Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States later this month after winning November's US election race.
His triumph followed a heated election campaign that sparked fierce debate online over everything from deepfakes of Kamala Harris to conspiracy theories around the assassination attempts on Donald Trump.
The campaign's impact on social media platforms was also huge, with TikTok revealing that in the week after Trump was shot at, the number of posts about him on TikTok increased by nearly 800%, while video views jumped from 1 billion to 6 billion.
Away from the viral headlines, people also took to social media in an attempt to get their heads around how exactly US politics works. With that in mind, here's some of the most frequently asked questions about the US election.
When is Donald Trump's inauguration?
Inauguration day will take place on 20 January 2025 and on that day Donald Trump will officially become the 47th President of the United States. Until then President Biden remains in the job.
What is the inauguration?
The inauguration is the official ceremony to mark the start of a new president’s term in office. It takes place on the steps of the Capitol Building in Washington DC.
When did the 2024 US election take place?
The 2024 US election took place on Tuesday 5 November 2024. A US election occurs every four years and the Constitution, which is the supreme law of the United States, stipulates that a president is limited to two four-year terms in office. Prior to a 1951 amendment to the Constitution, a president could serve an unlimited number of terms.
Who were the 2024 US election candidates?
Former President Donald Trump, who was previously sworn in as the 45th US president in January 2017, stood against the country’s current Vice President Kamala Harris. She stepped up to run in the election after the current President Joe Biden announced in July 2024 that he was not going to run for re-election.
What are the main US political parties?
The two main US political parties are the Democratic Party whose candidate in 2024 was Kamala Harris, and the Republican Party whose candidate was Donald Trump.
In US elections, the presidential candidates seek to build political support across different regions and groups and each of the parties contain a range of people from across society.
How do the parties choose their candidate?
The two main parties nominate a candidate by holding a series of votes called state primaries and caucuses where each party’s supporters decide who they want to run for president.
Primaries are elections that political parties use to select their presidential candidate and most states hold these six to nine months before an election. Voters choose their preferred candidate anonymously by casting ballots.
Several states hold caucuses, which are events where presidential hopefuls make appearances to put forward their case to be the party's candidate. After each of these, party members vote for who they think should be the candidate until the list is eventually whittled down to one.
After Joe Biden stepped aside in July 2024, he backed his deputy – Kamala Harris – to take over. There were no Democratic Party challengers and Harris quickly gathered enough support from members of the party to be nominated as their new candidate.
How is the president of the US elected?
The two successful candidates compete to win contests that are held across the 50 states and Washington DC. In total there are 538 votes up for grabs across the country and the winner of the election is the candidate who wins 270 or more of these.
Who can vote in a US presidential election?
Most US citizens who are aged 18 or over are eligible to vote in a presidential election. US citizens who live abroad can register to vote and request an absentee postal ballot.
When is the result of the US election announced?
Donald Trump was declared as the winner of the 2024 election on the night of the election, however it can take longer, such as in 2020 when it took a few days to count all the votes. If there is a change of president then the period after the election is known as the transition. This gives the new administration time to appoint cabinet secretaries and make plans for the new term.
When is the next US election?
The winner of a US election serves a term of four years in the White House so the next US election is likely to happen in November 2028.
This article was updated in January 2025.
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