If you stayed up on that Tuesday in November 2024, you probably remember the coffee running low around 3:00 AM. For those in the UK, watching a US election is basically an endurance sport. You’re fighting a five-to-eight-hour time difference while trying to make sense of "Red Mirages" and "Blue Shifts."
Honestly, the big question on everyone's mind was simple: what time will the president be announced 2024 UK time?
We weren't just looking for a casual update. We wanted the "call." In the US, there isn’t one central government body that stands on a podium and announces the winner on election night. Instead, we rely on the "Decision Desks" of major news outlets like the Associated Press (AP), CNN, and NBC. They use massive amounts of data to determine when it is mathematically impossible for the trailing candidate to catch up.
The Moment the 2024 Race Was Called
For the 2024 election, the definitive call came much earlier than many expected, especially compared to the four-day wait we endured in 2020.
Donald Trump was projected as the winner at approximately 10:30 AM UK time (5:30 AM ET) on Wednesday, November 6, 2024.
The Associated Press officially called the race after projecting that Trump had won Wisconsin, which pushed him past the 270 electoral vote threshold. If you were a UK viewer who gave up and went to sleep at 4:00 AM, you woke up to a finished race.
But the night didn't just "happen" at 10:30 AM. It was a slow burn.
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The first major cracks in the race started appearing much earlier. By 4:00 AM UK time, North Carolina was called for Trump. About an hour later, at 5:00 AM UK time, Georgia followed suit. Once those two "Sun Belt" states flipped, the path for Kamala Harris narrowed significantly. If you were watching the live feeds, that was the moment the mood in the London newsrooms started to shift from "too close to call" to "this is almost over."
Why did it take until 10:30 AM UK time?
You might wonder why, if the trend was obvious by breakfast, the official announcement waited. It’s because of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Pennsylvania is often the "Big Kahuna" of swing states. In 2024, the count there was painstakingly slow because of how they handle mail-in ballots. Unlike some states that process them weeks in advance, Pennsylvania law (at the time) prevented officials from even opening the envelopes until election morning.
So, while the world waited, election workers in places like Philadelphia and Milwaukee were literally feeding paper into scanners as the sun rose over the Atlantic.
Understanding What Time Will the President Be Announced 2024 UK Time
When people ask about the timing, they are usually looking for the "Projected Winner." It is a bit of a quirk of the American system that the "official" result doesn't happen for weeks.
Here is the actual sequence of events that happens after the news networks make their call:
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- December 17, 2024: The electors in each state met to cast their official votes for President and Vice President.
- January 6, 2025: Congress met in a joint session to count those electoral votes. This is the moment the result is "certified."
- January 20, 2025: Inauguration Day. This is when the winner actually takes the oath of office at midday in Washington D.C. (5:00 PM UK time).
For us in the UK, the 10:30 AM call on Wednesday was the "real" announcement. That was the moment the markets reacted, world leaders began sending congratulatory tweets, and the political landscape shifted.
The "Swing State" Waiting Game
The reason the 2024 announcement happened on Wednesday morning (UK time) rather than Friday or Saturday comes down to the margins. In 2020, the gap in states like Pennsylvania was so tiny—fractions of a percentage point—that networks couldn't safely call it until nearly every ballot was checked.
In 2024, the margins were just wide enough that the statistical models "crossed the line" sooner.
Key Battleground Declared Times (Approximate UK Time):
- Georgia: 5:00 AM Wednesday
- North Carolina: 4:20 AM Wednesday
- Pennsylvania: 7:00 AM Wednesday
- Wisconsin (The Decider): 10:30 AM Wednesday
If you were looking for a specific minute-by-minute breakdown, those four states told the entire story. Once Pennsylvania was called by several networks around 7:00 AM, the math for a Harris victory became nearly impossible, even though the official AP call for the entire presidency waited for Wisconsin three hours later.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Announcement
A common misconception is that the President of the United States is the person who gets the most votes nationwide. This isn't true. If it were, we would have known the winner much faster—or perhaps much later, depending on how California and New York finished counting.
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Because of the Electoral College, the "announcement" is really a collection of 50 smaller announcements.
In 2024, Donald Trump won the popular vote as well, but that didn't actually trigger the win. The win was triggered by hitting that 270 number in the Electoral College. This is why the focus is always on a handful of "swing states" like Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada.
Interestingly, Arizona and Nevada took days to fully report their final numbers, but they didn't matter for the "announcement" time because the race was already won in the Midwest. By the time the desert states finished their math, Trump had already given his victory speech in Florida.
Practical Advice for Future Election Cycles
If you’re planning to watch the 2028 election or any major US political event from the UK, don't stay up all night unless you really love the drama of small-town precinct data.
The sweet spot for UK viewers is usually 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM. That is when the initial "safe" states are out of the way and the first real data from the battlegrounds starts to solidify.
Next Steps for Staying Informed:
- Check the Source: Always look at the Associated Press (AP) for the most conservative, data-backed calls. They don't "predict"; they only call when the math is certain.
- Watch the "Blue Wall": In future elections, keep a close eye on Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. These three states almost always dictate the "UK announcement time."
- Ignore Early Exit Polls: These are often conducted early in the day and can be wildly misleading. They represent who showed up early, not necessarily who won.
The 2024 election proved that while we might expect a long wait, the data can sometimes move faster than the pundits. For the UK audience, it meant a morning of breaking news rather than a week of uncertainty.