Donald Trump is the 45th President of the United States, capping a historic and boisterous run that beat all odds, dismantled all expecta...
Donald Trump is the 45th President of the United States, capping a historic and boisterous run that beat all odds, dismantled all expectations, to capture a swath of America that sent out a shock statement to the world.
Trump’s victory was interpreted as a statement by a largely white population keen to regain a grasp on the country’s leadership that the candidate promised, fed up with establishment politics and angry with the news media that wrote him off.
His success was even bigger than the presidency as the Republican party won a crushing victory by retaining the House of Congress and maintaining control of the Senate.
Far from opinion polls prediction and mainstream American media that had endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, the brash, 70-year-old New York businessman, won a commanding 276 electoral college votes, with 44 yet to be tallied, to take him to the White House in January, making him the oldest president on the first term in American history.
Clinton, who did not give a speech at her campaign headquarters, called to concede and congratulate her Republican rival. Trump, who spoke shortly after from his centre at Manhattan Hilton, gave her a parting shot, thus: “She waged a very hard-fought campaign.”
He also commended her for having “worked very long and very hard” over her political career. “Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division—have to get together,” he said. “To all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people.”
Trump, who had been criticised by opponents for rhetoric characterised as divisive and racist, pledged: “I will be president for all Americans, and this is so important to me.”
Trump has never before held public office, but he will be joined in the executive branch by Vice President-elect Mike Pence and a host of politicians and business executives who rallied around the GOP nominee.
Although the vast majority of pre-election surveys had indicated a slight advantage for Clinton, Trump’s campaign had frequently predicted that a vein of electoral strength existed beyond the polls, pointing to his massive crowds at his events and online support.
“Very few people thought he would actually run, then he did. They thought he wouldn’t climb in the polls, then he did. They said he wouldn’t win any primaries, then he did. They said he wouldn’t win the Republican nomination, then he did. Finally, they said there was no way he could compete for, let alone win, a general election, now he’s president-elect Trump,” said one analyst on NBC news.
Various pundits across the US assessed how he pulled off what was unexpected by most and incomprehensible to many. States that had been pasted blue for Clinton deserted her in the hour of need. One after another, Ohio, Florida and North Carolina went to Trump, leaving Clinton’s blue firewall, and even that too was eventually breached.
The Democrat’s last stand largely rested on her strength in the Midwest, but traditional working-class white people, particularly ones without college education deserted the party in droves.
Analysts recalled the many goofs Trump made in the campaign but noted none of it mattered on voting day. To add to his bullet-proof image, analysts yesterday said he ran against the Democrats, then against the powers in his party, and beat them all.
