Following Tuesday’s high-stakes election, former President Donald Trump appears set to return to the White House, with Republicans also on track to secure majorities in both the House and Senate.

Trump’s victories in key battleground states, including Georgia and North Carolina, have moved him closer to the 270 electoral votes required to win the presidency.

READ ALSO: Sustainability: Dangote Eyes Planting 10,000 Mangrove Trees In Nigeria 

As of early Wednesday, his lead continues to grow as ballots are counted and media outlets project his advantage across crucial states.

For the third election in a row, the American electorate remains nearly evenly divided over Trump’s polarizing presence.

The race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris has narrowed in several pivotal states, including Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

These three states, which were critical in both Trump’s 2016 victory and President Joe Biden’s win in 2020, once again look poised to determine the outcome.

Current vote patterns in the Rust Belt indicate that Trump may be on the verge of flipping these states back into the Republican column.

In 2016, his victories in these industrial regions disrupted the Democratic “Blue Wall” that had held for six consecutive elections from 1992 to 2012, with a razor-thin margin of about 80,000 votes across the three states.

Four years later, Biden reclaimed them for the Democrats by roughly 260,000 votes.

This time, early returns suggest the Rust Belt may swing back to Trump, bolstered by his renewed support in rural and exurban areas where culturally conservative, non-college-educated white voters continue to dominate.

If Trump holds on to his leads in North Carolina and Georgia and secures Arizona, his path to victory becomes all but certain with just one of the three Rust Belt states tipping in his favor.

Should he succeed, he would become only the second president in U.S. history—following Grover Cleveland in the late 1800s—to lose the presidency and regain it in a later election.

Results as of midnight highlight ongoing trends familiar to Trump’s base and Harris’s supporters alike.

Trump is building strong numbers in smaller towns, rural areas, and exurban counties, while Harris has captured significant—albeit, in some places, diminished—support in affluent, diverse suburbs around Philadelphia, Detroit, and Milwaukee.

A new factor this year is Trump’s modest gains among Black and Latino voters, particularly men, according to exit polls from Edison Research.

These shifts are evident in the former “Blue Wall” states as well as in other key regions.

The overall election landscape, despite Trump’s unique role, underscores the historical challenge of retaining the White House when an outgoing president leaves with low approval ratings.

Since World War II, the White House has often flipped to the opposite party in similar situations, as occurred in 1952, 1968, and 2008.

While popular presidents have not always guaranteed a win for their successors, historically unpopular leaders have presented significant barriers to their parties.

In a significant political shift amid ongoing conflicts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, citing a “crisis of trust.”

The decision, announced Tuesday, was met with immediate criticism, with opponents accusing Netanyahu of prioritizing political considerations over national security, especially as Israel braces for potential Iranian retaliation after its October 26 airstrikes on Iran.

READ MORE: Hardship: Let Us Intensify Prayers For Our Leaders – Sultan Of Sokoto Tells Nigerians

Replacing Gallant is Israel Katz, a close ally of Netanyahu, who now takes charge of Israel’s military strategy in Gaza and Lebanon.

Shortly after Gallant’s dismissal, protesters blocked highways and ignited bonfires, signaling public unrest.

In a further reshuffle, Netanyahu appointed Gideon Saar as the new foreign minister, succeeding Katz in this role.

The friction between Netanyahu and Gallant, both members of the right-wing Likud party, reportedly intensified over the strategic objectives of Israel’s year-long campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

The timing of Gallant’s firing, during U.S. presidential elections, took many by surprise.

Gallant had reportedly issued draft notices to ultra-Orthodox Haredi men, angering factions in Netanyahu’s government who oppose conscription, which some experts believe was a tipping point.

Katz, who vowed to secure the return of Israeli hostages and defeat Hamas and Hezbollah, took to social media platform X to express his commitment.

His tenure as foreign minister had already seen him take a strong stance, including barring U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from Israel for allegedly failing to condemn recent Iranian missile strikes.

The response to Gallant’s dismissal was polarized, with Itamar Ben-Gvir, a right-wing coalition member, praising the move, while opposition leader Yair Lapid called it an “act of madness.”

In the United States, a White House spokesperson noted Gallant’s valued partnership with the U.S. and expressed intentions to work with Katz going forward.

Escalation in Gaza and Northern Airstrikes

As Israel reshuffled its leadership, tensions in Gaza and Lebanon escalated further.

Israeli airstrikes on northern Gaza intensified on Tuesday, killing at least 35 people since Monday night, according to Palestinian medics.

The strikes targeted various regions, including Beit Lahiya, where 20 civilians reportedly died.

New evacuation orders were issued in Gaza, with Israeli planes dropping leaflets instructing residents to relocate south.

Israel has stated that these evacuations aim to protect civilians from conflict zones as its forces engage with Hamas fighters. Critics, however, claim the intent is to create buffer zones around Israeli-controlled areas.

Since the start of the conflict, health authorities in Gaza report over 43,300 Palestinian deaths, with the violence intensifying after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 Israelis and capturing 251 hostages.

The House of Representatives Committee on Renewable Energy has summoned several key Ministers to appear on Wednesday to account for over $2 billion in investments and grants allocated for renewable energy development in Nigeria since 2015.

Despite this significant funding, power supply across the country remains poor, prompting the committee to question the effectiveness of these investments.

READ MORE: If It’s A Fair Election, I’ll Concede Defeat – Trump

The ministers expected to attend include Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security; Uche Nnaji, Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation; and Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning.

This investigative hearing, chaired by Afam Ogene, representative of the Ogbaru Federal Constituency in Anambra State, aims to uncover how these funds were utilized and why they have not led to measurable improvements in energy access.

The hearings, scheduled for November 5 and 6, stem from a June 6 mandate directing the Committee to investigate the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) involved in managing renewable energy investments, procurement, and grants.

However, on the first day of the hearing, the ministers opted to send representatives, a move that disappointed Ogene and the committee.

Expressing his frustration, Ogene reminded officials that the Constitution grants the National Assembly power to summon public officers for investigative hearings.

He cited Section 81(1) of the Constitution, which states, “Each House of the National Assembly shall have power by resolution published in its journal or in the official Gazette of the Government of the Federation to direct an investigation into any matter or thing with respect to which it has the power to make laws.”

The Chairman emphasized that this authority also includes oversight of “the conduct of affairs of any person, authority, Ministry or government department charged, or intended to be charged, with the duty of or responsibility for executing or administering monies appropriated or to be appropriated by the National Assembly.”

During Tuesday’s hearing, Ogene invited the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning to deliver a presentation, only for Felix Okonkwo, a director in the ministry, to stand in on his behalf.

When questioned, Okonkwo admitted he was authorized to “take some responsibilities but not all,” prompting Ogene to insist that the minister appear in person on Wednesday.

“Tell your minister to appear before this committee on Wednesday. It is not meant to witch-hunt anybody. A situation where invitations are sent about three times to heads of MDAs and they would still not appear to make their presentations is not acceptable,” Ogene warned.

Similarly, when Suleiman Abubakar, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Science and Technology, tried to speak on behalf of his minister, Ogene instructed him to notify his principal to attend personally.

“You have no locus to stand in for the Minister. He should appear in person on Wednesday. We wrote to the Minister, not a directorate,” Ogene asserted.

Also summoned to the hearing on Wednesday are officials from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, and the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo.