President-elect insists he will ‘deal fairly with everyone’ the day after stunning victory that left Americans bitterly divided and the world uncertain

Americans woke to a divided country and fearful world on Wednesday as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton led calls to respect the shock election of Donald Trump but warned of a fight to protect constitutional values.



As final votes were tallied against all predictions, the president-elect was on track to record the largest electoral college lead of any Republican in nearly 30 years yet receive 1% fewer ballots than Clinton in the popular vote, behind the losing candidate for only the second time in over a century.

Underlining the immense power he is now afforded nonetheless, Trump will begin receiving the same daily intelligence briefing as the president and was immediately offered the support of both a Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Senate.

Early on Wednesday, Trump delivered a victory speech in a Manhattan hotel in which he insisted he would “deal fairly with everyone”.

“Now it is time for Americans to bind the wounds of division,” he added. “It is time for us to become together as one united people … I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans.”

Later a sombre Obama spoke from the White House, where he will meet his successor on Thursday, and called on Trump to maintain the new-found inclusiveness of his victory speech.

“That’s what the country needs – a sense of unity; a sense of inclusion; a respect for our institutions, our way of life, rule of law; and a respect for each other,” said Obama. “I hope that he maintains that spirit throughout this transition, and I certainly hope that’s how his presidency has a chance to begin.”

Clinton also called for a “peaceful transition of power”, urging: “We don’t just respect that. We cherish it. It also enshrines the rule of law; the principle we are all equal in rights and dignity; freedom of worship and expression. We respect and cherish these values, too, and we must defend them.

“We have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we thought but I sill believe in America and if you do then we must accept this result,” she added in an emotional concession speech. “We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead.”

Many Americans were in shock: unsure what to say to their children, greeting office colleagues in tears or stunned silence, or planning to head to a bar. A leading employment website reported a tenfold surge in US searches for jobs in Canada.

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For many others, the result was a vindication. “He’s being given a mandate,” said Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway. “And that mandate is going to be somewhat different than what we’ve had, it’s a repudiation of some of the things we’ve had.”

Stock markets recovered from initial losses, though the Wall Street Journal reported that shares in defence contractors were a bright spot.

World leaders also pledged to try to work with Trump. Britain’s Theresa May congratulated him and said: “We are, and will remain, strong and close partners on trade, security and defence.”

Angela Merkel also pointed out that Germany and the US were still connected by values of “democracy, freedom and respect for the law and the dignity of man independent of origin, skin colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political views” but tempered her offer to work with the next president only “on the basis of these values”.

Vladimir Putin, who US intelligence agencies had accused of trying to manipulate the election in Trump’s favour, said Russia was now keen and “ready to restore fully fledged relations with the United States”.

Despite previous misgivings, US House speaker Paul Ryan also offered Trump a “unified Republican government” that would “work hand-in-hand” to help him deliver promises such as repealing Obama’s healthcare reforms.

“This is the most incredible political feat I have seen in my lifetime,” acknowledged Ryan, who credited the Trump effect with saving many vulnerable congressmen by their “coat-tails”. “Many American citizens have lost faith and feel alienated by our core institutions,” he said. “But Donald Trump heard a voice out in the country that no one else heard.

“There is no doubt that our democracy can be very messy and we do remain a sharply divided country but now we have to work to heal the divisions of the campaign,” added Ryan. “This needs to be a time of redemption, not a time of recrimination.”

For Democrats however, a collapse of some 6 million in their national vote since 2012 and a decisive swing toward Trump in Rust Belt states stirred an immediate debate about the party’s future direction.

Our Revolution, a campaign group set up Bernie Sanders after his defeat by Clinton in the Democratic primary, said the election demonstrated “what most Americans knew since the beginning of the primaries: the political elite of both parties, the economists, and the media are completely out of touch with the American electorate”.

“Those of us who want a more equitable and inclusive America need to chart a new course that represents the needs of middle income and working families,” it added in a statement.

Despite a small shift toward Trump in the finely balanced swing state of Florida, analysis of his victory showed it relied almost entirely on converting white working-class voters in five Rust Belt states previously won by Obama: Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Clinton focused her concession speech on the need for social rather than economy unity in the face of Trump’s unprecedented attacks on women, Muslims and immigrants.

“This loss hurts, but please never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it,” she said. “I believe we are stronger together and we will go forward together. And you should never, ever regret fighting for that.”

Dressed in black rather than the white suit she wore through final stages of the campaign, her voice cracked as she turned to the missed opportunity to become the first female president of the United States.

“To all the women, and especially the young women, who put their faith in this campaign and in me,” she said. “I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling, but someday someone will.”

Her running mate Tim Kaine said the nation had made it “uniquely difficult” for a woman to be elected to federal office and quoted William Faulkner: “They killed us, but they ain’t whooped us yet.”