America Has Spoken, Trump Accepts Presidency
In what is being called one of the biggest political upsets of our time, Donald J. Trump will become the 45th President of the United States.
Trump is the first person to win the presidency without having previously held public office or served in the U.S. military.
The President-elect spoke to the crowd gathered at his headquarters in New York City at 2:48 a.m. EST and confirmed that he had received a call from Democrat Hillary Clinton conceding the election. He thanked Clinton in his speech for her service to the country.
Such a beautiful and important evening! The forgotten man and woman will never be forgotten again. We will all come together as never before
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2016
BREAKING: Donald Trump is elected president of the United States. pic.twitter.com/yJpgfsAbc6
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 9, 2016
Congratulations to the next President of the United States, @realDonaldTrump. 'We The People' have spoken.
— Dr. Ben Carson (@RealBenCarson) November 9, 2016
He asked for unity, urging Americans to come together to begin the task of "rebuilding our nation."
"I'm reaching out to you for guidance and help so that we can work together and unify our great country," Trump said to those who did not support him, pledging to be a President for all Americans.
Trump told the crowd that nothing they want for the future of our country is out of reach, declaring, "America will no longer settle for anything less than the best. We must reclaim our country's destiny and dream big and bold and daring."
Excellent beginning for his Making AMERICA Great Again as Trump delivers gracious and great speech.
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) November 9, 2016
Mike Pence, 57, will be Vice President. Pence was a longtime member of the House of Representatives and is now the Republican governor of Indiana.
Mike Pence spoke at Trump headquarters before the President-elect thanking God and the American people for choosing to elect Donald Trump.
"The American people have spoken," Pence said. "The American people have chosen a new president and it will be my honor to serve as Vice President of the United States."
"I come to this moment grateful to God for his amazing grace," Pence added, characteristically emphasizing his Christian faith. "I am grateful to the American people for putting confidence in our team."
This massive upset could have significant repercussions, both economic and political.
Stock markets had risen in recent days, believing that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton would win. On Tuesday evening, they took a nose dive as Trump showed unexpected success in key swing states.
President Barack Obama phoned Trump to congratulate him on his victory early Wednesday morning.
Obama invited the President-elect to meet with him at the White House Thursday to update him on his presidential transition plan.
The president plans to address Trump's victory in a statement from the White House on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, world leaders have had mixed reactions to Donald Trump's appointment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent Donald Trump a telegram of congratulation on winning the U.S. presidential election.
In a brief statement, the Kremlin said Putin expressed "his hope to work together for removing Russian-American relations from their crisis state."
Putin also said he has "confidence that building a constructive dialogue between Moscow and Washington that is based on principles of equality, mutual respect and a real accounting each other's positions, in the interests of our peoples and the world community."
Japan plans to send a top official to Washington to try to meet with those who will be responsible for the next White House administration.
"We have been preparing so that we can respond to any situation because our stance is that our alliance with the U.S. remains to be the cornerstone of our diplomacy whoever becomes the next president," said Katsuyuki Kawai, a political aide to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen calls the strong vote for Donald Trump "a big shock," and the U.S. elections "a vote against Washington, against the establishment."
Earlier in the race, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault expressed concern about Trump's lead and said it could hold a cautionary message for Europe.
"We don't want a world where egoism triumphs," Ayrault said on France-2 television Wednesday.
Trump pledged to "do a great job," as President of the United States and said he hoped he would make all Americans proud.
