Donald Trump's victory in the United States is being hailed as historic.

He is promising to turn around America, upon his return to the White House.

While Kamala Harris is yet to concede defeat, CNN projects Trump will secure 276 votes, while Kamala Harris will secure 223.

Plus, CNN projects the Republicans will win control of the Senate, while control of the House is still up for grabs.

Former Prime Minister Sir John Key told Ryan Bridge he's not surprised by the scale of the victory. 

"Once you've got polls indicating that two thirds, if not more, of the country think you're going in the wrong direction, when the big issues are the issues you're campaigning on, then a change is very likely," Sir John say. 

He told Bridge there is likely to be a downside for New Zealand - with Trump's proposed tariffs on foreign goods. 

"I think there will be some tariffs, he's talking about 60 percent in China and 10 to 20 percent around the rest of the world," he said. 

"But of course, that has some quite big repercussions, not only for us, but actually the consumers that pay that so I wonder whether that might be tempered a little bit," Sir John says. 

"There is some downside for New Zealand and I'm not going to sugarcoat that, and they concern me." 

But he says there are upsides as well - like a strong stock market and a vibrant capital market. 

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