- Donald Trump has been elected president of the United States.
- Hillary Clinton conceded defeat, telling supporters that Trump must be given a ‘chance to lead’
- Barack Obama urged Americans to remember that ‘ultimately we are all on the same team’
- Theresa May congratulated Donald Trump and said she looked forward to working with him.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country was willing to ‘do everything to return Russian and American relations to a stable path of development’.
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A different tone was struck by German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, who reminded Trump of the country’s shared values of ‘democracy, freedom and respect for the law’. Chinese President Xi Jinping said he placed ‘great importance on the China-US relationship’.
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Trump has so far won 278 electoral college votes to Clinton’s tally of 218.
- The Republicans kept control of the House of Representatives.
- The GOP also held on to their Senate majority.
- California voted to legalise marijuana for recreational use
Analysis
Katy Balls, 6:00pm: Barack Obama has just given a speech on Trump’s victory. He struck a sincere conciliatory tone as he urged Americans to remember that — ultimately — they are all on the same team. He also said that while he disagrees with Trump on many things, he has told his staff to be as helpful as they possible can in the handover — just as George W. Bush and his team were to him. The Bush reference will perhaps serve as a reminder to Democrats that they have been to a bad place before and come back from it.
Freddy Gray, 5:20pm: Hillary Clinton may have been a woeful candidate, but she just delivered a classy defeat speech.
She did what everybody thought Donald Trump wouldn’t do — accept defeat graciously. ‘Donald Trump is going to be our president,’ she said. ‘We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead.’Tom Goodenough, 12.40pm: Chinese President Xi Jinping said he was looking forward to working with Donald Trump and that he placed ‘great importance on the China-US relationship’. Donald Trump vowed to crackdown on China’s illegal activities and said he would ‘instruct the Treasury Secretary to label China a currency manipulator’ if elected.
Tom Goodenough, 12.30pm: Barack Obama hasn’t had many good words to say about Donald Trump, but the White House has just confirmed that the current president has phoned his successor to congratulate him. Obama will meet Trump in the White House on Thursday ‘to discuss the election results and what steps we can take as a country to come together after this hard-fought election season’, a spokesman for Obama said.
Tom Goodenough, Midday: The Archbishop of Canterbury had this to say about Donald Trump’s victory:
‘As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, my continuing prayers are that the United States of America may find reconciliation after a bitter campaign, and that Mr Trump may be given wisdom, insight and grace as he faces the tasks before him. Together we pray for all the people of the United States.’
Tom Goodenough, 10.20am: Jeremy Corbyn has given his reaction to Trump’s victory. Here’s what the Labour leader said:
‘Many in Britain and elsewhere will be understandably shocked by Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, the rhetoric around it and what the election result means for the rest of the world, as well as America. Trump’s election is an unmistakable rejection of a political establishment and an economic system that simply isn’t working for most people. It is one that has delivered escalating inequality and stagnating or falling living standards for the majority, both in the US and Britain. This is a rejection of a failed economic consensus and a governing elite that has been seen not to have listened. And the public anger that has propelled Donald Trump to office has been reflected in political upheavals across the world.’
Katy Balls, 9.40am: The Prime Minister has issued a statement congratulating Donald Trump on his election as the next President of the United States. Theresa May says she looks forward to working with Trump to ‘ensure the security and prosperity of our nations in the years ahead’. ‘Britain and the United States have an enduring and special relationship based on the values of freedom, democracy and enterprise,’ says May. ‘We are, and will remain, strong and close partners on trade, security and defence.’
Will Heaven, 8.10am: Was there a boo during Donald Trump’s acceptance speech? Hard to tell, but it would make sense. The president-elect of the United States said it was a ‘hard-fought’ campaign. Well yes. Not long ago he was threatening to lock up Hillary Clinton if he won, calling her a ‘nasty’ woman and implying that she was a criminal. This morning he sought to unite America, praising her long service to the country. Of course, many British viewers will be relieved at Trump’s presidential tone; but for his supporters, it may be first of many disappointments. This isn’t what they voted for. The president-elect didn’t campaign in poetry – but he may have to govern in prose.
James Forsyth, 8.05am: President-elect Trump has just addressed his supporters in New York City. Trump, reading off an autocue, tried to strike a conciliatory note. He said that Hillary Clinton had called him to concede and then paid tribute to her public service, saying the country owed her a debt of gratitude. On the television, you couldn’t hear any of the ‘lock her up’ chants that have been such a feature of Trump rallies in recent weeks.
Trump then tried to move on from the divisive rhetoric of his campaign, stressing that he wanted to be a president for all Americans and to bring them together as one people. He implied that he wanted to get on with shovel-ready infrastructure projects as quickly as possible.
The speech wasn’t classic Trump or a classic speech. Much of it was devoted to a rather rambling series of thank yous to his family and those who had backed him such as Rudy Giuliani, Chris Christie, Jeff Sessions and Ben Carson. It is clear that these people can expect big jobs in the Trump administration which will not go down well with the Republican establishment. But today, the US political establishment is simply trying to come to terms with the biggest upset in US presidential electoral history.
James Forsyth, 7.16am: John Podesta, the Clinton campaign chairman, has said the campaign wouldn’t have anything more to stay tonight. In other words, she won’t be conceding tonight. Now, this isn’t unprecedented. John Kerry waited until the Wednesday to concede back in 2004. But once the Associated Press has Trump over 270 electoral college seats, it’ll be hard for Clinton to resist demands to concede.
Freddy Gray, 7.12am: John Podesta just said it ain’t over for Hillary. ‘She is not done yet,’ he said. But he has sent everyone at the Clinton party home. It would be quite an irony if, having made such a big deal of how important it was for Donald to accept defeat for democracy, the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton turned out to be such sore losers they couldn’t accept defeat.
Freddy Gray, 7.02am: People in Washington — the swamp Donald Trump has promised to drain — are stunned. This evening, the mood was excited. In his fiercely Democrat City, young men went out to buy cigars earlier, anticipating a Democrat victory. And then as 10 o’clock became 11 o’clock, the confidence started to evaporate. ‘Oh my God, he could win’, guests at the Washington Post party started saying. On the street, people came up to me and said ‘I can’t believe this is happening’. Now the whole city has fallen very quiet. The swamp has lost.
James Forsyth, 6.42am: Donald Trump has just taken another huge stride towards the White House. The Associated Press has just called Pennsylvania with its 20 electoral college votes for Trump, meaning he is just six shy of the votes he needs to become president with several states where he is in the lead still to declare.
Trump’s win in Pennsylvania is remarkable as the Republicans have, unsuccessfully, chased this state for years. In his first term, George W Bush visited the state more often than anywhere else—and still didn’t win it in 2004. It is now almost certain that a prospect that would have been laughed at just 18 months ago, President Trump is about to become reality.
James Forsyth, 6.06am: Donald Trump is at the door of the White House. He is on 244 electoral college votes, and is leading in sufficient states to put him over the 270 votes needed to become president.
Trump’s victory is the greatest electoral shock in US presidential history. He did it by winning the key swing states of Florida and North Carolina and then flipping Mid-Western states such as Ohio, Iowa and Wisconsin. It looks like he’ll add Michigan to this list. These states, which have seen manufacturing jobs disappear, were attracted to Trump’s economic message. The Democrats have paid the price for nominating a candidate with so much baggage and who seemed to embody the establishment that so many voters were angry at. With the Republicans holding their majorities in the House and the Senate, the Republicans will control both the executive and the legislature.Rob Crilly, 5.40am: For months, the Huffington Post has appended the following note to all its stories about Donald Trump: ‘Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims — 1.6 billion members of an entire religion — from entering the U.S.’ Tonight, writers have been told it is being dropped.
‘The thinking is that (assuming he wins) that he’s now president and we’re going to start with a clean slate,’ wrote Ryan Grim, Huffpost’s Washington Bureau Chief in an email obtained by Politico. ‘If he governs in a racist, misogynistic way, we reserve the right to add it back on. This would be giving respect to the office of the presidency which Trump and his backers never did.’Tom Goodenough, 5.30am: Hillary Clinton has won in Nevada. But the state’s six electoral college votes look like small crumbs of comfort for her, with Donald Trump still way out in front in the race for the White House.
Tom Goodenough, 5am: Donald Trump is on course for victory in Georgia, putting him within 26 electoral college votes of the White House.
James Forsyth, 4.35am: Donald Trump is now being projected to win Wisconsin by Fox News. If this call is accurate, then he is at the White House door. All of a sudden, the electoral college maths hugely favours him and Hillary will need to pull off some surprise victories to stop him.
Tom Goodenough, 4.30am: Sky News’ electoral map shows big swathes of Republican red. It’s now an uphill task for Hillary Clinton.
Tom Goodenough, 4.10am: Nigel Farage has had his say on what the result in Florida means…
James Forsyth, 4.10am: Florida has now been called for Donald Trump by multiple outlets. Add this to Ohio and North Carolina, and Trump is undoubtedly doing far better than Hillary Clinton in the key swing states. He has already taken two states that the Democrats triumphed in, in 2012. Clinton now needs to win Michigan, where Trump is currently leading, and Pennsylvania where she is ahead at the moment.
James Forsyth, 3.50am: Fox News is now calling the battleground state of North Carolina for Donald Trump. Obama won this state in 2008, but lost it in 2012 to Mitt Romney. But the Democrats had been confident that the rise of the research triangle would see them win the state this time round. North Carolina, Ohio and — it looks like — Florida put Trump right in the game. If he can flip a couple of rust belt states, which looks far from impossible at the moment, then he can win.
Freddy Gray, 3.45am: Fox News call North Carolina for Trump. That is huge. Or yuge.
James Forsyth, 3.30am: Ohio is called for Trump, and he appears to have won this swing state by a pretty large margin. Obama won Ohio by three points last time; it looks like Trump has won with a 12-point win. This is an extraordinary swing and big win for him, especially if it portends success in other rust belt states. If Trump can win either Michigan or Pennsylvania, then suddenly his route to the White House looks a lot wider than it does now. Colorado looks to have gone for Clinton, but that was expected – so it won’t offer them much relief. Given Trump is also leading in Florida, this race is looking far, far tighter than most of the pundits expected.
Tom Goodenough, 3.15am: The betting markets can be a better indicator than the polls for predicting who will triumph – and the tide is turning in Donald Trump’s favour. The Donald is now the favourite to win the White House, according to the spread betting company Sporting Index. Their final tally puts Trump on the 270 electoral college votes he needs to win, compared to Hillary, who they estimate will fall short with 268 college votes.
Freddy Gray, 3.10am: Fox News calling Virginia for Clinton is the first good news for the Democrats in a long while.
James Forsyth, 3am: It is 3am and there is some good news for Hillary Clinton, and it comes from Fox News. They have just called Virginia for her. With Virginia in her column, Donald Trump’s route to 270 electoral votes remains very narrow. However, it looks like he will win Ohio and he remains ahead in Florida. Trump probably needs Michigan to win. The networks are calling it a toss-up. But the Detroit Free Press is calling it for Hillary.
Freddy Gray, 3am: One thing we can say for sure – the polls have got this wrong again.
Freddy Gray, 2.55am:
The late-counting counties in Virginia are crucial. Arlington and Fairfax will break for Hillary – and there were long clues reported today, which bodes well for the Dems.
Freddy Gray, 2.45am: Trump wins Texas. So he was right! But the Republican vote there is still down by six per cent.
Freddy Gray, 2.35am: The affluent Washington partygoers at the Post election night party are suddenly starting to look a bit scared. They are checking their phones more and grimacing at each other.
Freddy Gray, 2.25am: Trump is suddenly looking in a much healthier position. Until Florida and Virginia declare for him, though, Hillary is still in command. But we’re certainly seeing a big, Brexit-like movement against the establishment. Working class white areas are dramatically up and pro-Trump. The question now is: which swing state is Trump NOT winning.
Freddy Gray, 2.12am: Trump has a surprisingly healthy lead in Virginia, with 80 per cent counted. It’s a state that everybody thought was trending blue.
Rob Crilly, 2.11am: Florida is still too close to call. With 91 per cent of the vote counted, Trump has a handy lead of 140,000 votes but there are still plenty more to come from Democrat strongholds, such as Broward County. Either way, Trump has outperformed a string of his most recent Republican predecessors in about 40 counties. There’s still some way to go. And don’t anyone mention 2000.
Freddy Gray, 2.10am: Still early, but Clinton has a huge lead in Pennsylvania. Looks like those suburban mothers — see the bluffer’s guide — came out strong for her.
Freddy Gray, 2.05am: Trump moves into a three-point lead in North Carolina.
Freddy Gray, 1.57am: Evan Bayh loses the Senate race in Indiana , big loss for the Democrats. Senate battle looking bad for them now.
James Forsyth, 1.50am: So, at ten to two in the morning UK time, the race is looking closer than it did at the start of the night. Donald Trump has a slim lead in the key swing state of Florida, Ohio remains tight and—interestingly—Trump is doing better than expected in Virginia so far. Add to this, the chatter that Michigan is close too because of larger than expected white working class turnout and his narrow route to victory still seems to be open.
Freddy Gray, 1.39am: If Hillary Clinton does win tonight, she’ll have to work with a Republican house, as her husband Bill Clinton did. The House has gone red — no surprise there. But will we see bipartisanship or more gridlock in Washington? Most Americans expect the latter.
Freddy Gray, 1.27am: Hillary is looking strong, and America is looking more polarised than ever What we are seeing, so far, is a more polarised map of America. Hillary is doing better in areas that were blue in 2012. In rural and depressed areas Trump is soaring past what Romney achieved: in Buchanan, Virginia, for instance, coal country, he is 78 per cent where Romney was mid sixties.
Trump may have the edge in Florida — it is very tight — but Hillary is winning in North Carolina and even in Texas. Trump scoffed at pollsters who said Texas was ‘in play’. It looks like he was wrong.
In Washington, the mood is becoming quite jolly. At the Washington Post party, early Democratic nerves have been brushed aside. Elite liberal America is beginning to breathe a huge sigh of relief. But is it too soon?Rob Crilly, 1.05am: It’s nip and tuck in Florida where the lead has kept changing hands. With 75 per cent of the vote counted, Clinton now seems to have a steady lead. She is on 49.4 per cent to 47.7 per cent for Trump. Still some way to go but worth noting that Libertarian Gary Johnson’s 2 per cent might be the difference. Clinton’s people are confident that this will be one of their backbone states – along with Virginia and Pennsylvania – that will deny Trump the White House.
Katy Balls, 1.00am: Over at the CNN bash, nerves are growing over the tally for Florida. At first Clinton was ahead but a tally then gave Trump a slim lead. The most recent poll suggests Hillary now has a small lead. The prospect of President Trump is the unpopular option with the ‘metropolitan elite’ tonight. Chuka Umunna has appeared on stage where he announced to cheers that Trump was a racist, sexist and and homophobe.
Rob Crilly, 12.45pm: This beauty is in prime position at the Trump ‘victory party’. It apparently cost $7000. Would you want to eat it?
James Forsyth, 12.27pm: The polls have now closed in several east coast states and Indiana and Kentucky. The very early signs are more encouraging for Hillary Clinton than Donald Trump. Although Indiana and Kentucky have been called for Trump, South Carolina—normally a Republican stronghold—is regarded as too close to call, meaning the margin is single digits. This is encouraging for the Clinton camp in the crucial swing state next door, North Carolina.
Rob Crilly, 12.06pm: Polls in Florida – a critical swing state – have started closing. Those in the panhandle stay open until 8pm EST (1am GMT). Watch carefully as the results trickle in as it will give us a crucial idea of how late a night we can expect. If Trump loses, then his narrow path to 270 electoral votes shrinks to almost unmanageable.Last time around it took about four hours for the state to be called. If it is much quicker this time, then the chances are it signifies a solid win for Clinton – and the national result could be called pretty quickly… maybe even before 3am GMT.
Rob Crilly, 12.05pm: What sort of honeymoon can Hillary Clinton expect if she wins? None. The Daily Caller, a right-wing news site, has this story on election day which is being propagated by the Trump campaign in a last effort to influence voting. But you can expect scrutiny of the Clinton Foundation – which has long been accused of running a cash for influence operation when Mrs Clinton was Secretary of State – to intensify with another Clinton back in the White House.
The exit poll, which we should treat with appropriate caution, is also encouraging for Hillary Clinton. When asked what the most important quality for a future president was when casting their ballot, 44 per cent said experience and judgement compared to 38 per cent for change. These numbers are bad for Trump as he needs this to be a change election if he is to have a chance of winning. Indeed, the Republican pollster Frank Luntz is already declaring that Clinton will be the next president.
After the American people have voted, what next for the US and the rest of the world? Join panellists including Sir Christopher Meyer, KCMG, former British ambassador to the US, for a discussion chaired by Andrew Neil on 30 November at RIBA, London. Tickets include a drinks reception. In association with Seven Investment Management. Book now.
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