After months of clashing about abortion, the economy, immigration, the Israel-Gaza war and myriad other issues, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump retreated with their respective camps to watch the votes roll in Tuesday night.
While 82 million people took advantage of early voting in advance of Election Day, millions more lined up at their local polling stations to cast their ballots across the nation. As of Tuesday evening, in-person voting had unfolded relatively smoothly without major delays and disruptions and the Democratic and Republican candidates were prepared for what was expected to be a watch-and-wait night. When Trump started to make substantial inroads and electoral vote gains, Harris’ and Trump’s watch party crowds responded accordingly.
While the contentious campaign was consistently fiery, Harris and Trump favored business attire — namely suits. Win or lose, Democrats and Republicans alike understand the power of keeping up appearances and Election Night was no exception. Around 2:30 a.m. when Trump declared victory as the 47th U.S. president — ahead of the Associated Press and other media outlets doing so — he sported a navy suit, white buttoned-down shirt and red tie. Melania Trump also turned out in a structured look — a gray Dior suit — at the Palm Beach Convention Center.
Howard University students listen to polling results during an election night event for Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.
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Hours before as the results started to come in and Harris’ hopes for a historic win dimmed, the vice president nixed plans to address the crowd of supporters at Tuesday night’s watch party at her alma mater Howard University in Washington, D.C. After a campaign spokesperson put that word out to the media that Harris would return to the campus Wednesday to address supporters and “the nation,” many attendees dispersed. The mood in the room reportedly became subdued. Throughout the campaign, Harris hit the trail wearing pantsuits in classic colors like navy, khaki and black — more sophisticated hues than the salmon pink and apple green shades that she sported in her undergrad days as a Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority member.
Maintaining the business-like attire that she has worn on the campaign trail, Harris had worn a black pantsuit and an ivory blouse to work the phones at her campaign’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. The 60-year-old Democratic candidate accessorized the look with a a gold American flag pin on the lapel of her blazer and her signature gold and pearl necklace.
While the polls were still open, Kamala Harris worked the phones wearing a black pantsuit and white blouse Tuesday.
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Catching the election returns from the battleground state of Florida, Trump stuck his signature look too — a navy business suit, white shirt and red tie for viewing parties at Mar-a-Lago and the Palm Beach Convention Center. Melania Trump’s Election Night gray Dior suit had been purchased by her stylist Hervé Pierre last summer. As is often the case with his selections, the designer tailored look with a cinched waist was one that Pierre said he picked up without a specific event in mind.
The once and now future first lady doubled up on Dior on Election Day. To accompany her husband to the polls in Palm Beach, the former model went with a polka-dot Dior shirtdress designed by the luxury house’s creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri. Just as Harris and First Lady Jill Biden repeat outfits on occasion, so too has Trump, who recently wore the Dior dress for a TV interview about her memoir “Melania.”
Donald Trump and Melania Trump in Palm Beach, Fla., on Election Day.
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The LVMH-owned Dior is one of her preferred European labels. Harris is also a fan of another LVMH-owned luxury entity — Tiffany & Co. The vice president often wears pearl and gold earrings and necklaces from the jewelry company where Arnault works.
The Trumps’ son Barron, a freshman at New York University, was also at the Mar-a-Lago watch party, suited up in dark blue suit, white buttoned-down shirt and a skinny dark necktie with burgundy stripes. One of the former president’s more visible campaigners, Tesla’s and SpaceX’s Elon Musk, was also in the mix.
Supporters of former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump cheer near his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., on Election Day prior to his 2024 win.
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Meanwhile, President Joe Biden and the first lady took a more low-key approach to Election Night viewing by tracking the results from the White House. As a sign of what has been a highly contentious presidential race with both parties trying to woo voters from one side to the other, Jill Biden had stepped out Tuesday to cast her vote, wearing a red pantsuit and white blouse.