P&J reporter Lindsay Razaq, in Detroit, Michigan
Barack Obama urged Americans to unite behind Donald Trump yesterday as defeated Hillary Clinton told supporters they owed him an “open mind”.
The outgoing US president, who has invited his successor to the White House today (Thurs), promised to ensure a smooth transition of power.
He called on voters to remember they were in fact “all on one team”.
And he added: “We are now all rooting for his success in uniting and leading the country.”
The billionaire businessman outperformed expectations in a series of battleground states, like Florida, Ohio and North Carolina, to clinch a surprise win on Tuesday night.
In a dramatic turn of events, he also obliterated the so-called blue wall of states in the Upper Midwest that had backed every Democratic candidate for president since 1992.
Michigan, which had not supported a Republican nominee since 1988, also looked on course to turn red.
Mrs Clinton had been leading in the polls right up until Election Day, despite taking a hit after the FBI announced it had reopened its investigation into her use of a private email server.
She appeared to bounce back following the news on Sunday that she has been cleared a second time and will not face charges.
But Mr Trump came through to easily secure the 270 electoral votes required for victory.
In echoes of 2000 when Democrat Al Gore narrowly won the popular vote, but George W. Bush won the White House, Mrs Clinton looks likely to win the popular vote.
She was criticised for not making a speech in the immediate aftermath of her defeat.
But yesterday she came out to address the supporters who had helped campaign to try to install the first woman in the White House.
Flanked by her husband Bill and daughter Chelsea, she said she hoped Mr Trump would be “a successful president for all Americans”.
Speaking in New York, Mrs Clinton added: “I know how disappointed you feel, because I feel it too and so do millions of Americans.
“We must accept this result. Donald Trump is going to be president. We owe him an open mind and a chance to lead.”
The failed Democratic nominee also acknowledged the country was “more deeply divided that we thought”.
And she told the “little girls watching” to never doubt their value, insisting someday “that highest and hardest glass ceiling” would be shattered.
After a polarising campaign marked by highly personal attacks, Mr Trump adopted a conciliatory tone in his victory speech.
He pledged to be “president for all Americans”, adding: “It is time for us to come together as one united people.
“No dream is too big, no challenge is too great. Nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach.
“America will no longer settle for anything less than the best.”
As well as winning the president, the Republicans retained control of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Prime Minister Theresa May wrote to Mr Trump to congratulate him on his victory yesterday, declaring that Britain and America will remain “strong and close partners”.
But First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the outcome would be greeted with “a real sense of anxiety” around the world.
Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn said Mr Trump’s victory was “an unmistakable rejection of a political establishment and an economic system that simply isn’t working for most people”, but warned the answers he is offering to America’s problems are “clearly wrong”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent Mr Trump a telegram of congratulations, expressing “his hope to work together for removing Russian-American relations from their crisis state”.
