The American media is not only reporting a major political upset in the 2016 US Election, but also trying to understand why it happened.

US newspapers veered between reporting Donald Trump's victory in a sober manner, and reacting with barely disguised derision.

The Los Angeles Times' banner headline said simply: "Stunning Trump win."

Image: The Washington Post featured a picture of Mr Trump and running mate Mike Pence

The Washington Post announced: "Trump triumphs", adding: "Voter scorn for status quo propels upset of Clinton".

Its main report noted that "Donald Trump's campaign for president was rarely pretty and always implausible - at least that's what the experts said," adding that Trump had "proved all the experts wrong".


Image: The Wall Street Journal mapped out Mr Trump's win

In New York, the Wall Street Journal said: "President Trump. Populist surge lifts Republican to upset."

While it noted that Hillary Clinton had lost in key battleground states, the newspaper also reported that markets had become jittery.

The New York Daily News chose not to show a picture of the President-elect.

Image: The New York Times said the working class had spoken

Instead, on a full-page image of the White House - with the stars and stripes at half mast - it said: "House of Horrors," adding that Trump had seized the "Divided States of America".

It put the tycoon's win down to "wide revulsion" that had signalled a "national nightmare".

The New York Times said the working class had spoken, saying: "Blue-collar whites give stinging rebuke to Democratic party."

Image: USA Today described Mr Trump's victory as a 'stunning upset'

Its front-page analysis piece was headlined: "Around the world, uncertainty and fear that 'all bets are off'."

The New York Post led with the words: "President Trump. They said it couldn't happen."

USA Today described the tycoon's victory as a "stunning upset", calling him a "political novice" who was taken seriously by "almost no one".

Image: The Los Angeles Times described it as a 'stunning Trump win'

In an editorial, the Chicago Sun-Times advised: "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst."

The Boston Globe described the election result as "A Trump shocker".

While a column on the Dallas News website was headlined: "I had a really strange political dream, and I'm not sure I'm awake yet".

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