WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.>> Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States on Wednesday, an extraordinary comeback for a former president who refused to accept defeat four years ago, sparked a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts.

With a win in Wisconsin, Trump cleared the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency. He won Michigan on Wednesday afternoon, sweeping the “blue wall” along with Pennsylvania — the one-time Democrat-leaning, swing states that all went for Trump in 2016 before flipping to President Joe Biden in 2020.

Trump spent his first day as president-elect receiving congratulatory phone calls from his defeated opponent, world leaders and President Joe Biden as he began the process of turning his election victory into a government.Trump was keeping a low profile, staying out of the public eye after addressing supporters in Florida during the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

Vice President Kamala Harris called Trump to concede the race and to congratulate him, while Biden invited the man he ousted from the White House four years ago to an Oval Office meeting to prepare to return the keys.

“President Trump looks forward to the meeting, which will take place shortly, and very much appreciated the call,” said Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung.

Biden’s chief of staff later Wednesday nudged the Trump team to sign the required federal agreements necessary to begin an orderly presidential transition, a White House official said.

The victory validates Trump’s bare-knuckles approach to politics. He had attacked Harris in deeply personal terms as he pushed an apocalyptic picture of a country overrun by violent migrants. The coarse rhetoric, paired with an image of hypermasculinity, resonated with angry voters – particularly men – in a deeply polarized nation.

“I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president,” Trump told throngs of cheering supporters in Florida even before his victory was confirmed.

In state after state, Trump outperformed what he did in the 2020 election while Harris failed to do as well as Joe Biden did in winning the presidency four years ago. Upon taking office again, Trump will work with a Senate that will now be in Republican hands, while control of the House hadn’t been determined.

Biden also called Harris to salute her for her campaign. And Trump and Harris spoke on a call where the president-elect “acknowledged Vice President Harris on her strength, professionalism, and tenacity throughout the campaign, and both leaders agreed on the importance of unifying the country,” according to Trump spokesman Steven Cheung.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s office said he called Trump and the pair had a “warm and cordial” conversation while also discussing the ”Iranian threat.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had an “excellent call” with Trump, who has threatened to cut off the steady flow of U.S. aid and arms to his nation in its fight against Russia’s nearly three-year-old invasion. “I praised his family and team for their great work,” Zelenskyy said. “We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation. Strong and unwavering U.S. leadership is vital for the world and for a just peace.”

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Trump, too, as did Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who spoke to the president-elect to express “the kingdom’s aspiration to strengthen the historical and strategic relations between the two countries, wishing the friendly American people progress and prosperity under his excellency’s leadership,” according to a statement from Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry.

Trump made his first foreign trip as president during his first term to Saudi Arabia. He stood by the kingdom then, even as ties became strained over the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi operatives in Istanbul.

The president-elect has since vowed to bring peace to the Middle East at a time when Israel is at war with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon and has recently traded fire with Iran. Trump, who was a staunch supporter of Israel during his previous term, has not said how he’d accomplish that.

His win against Harris, the first woman of color to lead a major party ticket, marks the second time he has defeated a female rival in a general election. Harris, the current vice president, rose to the top of the ticket after Biden exited the race amid alarm about his advanced age. Despite an initial surge of energy around her campaign, she struggled during a compressed timeline to convince disillusioned voters that she represented a break from an unpopular administration.

As Harris focused much of her initial message around themes of joy, Trump channeled a powerful sense of anger and resentment among voters.

He seized on frustrations over high prices and fears about crime and migrants who illegally entered the country on Biden’s watch. He also highlighted wars in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to cast Democrats as presiding over – and encouraging – a world in chaos.

It was a formula Trump perfected in 2016, when he cast himself as the only person who could fix the country’s problems, often borrowing language from dictators.

“In 2016, I declared I am your voice. Today I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution,” he said in March 2023.