He was written off as a drag on the presidential ticket, mocked by political opponents as “bizarre”, falsely rumored to have had intercourse with a sofa, and pilloried as a misogynist for labelling ladies with out youngsters as “childless cat women”.

Now JD Vance – the butt of a spate of Democratic and liberal jokes for his awkward stump persona and far else – has turned the tables on his detractors.

Donald Trump’s emphatic election triumph is ready to place the 40-year-old Ohio senator only a heartbeat away from the presidency, serving below a chief government who’s 78 and has been the goal of two failed assassination makes an attempt.

It’s a dizzying rise for a person who was elected to the Senate simply two years in the past and now finds himself about to develop into the third-youngest individual in US historical past to carry the workplace of vice-president.

Whereas Trump’s opponents and lots of critics dread his return to the Oval Workplace and the levers of energy, Vance ready within the wings hardly provides them trigger to really feel reassured.

Certainly, the vice-president-elect’s Maga bona fides are deeper and extra real than these of Mike Pence, who served as Trump’s loyal quantity two throughout his first presidency earlier than breaking ranks and resisting entreaties to cooperate within the effort to overturn the 2020 election.

It’s exhausting to think about Vance – as soon as such a vocal Trump critic that he referred to him as “America’s Hitler” and “cultural heroin” – exhibiting such insubordination to the boss.

So utterly did Vance shed his earlier criticism that his alternative as working mate was promoted by the president-elect’s son, Don Jr, whereas additionally being championed by such pro-Trump stalwarts because the far-right broadcaster Tucker Carlson and the tech billionaires Elon Musk and Peter Thiel.

The creator of Hillbilly Elegy, a bestselling private memoir of his upbringing in Ohio below the shadow of household drug habit, Vance had come to be seen as a real embodiment and articulator of Trump’s financial and nationalist populism designed to attraction to a working-class constituency.

An illustration of his hard-right ideological tendency comes within the form of his shut connections to the Heritage Basis, the conservative Washington thinktank that oversaw the event of Mission 2025, a radical blueprint for overhauling American authorities and society, which Trump disavowed final summer season when it threatened to value him votes.

Nonetheless, a lot of its concepts – particularly radical limitations on reproductive rights – stay extant amongst Trump supporters, together with Vance himself, who has beforehand stated he wish to see abortion banned nationally.

Vance stays near Kevin Roberts, the Heritage Basis’s president, for whose forthcoming e book he wrote a pugnacious foreword.

In international coverage, the long run vice-president has concepts mirroring Trump’s that may fear allies – having beforehand informed Steve Bannon, Trump’s former White Home counsellor, on his podcast: “I don’t actually care what occurs to Ukraine a technique or one other” days earlier than the nation was invaded by Russia in 2022.

However it isn’t simply within the realm of mental concepts that Vance has proved he’s the true deal in Trump world.

Having initially settled slowly into the working mate’s slot and rattled by the mockery of his previous statements that will have left the Republican nominee questioning if he had made the suitable alternative, Vance was reportedly searching for a problem with which he may show his price.

He discovered it within the days earlier than Trump’s debate with Harris in September – within the type of on-line rumours about Haitian immigrants consuming household pets within the metropolis of Springfield in his native Ohio. The story had been debunked by native officers however Vance pushed it however.

It reached the ear of Trump – ever-eager for a automobile on which to push his anti-immigration platform – and he repeated it memorably within the debate, saying: “They’re consuming the canine; the folks that got here in, they’re consuming the cats.”

Challenged on CNN for selling a story for which there was no proof, Vance was unrepentant.

“If I’ve to create tales in order that the American media pays consideration to the struggling of the American folks, then that’s what I’m going to do,” he stated.

He had handed the Trump take a look at of political ruthlessness.

As JD Vance prepares for all times within the White Home, no matter jokes his adversaries informed about him at the moment are certainly on them.

Learn extra of the Guardian’s 2024 US election protection

• Kalshi and Polymarket catapulted to essentially the most downloaded free apps on the Apple App Retailer on Tuesday.
• Kalshi is the betting market open to US residents, whereas Polymarket is utilized by worldwide bettors.
• Kalshi and Polymarket present Trump favored to win the Electoral Faculty, with Harris anticipated to win the favored vote.

Kalshi and Polymarket zoomed to the highest of the Apple App Retailer on Tuesday amid a surge in election betting within the waning days of the 2024 US presidential marketing campaign.

Kalshi, which is ruled by the CFTC and authorized for US residents, held the primary spot, whereas Polymarket, which is simply accessible to worldwide bettors, had the quantity two spot on Apple’s listing of prime free apps.

The 2 betting apps outranked free downloads for in style smartphone apps like ChatGPT, TikTok, and Instagram.

Kalshi’s ascent within the Apple App Retailer rankings represented a key objective being reached for the corporate’s CEO, Tarek Mansour.

“I believe we’re gunning for No. 1 for your entire App Retailer by Election Day, so the demand curve really is exponential,” Mansour informed CNBC final month.

Greater than $4 billion price of bets have been positioned on numerous contracts associated to the result of the US Presidential election on Polymarket, in comparison with greater than $500 million for Kalshi, based on information from each web sites as of Tuesday afternoon.

Polymarket has had a big head begin on Kalshi this election cycle, because it wasn’t till early October when a federal choose cleared Kalshi to launch election-linked betting contracts for US residents.

At 3:11 p.m. E.T., betting odds on Kalshi and Polymarket favor former President Donald Trump to win the Electoral Faculty at 57% to 43% and 62% to 38%, respectively, and Vice President Kamala Harris to win the favored vote at 76% to 24% and 72% to twenty-eight%.

In the meantime, the polls stay a lot tighter. The newest polling common from 538 has Harris main 48% versus 46.8% for Trump.

JD Vance, a 40-year-old Ohio senator who many pundits see as Donald Trump’s inheritor obvious and the 2028 Republican presidential candidate, was elected vice chairman of the USA on Tuesday.

The self-described hillbilly turned Marine turned Ivy League legislation faculty graduate is probably finest recognized amongst US voters for his rustbelt, conservative politics.

In his 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, Vance addressed the financial and social points plaguing the US’ forgotten hinterlands. He sought to clarify why Trump resonated amongst white working-class households like his personal. 

Nevertheless it was years earlier, when Vance cultivated ties with pro-Israel billionaire Peter Thiel, that his political profession actually started to blossom.

The co-founder of Palantir Applied sciences, the CIA-backed analytics agency that has performed an essential half in Israel’s struggle on Gaza, Thiel bankrolled his Senate marketing campaign to the tune of $15m, the largest quantity donated to a single Senate candidate on the time. 

Vance would later promote Trump’s “America First” overseas coverage and, in a January 2023 opinion article in The Wall Avenue Journal, argue that he most well-liked the kind of statesmanship that pursued US nationwide pursuits – however with nice restraint.

Vance mentioned the US-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan and US-led regime change in Libya, amongst different wars, had not served “the nation’s long-term curiosity”.

“Only a few have been ever challenged by a pacesetter of nationwide significance,” Vance argued, including: “That’s, after all, till Donald Trump got here alongside.”

After he was introduced as Trump’s working mate in July, Vance labored to determine himself as a key surrogate on the world stage selling Trump’s “America First” international coverage.

Though his overseas coverage features a deep suspicion of overseas entanglements and alliances, he has remained a powerful supporter of Israel. These views have been on full show earlier this yr when Vance opposed assist to Ukraine however insisted on backing Israel’s struggle on Gaza.

“I assist Israel and their marketing campaign towards Hamas. I additionally admire the Ukrainians preventing towards Russia, however I consider it isn’t in America’s curiosity to proceed funding what looks as if an countless battle in Ukraine,” Vance mentioned.

“It is odd to equate Israel and Ukraine as comparable points. They’re basically totally different, and we must always analyse them individually.”

Supporter of Gaza struggle and normalisation offers

In a speech delivered on the Quincy Institute in Could, two months earlier than he was introduced as Trump’s working mate, Vance addressed the contradiction between his conditional assist for Ukraine and professed unconditional assist for Israel. 

“A majority of residents of this nation suppose that their savior, and I rely myself a Christian, was born, died, and resurrected in that slender little strip of territory off the Mediterranean,” he mentioned.

“The concept there may be ever going to be an American overseas coverage that does not care lots about that slice of the world is preposterous.”

“We wish the Israelis and the Sunnis to police their very own area of the world. We wish the Europeans to police their very own area of the world, and we wish to have the ability to focus extra on East Asia,” he added.

Vance has since backed Israel’s devastating navy offensive on Gaza, which has killed a minimum of 43,000 Palestinians, saying it was crucial to attain a normalisation settlement between Israel and Arab Gulf states.

“Hamas initiated the battle and now makes use of Palestinian civilians as shields. To be taught from the previous 40 years, our precedence needs to be to dismantle Hamas as a navy drive,” he mentioned.

“You’ll be able to’t get rid of Hamas’s ideology, however you’ll be able to get rid of their commanders and navy items, and I consider Israel needs to be empowered to take action.”

On the identical time, Vance has expressed considerations about an escalation involving Iran.

On 26 October, Vance indicated that US and Israeli pursuits will not at all times overlap and tied this stance to his opposition to a struggle with Iran.

“America’s curiosity is typically going to be distinct,” he instructed The Tim Dillon Present.

“Generally we’re going to have overlapping pursuits, and typically we will have distinct pursuits. And our curiosity very a lot is in not going to struggle with Iran. It could be an enormous distraction of sources. It could be massively costly to our nation.”

As a substitute of the US beginning a struggle with Iran, Vance mentioned that Washington ought to “let the Israelis and the Gulf Arab states present the counterbalance to Iran”.

“America does not should continuously police each area of the world,” he mentioned. “We must always empower folks to police their very own areas of the world. One, we’d save some huge cash. Two, we might save loads of focus.”

After Roe v Wade was overturned in 2022, the need of free and accessible contraception has been a near-constant speaking level.

However the price of contraception within the US is greater than you may assume. Certainly, contraception accounted for 30-44 p.c of out-of-pocket healthcare prices for girls earlier than it was coated by the ACA, based on Deliberate Parenthood.

And now that Donald Trump has received the 2024 presidential election, nothing is definite on the subject of healthcare.

If the ACA — in any other case referred to as Obamacare — was overturned, over 62.4 million ladies would discover themselves with out entry to no-cost contraception, based on the Nationwide Girls’s Legislation Middle (NWLC); and 48 million ladies would lose entry to free emergency contraception.

On the Trump-Harris debate in Pittsburgh in September, Trump admitted that he had the “ideas of a plan” for healthcare coverage to interchange the ACA, however nothing concrete.

Earlier in Could, Trump mentioned he was “taking a look at” coverage to limit contraception entry in some states, earlier than backpedaling on Fact Social.

He tried to calm the waters earlier than Election Day and posted on social media platform X. “Lyin’ Kamala is giving a Information Convention now, saying that I need to finish the Reasonably priced Care Act,” he mentioned. “I by no means talked about doing that, by no means even considered such a factor.”

There are considerations that, whereas Trump has distanced himself from it, Undertaking 2025 — the 900-page coverage doc from former Trump aides and a right-wing assume tank — means that the emergency contraceptive (morning after) tablet is a “potential abortifacient” and shouldn’t be thought of contraception underneath the ACA.

The appropriate-wing blueprint additionally recommends that the Well being Sources and Companies Administration (HRSA) ought to get rid of protection of emergency contraception altogether underneath its preventive tips.

With an specific anti-abortion agenda all through the proposals, Undertaking 2025 additionally means that the Division of Well being and Human Companies (HHS) ought to “[r]eturn to being referred to as the Division of Life by explicitly rejecting the notion that abortion is well being care and by restoring its mission assertion underneath the Strategic Plan and elsewhere to incorporate furthering the well being and well-being of all People ‘from conception to pure demise.’”

The slide from abortion bans to contraceptive restrictions is way from over. The Heritage Basis — the right-wing assume tank that authored Undertaking 2025 — seems to face in opposition to all leisure intercourse.

A video posted on their X (Twitter) account asserts that eradicating the “mindless use of contraception tablets” would “[return] the consequentiality to intercourse”.

As president, Trump diminished entry to contraception for lower-income individuals by reducing funding for the Teen Being pregnant Prevention Program and bringing in restrictions on the Title X program.

He additionally efficiently weakened ladies’s capability to obtain free contraception underneath the ACA. In 2020, the Supreme Courtroom accepted exemptions which might permit employers to disclaim protection for contraception for spiritual or ethical objections.

Regardless of this, Trump mentioned on his social media platform Fact Social in Could that he would “by no means, ever advocate imposing restrictions on contraception.”

Final yr, JD Vance mentioned on CNN that he doesn’t know “any Republican, a minimum of not a Republican with a mind, that’s attempting to take [birth control] rights away from individuals.”

Nonetheless, 195 Republicans voted agains the Proper to Contraception Act in 2022, which might have acknowledged the authorized proper to voluntary contraception.

Earlier than their election defeat, DNC Nationwide Press Secretary Emilia Rowland warned that “Trump and Vance [have] limitless energy over our our bodies and futures by tearing away entry to Plan B and contraception and elevating well being care prices.”

Actual Madrid’s poor momentum continued as they had been swept apart by AC Milan within the UEFA Champions League.

The Rossoneri dominated the reigning European champions at Santiago Bernabeu, securing a 3-1 victory that may go a great distance in denting Actual Madrid’s hopes for a high 8 end.

Tchouameni picks up a minor knock

If the scoreline wasn’t sufficient, Actual Madrid suffered yet one more blow on the evening as key midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni picked up a knock.

In line with Guillermo Rai, Tchouameni limped off his option to the dressing room, which brought about concern inside the Actual Madrid camp.

Tchouameni’s knock got here on the evening of an early collision involving him and former Actual Madrid striker Alvaro Morata. Nonetheless, the collision was not as harmful and each continued instantly after.

That’s maybe why the membership consider it was not a significant knock and was solely a slight blow. The midfielder is anticipated to bear checks in the present day.

Capping off a poor efficiency

Tchouameni’s knock, albeit a minor knock, capped off a poor evening for the younger Frenchman, who visibly struggled on the evening.

The previous AS Monaco starlet was unable to maintain up along with his markers and simply allowed the AC Milan attackers to dominate the ultimate third.

Tchouameni’s poor kind just isn’t a superb signal for Actual Madrid, who’ve now conceded as many as seven targets of their final three matches.

It seems the staff is missing the companies of a veteran chief like Toni Kroos, who can management possession and permit extra freedom to dynamic midfielders akin to Tchouameni.

For now, the Frenchman will likely be trying to recuperate from his minor knock and get again to full health, with Actual Madrid set to tackle Osasuna this weekend.

Bitcoin has surged to a brand new all-time excessive after Donald Trump emerged because the doubtless winner of the US presidential election.

The value of the world’s most dear cryptocurrency reached above $75,000 on Wednesday morning, beating its earlier document of slightly below $74,000 set in March.

Information that Trump was more likely to win the White home brought on bitcoin to surge greater than 10 per cent within the house of just some hours.

The Republican candidate has positioned himself because the ‘crypto candidate’, promising beneficial regulation and the formation of a US bitcoin reserve if he wins.

Trump’s pro-cryptocurrency place has additionally seen him vow to finish what he calls the “persecution” of the crypto trade and to place the US because the “bitcoin superpower of the world”.

“Trump’s pledge to chop purple tape, promote innovation, and entice main investments within the digital asset house has galvanised traders,” Nigel Inexperienced, chief government of monetary advisory agency deVere Group, advised The Unbiased.

“Many traders anticipate {that a} Trump victory will clear the trail for mainstream adoption and regulation that’s each beneficial and essential for bitcoin’s continued progress. Additionally, public backing from influential figures within the crypto world has given Trump’s marketing campaign substantial credibility amongst tech traders. This pro-crypto narrative may pave the best way for regulatory readability, bolstering institutional investments that might ship bitcoin to unprecedented heights.”

Mr Inexperienced forecasts a possible worth rally past $80,000 within the brief time period, although analysts additionally warn of the cryptocurrency’s historic volatility.

The USA had a brand new election to decide on the forty seventh president of the nation. Thousands and thousands of Individuals voted. On this context, the outcomes had been unclear throughout the journey. Each Donald Trump’s and Kamala Harris’s campaigns reported favorable outcomes, with massive media firms reporting a slight distinction in favor of Democrat candidate Harris. The bitcoin value reached a brand new all-time excessive, turning it into a distinct however correct info channel after Trump’s victory. In response to costs and data aggregator Coingecko, bitcoin went from $68,734 within the morning on Tuesday to a brand new excessive of $75,434 by Wednesday.

Bitcoin Worth: A New Political Map

Through the election day, a number of outstanding media channels confirmed a Democratic Get together victory tendency. Even necessary polls and fashions like Selzer’s and The Economist’s additionally referred to as it earlier than.

However in bitcoin land, the worth adopted a distinct pattern. The Trump marketing campaign centered closely on bitcoin and crypto. Business figures like Bitcoin Inc.’s David Bailey. Lightspark’s David Marcus and Messari’s Ryan Selkis endorsed Trump early. The now-elected president even participated within the Nashville Bitcoin Convention in July and congratulated the bitcoin white paper day only a week in the past.

Trump’s agenda is perceived as carefully tied to Bitcoin’s future in America, and so the worth signaled a great day for Republicans. Trump’s VP, JD Vance, is well-known amongst crypto traders and there are additionally some marketing campaign guarantees which can be closely associated to the crypto business.

To commute Silk Highway creator Ross Ulbritch’s sentence, eradicating Securities and Alternate Fee’s President, Gary Gensler, and creating “the strategic nationwide bitcoin stockpile,” —as Reuters reported in late July— are amongst them.

“When you suppose BTC will not be a great indicator to look at at this time, let me know why… In my view it looks like a clear indicator, because it was a problem within the marketing campaign, shares and bonds much less so,” Senior Alternate Traded Funds Analyst for Bloomberg, Eric Balchunas, posted early within the election day morning, with the primary 1% optimistic motion the worth had.

When the numbers that technically credited Trump with the victory began circulating, BTC value soared to a new-historic mark, over $75,300. Prediction markets, equivalent to Kalshi, additionally confirmed a positive end result for Trump.

On Wednesday, BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF IBIT noticed $1b in quantity within the first 20 minutes after markets opening, displaying an necessary reference amongst traders. Within the final 24 hourst, BTC value rised 7%, reaching a brand new all-time excessive by the point of publication.

Bitcoin And Crypto Folks React To The Election

MicroStrategy’s Chief Govt Officer expressed the group sentiment in a easy method: “We’ve got a Bitcoin President,” he posted on X.

Nevertheless, the Trump administration’s supply of guarantees can be a prime precedence amongst group reactions. As an illustration, VP of Analysis at Riot Platforms, Pierre Rochard, vouched for Ulbricht’s trigger and the bitcoin strategic reserve.

“After liberating Ross Ulbricht, the coverage agenda ought to give attention to establishing the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. Urgency and focus is required, accumulating bitcoin is clearly a far better strategic precedence than ‘crypto laws’ or different distractions,” Rochard posted on X.

Even pro-Bitcoin Wyoming senator Cynthia Lummis posted an all-caps message: “We’re going to construct a strategic Bitcoin reserve.”

Coinbase’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, took X to congratulate the brand new crypto-stance of the Congress, which officers had been additionally elected, underscoring the voting energy of the “crypto voter.”

“Welcome to the brand new members of America’s most pro-crypto Congress ever… 219+ pro-crypto candidates and counting have now been elected to the Home & Senate. Tonight, the crypto voter has spoken decisively throughout social gathering traces and key races throughout the nation. Individuals disproportionately care about crypto and need clear guidelines of the highway for digital belongings. We look ahead to working with the brand new Congress to ship it,” Armstrong wrote.

Polymarket Additionally Reported The Bitcoin Beat

The crypto-native prediction market Polymarket signaled favorable odds for Republican candidate Trump all day. Regardless of some volatility over the weekend, particularly in Pennsylvania, the Polymarket odds stored signaling a optimistic end result for Republicans and Trump. The principle market had over $3,6 billion in quantity in response to the platform’s info.

“Thousands and thousands of persons are tuning into Polymarket proper now to get a clearer sense of what is taking place. Welcome to the way forward for information,” the corporate posted by its official X account when odds began to favor Trump closely on the finish of the journey.

With bitcoin reaching a new-historic value and Polymarket closing the betting markets for the presidential election after calls from AP, Fox Information and NBC, these now appear as two new sources to know U.S. politics that is likely to be beginning a brand new increase to a broader public.

MADRID — Ten days after dropping 4-0 in El Clásico, Actual Madrid didn’t simply must beat AC Milan on Tuesday. They wanted a press release win. There wanted to be proof that this group was beginning to jell, that coach Carlo Ancelotti had the solutions, and that the brand new, Kylian Mbappé-led undertaking was headed in the proper route.

As an alternative, Tuesday’s 3-1 defeat on the Santiago Bernabeu was extra of the identical: extra proof that one thing has gone badly mistaken for the Spanish and European champions, and one other trace that the kings of Europe would possibly simply, unthinkably, battle to progress from the Champions League 36-team section after two losses in 4 video games.

Madrid’s efficiency towards Milan was harking back to what we noticed of their 5-2 comeback win towards Borussia Dortmund two weeks in the past. However it was simply the unhealthy elements, with not one of the good. There was one other disappointing, disjointed first half, going 2-1 down. However this time, there was no spirited, Vinícius Júnior-inspired second-half fightback to emerge victorious.

As an alternative, the night time bought worse and worse. Ancelotti tried all the things, making 5 substitutions — throwing on Eduardo Camavinga, Brahim Díaz, Dani Ceballos, Rodrygo and Fran García within the second half — in a bid to jolt the group into life. It solely added to the confusion. By the top, Madrid had created loads of possibilities — 23 photographs, 10 of them on course — and an xG (anticipated objectives) of two.44, however only one purpose scored.

There have been moments when it felt like a special final result was doable, which may have sparked yet one more Madrid turnaround. Antonio Rüdiger had a second-half purpose — which might have made it 2-3 with 10 minutes left — disallowed for offside. Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan made a late, point-blank save from Diaz’s header. However total, this was an evening to neglect for Madrid.

Nothing fairly got here off. There have been wildly, nearly comically off-target photographs from gamers as gifted as Luka Modric and Jude Bellingham. There was Mbappé, lacking probability after probability. He ended the sport with eight photographs, however simply three of them on course, and an xG of 0.54. There was frustration from the Madrid followers, specifically at some particular person performances, with whistles for out-of-form midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni when he was withdrawn at half-time.

Ought to it actually be this tough? It is a group with Vinícius and Mbappé in assault, Bellingham and Federico Valverde in midfield, Rüdiger and Éder Militão on the again. The names are elite. The group performances, a minimum of this season, are completely not. And on the touchline, the strain is rising on Ancelotti.

Madrid’s Champions League performances this marketing campaign have all been various levels of unconvincing. In opposition to VfB Stuttgart, they wanted late objectives from Rüdiger and Endrick to offer them a 3-1 win. At Lille, they misplaced 1-0, having missed quite a few possibilities. The 5-2 comeback towards Dortmund was thrilling, powered by a career-best second-half show from Vinicius, however it got here after an equally troubling first half.

It is arduous to disregard the affect that Mbappé’s long-anticipated arrival has had on this group, and its knock-on impact, the uncertainty it has bred within the positioning and standing of Vinicius and Bellingham. Vinicius has nonetheless, largely, starred this season. Right here, he gained and scored a “panenka” penalty which made it 1-1, getting Madrid again into the sport after Malick Thiaw’s header had put Milan forward.

Bellingham’s season to date is baffling. His all-round sport hasn’t been unhealthy. However by Nov. 5, 2023, in his debut season, he had scored 13 objectives for Actual Madrid. He has none this marketing campaign. Ancelotti would not appear positive what to do with Bellingham, returning him on Tuesday to the left-midfield berth he occupied for a lot of final season, having performed on the proper in latest weeks, together with towards Barcelona. Bellingham’s final purpose for his membership got here 176 days in the past.

Madrid’s defence, one in all their nice strengths final season, is now porous. They’ve shipped 10 objectives of their final 4 video games. Right here, Andriy Lunin’s purpose was repeatedly left uncovered, a wide-open midfield as a lot guilty because the backline. Milan’s Rafael Leão, specifically, loved himself up towards back-up right-back Lucas Vázquez.

After which there was Álvaro Morata, enjoying the function of archnemesis for the Bernabéu crowd, scoring towards his former group — his seventh purpose towards Madrid, having beforehand discovered the online for Juventus and Atletico Madrid — to make sure Milan went in 2-1 up on the interval. After his purpose, there was a touch of a smile, a finger to his lips, earlier than a extra conventional non-celebration towards a former membership. Morata labored arduous for Milan, dropping deep, an all-round centre-forward, the sort of function that Mbappé has by no means loved.

Issues might have been even worse for Madrid. Lunin saved at full stretch from Leão within the 52nd minute. As Madrid regarded for an equalizer, creating possibilities, Milan have been each bit as harmful on the counterattack. Tijjani Reijnders’ purpose on 73 minutes made it 3-1, and any comeback unlikely.

Madrid now have an extended, month’s wait to play once more within the Champions League, dealing with Premier League leaders Liverpool. Earlier than that, there’s a global break, and video games with Osasuna and Leganés in LaLiga. Winnable video games, or potential banana skins? By the point they go to Anfield, the strain constructing on the group and its coach could be prepared to succeed in boiling level.

“A star is born: Elon,” mentioned Donald Trump in a prolonged shout out to his greatest donor whereas claiming victory within the US presidential race on Wednesday morning. 

Trump’s win ushers in a brand new period for Musk — already the world’s richest particular person with a $260bn fortune — whose gamble on a knife-edge US election paid off as he’s set to change into one of many incoming president’s most influential political and enterprise advisers.

Musk’s promised function as head of a brand new Division of Authorities Effectivity will give the billionaire sweeping powers to suggest deep cuts to what he deems a “huge federal paperwork . . . holding America again in a giant manner”. 

Musk has additionally vowed to champion deregulation and can achieve affect over US coverage on synthetic intelligence, area exploration and electrical autos — all sectors that he has a private stake in via his management of xAI, SpaceX and Tesla.

“He’s a personality, he’s a particular man, he’s a super-genius,” Trump mentioned of Musk on Wednesday. “We’ve to guard our geniuses, we don’t have that lots of them.”

Earlier within the night, Musk posted a Photoshopped image of himself carrying a sink into the Oval Workplace, an offbeat reference to an identical picture that he tweeted when he entered X simply forward of buying the social media platform for $44bn in October 2022.

One other image on Tuesday confirmed him huddled in dialog with Trump throughout an election evening celebration on the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida with the caption: “The longer term is gonna be so 🔥 [fire emoji].”

Musk — a self-declared “free-speech absolutist” who mentioned he had beforehand voted for Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama — has moved sharply to the best lately. He aligned with Trump’s marketing campaign on points equivalent to immigration and regulation, distaste for the mainstream media and what he dubbed “woke” politics.

Musk publicly endorsed Trump hours after he survived an assassination try on July 13 and steadily dedicated extra time and assets to his re-election.

He contributed greater than $100mn to the pro-Republican America Pac, hosted city halls in key states equivalent to Pennsylvania, and gave away $1mn a day to voters who signed his petition in favour of free speech. On election day, he bussed Amish voters to polling stations who have been unable to drive themselves.

Musk has gained an enormous return on that funding already — Trump’s victory helped add billions to his wealth as Tesla’s inventory rose practically 12 per cent on Wednesday morning.

Within the months main as much as the vote, Musk wielded his personal megaphone — X — as its proprietor and the most well-liked account with greater than 200mn followers. He flooded the platform with pro-Trump messaging, allegations about election fraud and warnings that Kamala Harris would destroy America ought to she win the White Home.

Over the course of 24 hours on Tuesday, he tweeted practically 200 occasions, in keeping with an evaluation by the Monetary Instances, racking up about 955mn views, after averaging greater than 100 posts a day within the month main as much as the vote. 

Throughout an interview with conservative media character Tucker Carlson on Tuesday night, Musk mentioned: “My philosophy is you play, play to win, and never by half measure.” 

Critics have argued that Musk has injected bias into the platform’s algorithms and amplified far-right narratives and conspiracy theories with little or no proof, similtaneously reducing again its moderation capabilities and fact-checking.

Some have warned that Musk grew to become one of many greatest purveyors of election misinformation and conspiracies within the pre-election interval, pushing claims of potential voter fraud, for instance. An evaluation by fact-checking group PolitiFact of 450 X posts by Musk within the first two weeks of October discovered a wealth of misinformation, which acquired practically 679mn views and greater than 5.3mn likes.

However Musk’s electioneering has received plaudits from Trump’s inside circle and libertarian tech allies, who argue that his extraordinary intervention has bolstered Republican voices and introduced transparency to politics.

In a podcast on Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr mentioned: “I don’t suppose this race would even be shut if it wasn’t for what Elon Musk is doing with X and displaying individuals what’s happening.”

Shaun Maguire, a accomplice at Silicon Valley enterprise capital agency Sequoia Capital and serial Musk backer and Trump supporter, wrote on X: “The turning level was Elon shopping for Twitter”.

The X chief could carry with him to the White Home a solid of allies from Silicon Valley, together with tech investor and podcaster David Sacks and Palmer Luckey, co-founder of defence tech start-up Anduril, to whom he’s already making guarantees. Musk replied to Luckey on X that it was “Essential to open DOD/Intel to entrepreneurial firms like yours”, referring to the US Division of Protection and intelligence providers.

Buyers are additionally betting that Musk’s personal firms will stand to profit. Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives mentioned even when EV subsidies have been withdrawn by Trump — a famous sceptic of the expertise — “Tesla has the dimensions and scope that’s unmatched within the EV business and this dynamic may give Musk and Tesla a transparent aggressive benefit in a non-subsidy surroundings”.

Even earlier than the election outcome emerged, Musk made it clear he would play an lively function in US politics for years to come back. Throughout a livestreamed Q&A as he flew on a personal jet from Texas to observe the outcomes with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Musk pledged to proceed financing his America Pac regardless of the final result.

The X chief mentioned the lobbying group would “intention to weigh in closely on the midterms” in 2026 and search to affect elections on the district legal professional and judicial stage across the nation.

“One thing must be completed to counter the harm that [George] Soros has completed to the American system,” mentioned Musk, in a reference to the billionaire financier who’s a outstanding supporter of liberal and progressive causes. “We’ve to have DAs that shield the residents of their cities. It’s simply insane that we’ve so lots of our metropolis DAs that don’t prosecute crime.”

On the livestream, Musk fleshed out plans for a task main the mooted authorities effectivity division — which he has nicknamed Doge in a reference to the meme token coin he promotes on X — in a second Trump administration. The Tesla chief mentioned he wished to chop a “huge federal paperwork [that] is holding again America in a giant manner”.

“We’re going to do a complete evaluate of all the federal government businesses . . . there’s a whole lot of duplicate accountability the place a number of businesses even have overlapping portfolios,” Musk mentioned. “There’s lots of people that work for the federal government that we simply must transition them to extra productive roles within the personal sector.”

Musk mentioned the cuts could be completed in a “humane manner” and floated the concept of paying authorities staff for 2 years whereas they searched for brand spanking new jobs. He additionally mentioned he wished to see time period limits imposed on bureaucrats and to see a variety of guidelines considerably scaled again.

“We nonetheless need laws, they only should be needed. I liken it to referees on a discipline. You don’t wish to don’t have any referees, however you don’t wish to have extra referees than gamers,” he mentioned. “That’s loopy.”

Extra reporting by Cristina Criddle in San Francisco

Mr Musk has referred to the potential effort because the “Division of Authorities Effectivity,” or DOGE, the identify of a meme and cryptocurrency that he has popularised.

The businessman may additionally profit from Trump’s presidency by way of his possession of SpaceX, which already dominates the enterprise of sending authorities satellites to area.

With a detailed ally within the White Home, Mr Musk may search to additional capitalise on these authorities ties.

Mr Musk has criticised rivals together with Boeing for the construction of their authorities contracts, which he says disincentive ending tasks on finances and on time.

SpaceX has additionally moved into constructing spy satellites simply because the Pentagon and American spy businesses seem poised to take a position billions of {dollars} into them.

Tesla may in the meantime reap positive aspects from an administration that Trump has mentioned could be outlined by “the bottom regulatory burden.”

Tesla’s share value jumped by greater than 12% on Wednesday following information of Trump’s victory.

Simply final month, the US company in command of regulating highway security revealed it was probing Tesla’s self-driving software program methods.

Mr Musk has additionally come below fireplace for allegedly in search of to dam Tesla employees from unionising. The United Auto Employees filed unfair labour observe costs towards each Trump and Musk after the 2 talked about Musk supposedly firing hanging employees throughout a dialog on X.

Trump has additionally pledged to decrease taxes on firms and the rich.

That’s one other promise Mr Musk is probably going hoping he’ll maintain.