Donald John Trump will be the 45th
president of the United States, capping a historic and boisterous run by an
outsider who captured a loyal following across a swath of America fed up with
establishment politics, the news media and elected officials.
His success was only
part of a larger, crushing victory for the Republican Party, which retained the House and appeared poised
to maintain Senate control.
The brash New York
businessman will win at least 270 electoral votes, according to NBC
News
projections, and will take his Republican ticket to the White House in January.
Trump had trailed Democrat Hillary Clinton in
polling averages for nearly the entire election cycle, but he bucked
prognostications by picking up states many pundits deemed out of his reach.
The 70-year-old real
estate mogul — who is now the oldest person ever elected to a first
presidential term — declared victory early
Wednesday, saying Clinton had conceded the election and that it's
time for the nation "to come together as one united people."
The Republican
congratulated his Democratic rival, saying that she waged "a very 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
criticized by opponents for rhetoric characterized 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.
Clinton — who was
secretary of state under President Barack Obama, a U.S. senator for New York
from 2001 to 2009, and first lady during her husband's presidency in the 1990s
— had been painted as the "establishment" politician, while Trump
campaigned as a political neophyte who could "drain the swamp" of
government corruption in Washington.
Trump will likely face
significant Democratic attempts at opposition after he enters the White House
in January. In fact, Trump has elicited strong outcries from liberal and
minority groups since he first characterized many Mexican immigrants
"rapists" in his June 2015 campaign kickoff.
Trump rose to
prominence in a crowded GOP primary field by connecting with voters who felt
they had been betrayed by Washington interests. The businessman focused his
early pitch on forceful answers to economic issues like trade and immigration,
which resonated with those Americans who had stopped believing mainstream Republicans
cared about their communities.
Many experts in
economics and policy studies have decried Trump's prescriptions as nearly
impossible to implement and unlikely to achieve their desired aims. But
supporters, and Trump himself, have contended that his calls for extreme
tariffs and mass deportations were opening salvos in forthcoming negotiations.
And Trump, who has
been famous for decades as a symbol of wealth and business acumen, channeled
the image of a negotiator throughout his campaign. The real estate developer —
who co-authored "Trump: The Art of the Deal" — has repeatedly claimed
that other countries are taking advantage of the United States, and the White
House should work to renegotiate its existing agreements.
Clinton, meanwhile,
had campaigned on a set of policy proposals made more liberal for her primary
contest against Sen. Bernie Sanders. While Republicans painted Clinton as too
liberal — an extension of Obama's tenure — many on the left expressed
discomfort with the former secretary of state, jeering that she was more
aligned with right-of-center candidates.
Yet for all of those
criticisms, Clinton had appeared ahead in the race, especially after her
well-received debate performances. But that lead became more tenuous when the
FBI announced just 11 days before the election that it was probing new evidence
regarding her use of a private email server while secretary of state. The FBI
subsequently said the new probe did not turn up any reason to charge Clinton
with a crime, but Democrats, and even some Trump supporters, called foul on the
timing of the original announcement: Clinton's campaign was damaged as voters
were reminded of a scandal that had faded from the forefront.
Trump also faced
several challenges on his road to the White House, including allegations that
he sexually assaulted or harassed multiple women, and several women making such
claims came forward after the release of a 2005 video in which he bragged about
groping women.
Still, Tuesday's
election results are a strong repudiation of the entire system of Washington
politics, not just the Democrats or Clinton. A long list of Republican leaders and
luminaries had come out against Trump, or at least refused to endorse their
party's new, de-facto head.
The Trump victory also
marks a rejection of the mainstream news media, which extensively covered
Trump's scandals and self-contradictions. Polls showed many of the Republican's
supporters dismissed those reports.
As recently as last
week, in fact, pundits on both sides suggested that Trump was not angling to
win the election — he was instead interested, they said, in establishing a base
of support for profitable post-race enterprises. But after an acrimonious
election, Trump will now turn to building a team that can work together to implement
his ideas for the country.
source:cnbc
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