Associated Press
Donald Trump is projected to win the electoral votes necessary to become the next president of the United States, according to the Associated Press.
The billionaire businessman bested Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in a stunning upset after entering Election Day as the underdog.
Clinton conceded to Trump over the phone shortly before his early morning victory speech, less than an hour after campaign chairman John Podesta addressed her supporters the Javits Center in Manhattan saying they were not ready to give up on the race.
In a notably humble tone, Trump congratulated Clinton for running a tough campaign in his victory speech, saying, “We owe [Clinton] a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country.”
Trump also thanked members of his campaign, giving shoutouts to Rudy Giuliani, Chris Christie, Jeff Sessions, Ben Carson and Mike Huckabee. Trump called Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, “a very special person who believed me” and “an unbelievable star.”
Despite repeatedly receiving criticism throughout his campaign for taking what some described as a devisive tone, Trump took a graceful and concilllatory tone in his address to the nation. “While the campaign is over, our work on this movement is really just beginning,” he said to the cheering crowd of supporters.
Trump pledged to bring the country together following the historically contentious campaign. “I pledge to be a president for all Americans,” said Trump. “Working together, we will begin the urgent task of rebuilding our nation and renewing the American dream.”
Trump defied nearly all polls by flipping multiple states President Obama won in both of his presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012 including Ohio, Florida and Iowa. He also carried North Carolina, a state Obama won in 2008 but lost to Mitt Romney in 2012.
Trump jumped out to an early lead, picking up victories in Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia and South Carolina. Vermont was the first state to go to Clinton. The GOP nominee quickly pulled further ahead after capturing must-win Republican stronghold states like Texas, Kansas, Louisiana and Nebraska. Trust in the polling leading up to Election Day took a hit early when Virginia, a state many polls comfortably placed in the winning column for Clinton, turned out to be far closer than previously projected.
Trump entered Election Day with only a 28.6 percent chance of winning according to FiveThirtyEight. As the night progressed, and Trump continued to rack up Electoral College votes, election forecasts from The New York Times and FiveThirtyEight started to sharply lean toward a Trump victory. Clinton led nationally 46.6 percent to Trump’s 43.3 percent in Real Clear Politics’ polling average before Election Day.
The financial markets reacted quickly as Trump’s victory became more apparent, with S&P futures ESc1 down more than 4 percent and Dow Industrials futures falling more than 700 points.
- 1.Mexico’s peso plunged to its lowest-ever levels as Trump’s chances of winning the presidency increased. Concerns of a Trump victory have weighed heavily on the peso for months because of his threats to rip up a free trade agreement with Mexico and tax money sent home by migrants to finance building a wall on the southern U.S. border.
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