After a bruising campaign and a close election, Donald Trump is the nation’s 45th president, a win that the New York Times called a “stunning repudiation of the establishment.”

Defying polls that consistently had Hillary Clinton winning by a margin of 4 points nationally, Trump took such key states as Florida, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Clinton called Trump to concede around 3 am ET on Wednesday.

In his victory speech, Trump was generous about Clinton, saying “she fought very hard. Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country. I mean that very sincerely.

“Now it’s time for America to bind the wound of division. To all Republicans, Democrats and Independents across this country. I say it is time for us to come together as one united people. Working together, we will begin the urgent task of rebuilding our nation and renewing the American dream.”

“It’s been what they call a historic event, but to be really historic, you have to do a great job and I promise you that I will not let you down, we will do a great job.”

Republicans swept across the board, taking both the Senate and the House. That will make it much easier for Trump to accomplish his legislative agenda, at least in his administration’s first two years.

On Wednesday morning, Clinton gave her concession speech, saying: “This is not the outcome we wanted or worked so hard for and I’m sorry we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we hold for our country.”

She encouraged her supporters to keep fighting for their values. “I’ve spent my entire adult life fighting for what I believe in. I’ve had successes and I’ve had setbacks. Never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it. We need you to keep fighting these fights now and for the rest of your lives. I count my blessings every single day that I am an American and I still believe as deeply as I ever have, if we stand together and work together … with strength in our convictions and love for this nation, our best days are still ahead of us.”

READ MORE: The New York Times

Tags:


  Save as PDF