.
Philippine ambassador urges Filipinos in U.S. illegally to leave voluntarily
The Philippine ambassador to the U.S. urged Filipinos who are in the country illegally to leave voluntarily to avoid deportation after Trump takes office.
“My advice is for them not to wait to be deported,” the ambassador, Jose Manuel Romualdez, told reporters. “Because I can see that the administration of President Trump is really going to be very strict with the immigration policy that he intends to put in place.”
He estimated that there were 250,000 to 300,000 Filipinos in the U.S. without documentation.
Immigration was a major issue in the campaign, and Trump repeatedly pledged to execute the “largest deportation effort in American history.” In an exclusive interview with NBC News yesterday, he said his administration would have “no choice” but to follow through with that plan and that there was “no price tag” on it.
Asian American support for Trump was 5 points higher in this election than in 2020, according to the NBC News Exit Poll. That may have made a difference in battleground states such as Nevada, which Trump won for the first time.
Filipino Americans are the state’s largest group of Asian American voters, who in turn make up 12% of the Nevada electorate. At a rally in Las Vegas last month that was aimed at Asian Americans, Trump praised the Filipino community as “the greatest people, hard-working people.”
Though they have historically leaned Democratic, Filipino Americans connected with Trump on issues such as the economy and immigration, Romualdez said.
“A lot of them resent the idea that people can just come in here” without following the same procedures as those who entered the country legally, he said.
Why Europe’s far right is so happy Trump won
LONDON — Few have expressed glee at Trump’s election win like Europe’s far right.
In the president-elect, these ascendant insurgents across the pond see a key ally, someone who shares their mix of authoritarianism, populism and extreme hostility to immigration.
“We have big plans for the future!” posted Hungary’s Prime Minister Vikor Orbán, an influential Trump friend and ally, calling it “a much needed victory for the World!”
Asked what these “plans” were, András László, a lawmaker in Orbán’s Fidesz party, told NBC News yesterday that his leader had left it “deliberately vague.” It would broadly involve a “continuation” of their first-term partnership, he said, “to help persecuted Christians around the world, and to promote policies and solutions to stop illegal immigration.”
Harris showed minimal losses among Black men, but analysts say she should have won more
Black men had been perceived as a voting bloc ripe for Trump to attract after many expressed concerns a year ago about Biden’s re-election efforts. An NBC News poll at that time showed that at least 20% of Black men would support Trump — an alarming number for Democrats.
Harris took over from Biden, who stepped aside under pressure in July. In the end, however, the poll from November 2023 held true: 78% of Black men selected Harris in Tuesday’s presidential election, according to the NBC News National Exit Poll. That figure was below Biden’s 2020 mark of 80%.
For one Black pollster, the reasons behind Harris’s performance is not complicated. Alvin Tillery, a professor of political science at Northwestern University and founder of the super PAC Alliance For Black Equity, said the Harris campaign used failed strategies to engage Black men, “even after all the talk about how critical it was to get their vote.”
“It was political malpractice,” Tillery said.
Trump wins Nevada, capturing a state he lost in both 2016 and 2020
Trump has carried Nevada over Harris in the presidential race, NBC News projects.
Trump lost the state’s six electoral votes in both of his previous runs for the White House. But those defeats against Hillary Clinton and Biden were both by less than 2.5 percentage points, and Trump and the Republican Party have made significant strides with Latino voters and other voting blocs key to the state since then.
While Nevada elected a Republican governor in 2022 — Trump-endorsed Joe Lombardo — Democrats managed to hold on in other close races up and down the ballot, a recurring theme in recent years. But Trump’s victory is a breakthrough for the GOP in a state that Democrats have mostly dominated of late. Republicans hadn’t won the presidential contest there since 2004.
Trump made Las Vegas a frequent stop on the campaign trail, repeatedly promoting his “no tax on tips” pledge, in a state where a significant number of residents work for tipped wages in the entertainment and hospitality industries. Trump announced the proposal at a Las Vegas campaign rally in June.
Outside of the presidential race, Democrats had a good election in North Carolina
With the glaring exception of the presidential race, North Carolina Democrats had a good 2024 election.
While Harris lost to Trump in the battleground state by more than 3 percentage points, Democrats won nearly every other statewide race that was on the ballot Tuesday.
Trump will name more conservative judges. He may even pick a majority of the Supreme Court.
Republicans are gearing up to lock in their remake of the judiciary under Trump and a new Senate majority, including potentially installing several more conservative Supreme Court justices.
Having already picked three Supreme Court justices in his first term — who were critical in overturning abortion rights — Trump will have appointed a majority of the court if he lands two more.