Kurdish leaders congratulate President-elect Trump on election victory

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region’s leaders on Wednesday congratulated US President-elect Donald Trump on his victory in the US elections, saying Erbil looks forward to advancing its ties with Washington.

Trump stormed back to the White House and emerged victorious over his Democratic challenger Kamala Harris by securing over the required 270 electoral votes, with key victories in battleground states handing him the presidency following a campaign mired with legal battles and two assassination attempts. 

“I look forward to working together to further strengthen our partnership and deepen the bilateral ties between the Kurdistan Region, Iraq, and the United States,” Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said on X. 

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani also congratulated Trump, saying, “I look forward to deepening the partnership between the Kurdistan Region and the United States and working together to advance peace and stability in the region.” 

President-elect Trump’s defeat of Harris, who became the Democratic nominee after current US President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, makes him the first president to serve non-consecutive terms since 1892 when Grover Cleveland was elected. 

“We’re going to help our country here. We have a country that needs help, and it needs help very badly. We’re going to fix our borders. We’re going to fix everything about our country, and we’ve made history for a reason tonight,” Trump said in his victory speech after defeating Harris, vowing to lead the “golden age of America.” 

He first took office in 2016 in a victory over former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton but lost his re-election campaign to Biden in 2020.