There is a “great buzz of excitement” in Florida as people in the state celebrate the likely return of Donald Trump to the White House. 

While Mr Trump lost the 2020 election, he won in Florida and after his ejection from the White House moved to the state to live. 

Now, for the third election in a row, the Sunshine State has voted again to send him back to Washington to serve as President of the United States. 

On Newstalk Breakfast, reporter Josh Crosbie, who is in Palm Beach, said Mr Trump is hugely popular in his adopted home state.  

“The polls closed at 7 but by 8 it was being called that Trump has Florida in the bag,” he said. 

“He was getting over 1.4 million more votes than Kamala - this is a 14 point lead. 

“If you look back to 2020 against Biden, that was only four points. 

“That just shows you the surge and the support for Trump in Florida - the map of the state is red, red, red with a few pockets of blue.” 

Mr Trump is expected to give a victory address at a rally in Palm Beach and Josh said the city is “alive with Trump fans”, all eager to hear from the next President. 

“They have their flags, they have their matching outfits, I met a guy from Australia, I met a guy from the Philippines,” he said.  

“There’s a great buzz of excitement. The night is certainly young here in Florida.” 

By contrast, presenter of The Hard Shoulder Kieran Cuddihy, who is in New York City, said the atmosphere in the solidly blue state was one of quiet devastation. 

“This race is run,” he said. 

“It is so muted, the reaction. 

“It was like watching the air being sucked out of a balloon over the last few hours.” 

An unhappy country

Kieran said people knew Kamala Harris was unlikely to win almost as soon as polls closed in states on the East Coast. 

“It was when that exit poll was released and we learnt two things then that were headwinds for Kamala Harris for the next few hours,” he said. 

“Turnout was much bigger than expected - that means that all of the polling that had been done over the course of the campaign, you’ve got to discard that now. 

“So, if turnout is higher, polling is all skewed, so forget that. 

“Then what does the exit poll show? A dissatisfaction rating of nearly 60% with Joe Biden. 

“How are you going to win the Presidency if you’re Joe Biden’s Vice President and the dissatisfaction rate is that high?” 

The Hard Shoulder will broadcast live from New York City this afternoon with all the latest results and analysis.

Main image: Trump supporters in Florida. Picture by: Newstalk