Vice President Kamala Harris and President-elect Donald Trump barreled into election night with cautious optimism that their respective campaigns would prevail. Harris’ exuberant supporters gathered at Howard University, her alma mater in Washington, DC, while Trump’s confident fans descended on a convention center in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The polling averages showed a tight race that could be decided by razor-thin margins in key battleground states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. But as the first waves of returns streamed in, Trump’s advantages in the swing states quickly became clear — elating Republicans and demoralizing Democrats.
The United States remains as bitterly divided as ever. Trump will return to the White House following a campaign notable for his dark rhetoric and his bellicose vows to upend the federal government. Harris, who stood to make history as the first female US president, failed to overcome fierce national headwinds; Democrats now look to an uncertain future.
Here, through photography and illustration, we explore a divided nation’s reactions to winning, losing and the future.