The liveblog on the reaction to Donald Trump’s victory is now closed. Here is our summary, or check out the website for the latest analysis.
12:00: Here’s our midday summary on what is the day after the US Presidential elections, but may go down in history as The End of The World As We Know It.
The Republican candidate, Donald Trump, has won the US election. Voters could have chosen their first woman President of many years’ experience. Instead, they chose a celebrity businessman who tweets late at night about sextapes.
Trump pulled off the political shock of a lifetime thanks to the support of white, working-class voters, and particularly men. His anti-globalisation rhetoric has chimed with voters who feel left behind, but his anti-immigrant rhetoric also played on white nationalist sentiment in a county where whites may soon be a minority.
Before the election, most commentators acknowledged Trump’s popularity, but expected Clinton to have the advantage in terms of the electoral apparatus. In fact, one after another, key battleground states fell to Trump. You can read Stephen’s account of election night as it happened here.
The Democrat candidate, Hillary Clinton has conceded privately to Trump, who was unusually generous about her in his victory speech. However, she is yet to break her own silence after a night in which she started as the favourite.
World leaders have congratulated Trump with various levels of enthusiasm. Russia’s Vladimir Putin is a great fan, but Germany’s Angela Merkel has limited her response to saying she will work with the US on democracy. Some foreign leaders have had to eat their words after criticising Trump, but Britain’s Theresa May, at her canny best, said nothing.
Analysis of the election has already started. The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, called it “the latest global wake-up call” that the economic system was not working. Some commentators have asked whether the Democrats should have chosen Bernie Sanders, the left-wing maverick, after all. Others talk of a “whitelash” against people of colour. Our own Helen Lewis credits Trump’s victory at least in part to racism, sexism and the right-wing media.
11:23: Germany is a country that knows all too well how a democratically-elected, charismatic leader can lead to trouble, and the response to Trump’s victory has been markedly muted. After Angela Merkel’s initial view that the world is entering “uncertain territory”, her foreign minister said it was not the result “I or the German people wanted”, and that Germany must remain a place of reason.
Merkel pointedly said that co-operation would be based on “democracy, respect for rule of law and human dignity independent of where you’re from”.
1/2 Merkel ‘Germany and US linked by values. Democracy respect for rule of law and human dignity independent of where you’re from,ethnicity’
— jenny hill (@jennyhillBBC) November 9, 2016
For more on the debate on what Trump’s victory means for race-relations, <a href=”https://
1/2 Merkel ‘Germany and US linked by values. Democracy respect for rule of law and human dignity independent of where you’re from,ethnicity’
— jenny hill (@jennyhillBBC) November 9, 2016
“>read Maya Goodfellow on the “whitelash” sweeping the US and the UK.
11:02: My colleague Serena has a round-up of the world’s reaction to Donald Trump, President. Unsurprisingly, nationalistic strongmen like Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orban have given him the thumbs up, but China has also drawn some interesting conclusions. Read the whole story here.
10:55: There has been a bit of reaction to Jeremy Corbyn’s reaction. Some see it as a great bit of analysis, others complain that he is missing the point about Trump’s toxic rhetoric. You can read the whole comment and make your mind up here.
10:24: Here’s the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Donald Trump’s victory. He says it is an “unmistakeable rejection” of the political establishment:
“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.
“But some of Trump’s answers to the big questions facing America, and the divisive rhetoric around them, are clearly wrong.”
Corbyn adds he has “no doubt” that “the decency and common sense of the American people will prevail”.
But the Scottish Labour leader, Kezia Dugdale, is less diplomatic, calling it “a dismal, desperate day”.
Cannot believe my eyes – what a dismal desperate day
— Kezia Dugdale (@kezdugdale) November 9, 2016
09:54: The Scottish political leaders are not so enthusiastic – there’s history there. Back in the days when Trump was best known as a celebrity TV presenter, he decided to build a golf course in Scotland, the country his mother came from. The then-First Minister, Alex Salmond, rolled out the red carpet for him, and local politicians seemed willing to forgive all kinds of excesses if he put his money where his mouth was (the excellent documentary, You’ve Been Trumped, shows the President-Elect’s early antipathy to the media). This included evicting local residents and running roughshod over environmental concerns.
But when Trump discovered offshore windfarms would be popping up in view of his fancy new hotel, contrary to reassurances he said he’d received from Salmond, he pulled a hissy fit, and the relationship soured (Salmond publicly backed Clinton).
Now, Salmond’s successor, Nicola Sturgeon, faces the awkward prospect of a President Trump making a state visit to the UK…
09:41: The British Prime Minister Theresa May has offered her congratulations to Donald Trump. According to the BBC, she said the UK and the US had “an enduring and special relationship” and she looked forward to building on these ties. Although the guarded May is a very different character from the extrovert President-Elect, she has also inherited an anti-globalisation mandate. Unlike some other leaders, she kept schtum on her personal opinions of Trump in the run up to the election.
Full statement from UK Prime Minister Theresa May congratulating #DonaldTrump on election victory #USElection2016 #trumpwins pic.twitter.com/bD2ArDK9e6
— Press Association (@PA) November 9, 2016
The EU chiefs Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk have also sent their “sincere congratulations” and invited him to visit Europe.
09:38: The FTSE 100 has stabilised after a rollercoaster start to the day, but investors remain very nervous about Trump’s actions on the world stage. This goes back to the fact the US, along with China, is the engine of the world’s economic growth, and a trade war between the two countries could destabilise economies elsewhere too. You can read more about investors’ reaction here.
09:17: Some of the trends this morning on Twitter in the UK: “Oh America”, “The Simpsons” (the cartoon show joked about a President Trump), and “First Brexit..”
09:09: My colleague Stephen, who toiled through the night charting Trump’s lightning rise, has this to say in his morning newsletter, which you can sign up for here:
It’s not farfetched to believe that this may have been America’s last democratic election. The Republican Party has a majority in the Senate and a majority in the House of Representatives. Trump has one vacancy on the Supreme Court to fill and he will likely get two more. He has the power – and if you observe his life so far, and his business dealings, the character – to reshape American politics to his will. His only check are Republican politicians. Don’t forget, though, that John McCain, generally held up as a GOP moderate, endorsed Trump when he thought he was a no-hoper presidential candidate who had mocked him for his war wounds and said that he preferred soldiers “who don’t get caught”. Anyone looking on the Republican Party to limit Trump may look a long time.
Brexit doesn’t look so bad now, eh?
08:40: More reaction from Europe. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor and one of the most powerful politicians in the Western world outside the US, has said via a spokesman that the world is in “uncertain territory”. Trump frequently attacked Merkel on the campaign trail.
In August, the French President François Hollande said Trump’s excesses “want to make you retch”. However, the leader of the far-right Front National, Marine Le Pen, was one of the first European politicians to congratulate Trump.
The right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who erected his own fences to keep out refugees and other displaced people, hailed Trump’s victory as “great news”.
The Kremlin is also happy – President Vladimir Putin has sent his congratulations.
08:32: Politicians in the UK are reacting to the news. Nigel Farage, who campaigned for Trump, says he is “handing over the mantle”:
I hand over the mantle to @RealDonaldTrump! Many congratulations. You have fought a brave campaign. pic.twitter.com/txD3RFMQ2l
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) November 9, 2016
Farage aside, it’s safe to say most leaders were closer to the Clinton camp than Trumpland.
Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary, tweeted this:
It’s more the words he said in the campaign that sow the seeds of division.
History has taught us love must always conquer hate ❤️️
— Angela Rayner MP (@AngelaRayner) November 9, 2016
Her colleague, shadow business secretary Clive Lewis, regretted a jokey tweet he had earlier published about waking up to President Trump.
Oh ffs… https://t.co/C6hy6aHLMt
— Clive Lewis MP (@labourlewis) November 9, 2016
Rachael Maskell, shadow secretary for the environment, was despondent.
No, no, no. I fear for the world. The result is in.
— Rachael Maskell MP (@RachaelMaskell) November 9, 2016
08:25: How could Donald Trump reshape US – and world – politics? He struck a conciliatory tone in his victory speech, but his rhetoric over the campaign has been divisive, and he has enjoyed support from the far-right. Here are some of the issues that could most concern progressives.
08:04: And the markets in the UK have opened. Here’s the FTSE 100.
The FTSE 100, the index of the UK’s biggest companies, is down 1.14 per cent, while the FTSE 250 is down 1.64 per cent.
08:01: “Now there can be no doubt about it”, says Andrew Neil on the BBC, after confirmation that Trump has won Wisconsin. Seems he can’t quite bring himself to say “Donald Trump” and “President of the United States” in one sentence yet.
07:45: Donald Trump, President elect, makes his victory speech.
Trump and family now parading on the stage as the BBC joins other outlets in predicting Pennsylvania for the Republican candidate.
To cheers of USA, Trump says: “Sorry to keep you waiting, complicated business.”
“I just received a call from Secretary Clinton. She congratulated us – it’s about us – on our victory and I congratulated her and her family on a very very hard-fought campaign.”
Trump is gracious for the first time about his rival, the woman he termed “crooked Hillary Clinton”, praising her long years of service – “and I mean that very sincerely”.
He says it is time for the US public “to come together as one united people” and pledges he will be “President for all Americans and this is so important for me”.
“Perhaps there were a few people” who didn’t support him before, he said, but he was “reaching out” to them to help unify the country.
“Ours was not a campaign, but rather an incredible, and great movement,” he says.
“It’s a movement comprised of Americans from all races, religions, backgrounds and beliefs who want the American government to serve the people, and serve the people it will.”
He says the US has “tremendous potential” and the “forgotten men and women of this country will be forgotten no longer”.
Trump pledges to fix inner cities and rebuild infrastructure, which he says will “become, by the way, second to none”.
He says there will be more help for veterans.
At a time when markets around the world are tumbling, he promises to double economic growth.
Trump repeatedly promises to renew the American dream. “America will no longer settle for anything less than the best,” he says to cheers. “We must reclaim our country’s destiny.”
With other nations, “we will seek common ground, not hostility”, he declares.
Trump ends by thanking his parents “who are looking down”, his sisters, who he says are very shy, and his brother. Then he thanks his immediate family “for putting up with all of those hours”. He says “this political stuff was nasty and it’s tough”.
07:41: Mike Pence, the Vice-President elect, says: “America has elected a new President.” He says it’s hard to express the honour he feels to “serve as vice-President of the United States of America” and says he is “grateful to God for his amazing grace”.
He now introduces “the President Elect of the United States of America, Donald Trump”
If you didn’t know much about Pence, here’s a take of his appearance during the campaign debates.
07:40: Fox News has called it for Donald Trump, moments after Clinton reportedly conceded privately on the phone to the Republican candidate.
07:36: For those of you just waking up, or who think you might be having some kind of nightmare, this is what has happened while you were asleep.
When the polls closed yesterday, Hillary Clinton, the Democrat nominee, was the favourite to win. But overnight, things changed dramatically.
It seems a surge of support for Trump, particularly from white, working-class men, helped him capture key battleground states like Pennsylvania and Florida.
The stunned silence at Clinton campaign headquarters was only broken when the campaign chairman told attendees at an election party to go home.
07:31: The Associated Press has reported: “Donald Trump elected President.” It says he has won Wisconsin, which gives him 10 electoral votes, and will push him over the 270 threshold. Politico’s website simply says: “President Trump”. Journalists following the Clinton campaign report that she has conceded on the phone.
07:20: So, with no official concession from Clinton, what happens now? Here are two scenarios:
- After votes are counted, the results are for Trump and Clinton concedes in the morning. It’s the middle of the night right now in the US, so that could be midday in the UK.
- Clinton wins the popular vote, Trump wins the electoral votes, and the result comes down to the line, in the style of the 2000 election. If there’s a recount, we could be kept in suspense for a while.
07:04: In less than an hour, the markets will open in the UK, and judging by the turmoil overnight, it’s likely to be a rocky start. If investing at times of political upset is your thing, check out this analysis of the market reaction to presidential elections by Ray Sturm. Japan’s Nikkei 225 is down 5.36 per cent overnight.
Dominic Rossi, chief investment officer for global equities at Fidelity, said: “We are heading into a world of unprecedented political risk which calls into question the pillars of the post WWII settlement.”
While the dollar’s devaluation will have an effect, the biggest threat is Trump’s unexpected political actions, such as protectionist politics, he said.
06:57: Well, Marine Le Pen is happy. The leader of France’s far-right Front National party has congratulated “the new President of the United States”.
Félicitations au nouveau président des Etats-Unis Donald Trump et au peuple américain, libre ! MLP
— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) November 9, 2016
Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign has shut down the (now very subdued) party, and John Podesta, the campaign chairman, said there will be “more to say tomorrow”. It seems the Clinton team will get some sleep before making a final call.
06:49: Radio silence from the Clinton campaign. Monica Alba, a reporter following Clinton, hears that the Democratic candidate remains holed up in her hotel.
Wow. Pooler @danmericaCNN reports that Clinton campaign chair John Podesta just left HRC hotel to come to Javits solo. She is not coming.
— Monica Alba (@albamonica) November 9, 2016
Broadcasters are staying cautious for now, but print headlines around the world are pointing to a huge electoral shock. The New York Times says “Trump is on the verge of a stunning upset”, while the Washington Post says “Trump nears historic upset”.
06:42: Clinton’s supporters are crying, Trump’s are celebrating. The Associated Press is the latest news outlet to project a win for Trump in the key state of Pennsylvania,. But the result hasn’t officially been called. Why? The fact is, there are still votes being counted, and in some instances the lead is very slim. Some commentators on the BBC and MSNBC are suggesting that Clinton could win the popular vote and lose the election, and drawing parallels to the 2000 election, where Al Gore won the popular vote, but electoral maths and a poll recount crowned George Bush the winner.
Related
06:35: Van Jones, an African-American activist, has described the support for Trump as a “whitelash” against a changing country and a black President. He said Muslim friends were texting him asking whether they should flee the country. “This was a rebellion against the elites, true… but it was also something else. We’ve talked about everything but race tonight,” he told CNN.
Content from our partners
Van Jones: “This was a ‘white-lash’ against a changing country” https://t.co/fVi0JzyFOr #CNNElection #ElectionNight pic.twitter.com/mWuTQqN83C
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) November 9, 2016
06:30: The Republicans have kept control of the Senate, which means Trump’s party holds both Houses of Congress. This should in theory make it easier for Trump to pass legislation than it has been for Obama, although many of Trump’s views stray outside traditional Republican territory.
06:00: Good morning – at least if you’re a fan of Donald Trump. For everyone else, this is the news that the controversial Republican candidate appears to have beaten the first female Presidential candidate, the Democrat Hillary Clinton, to become the next President of the United States.
As polls closed, most pundits expected Clinton to take the world’s top political prize, but in a night of surprises, Trump clinched one battleground state after another thanks to a surge of support from white, working-class men.
Trump won the key states of Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and Georgia, and is expected to win Pennsylvania. As the news broke, the value of the dollar slumped on currency markets. You can read the full news story here, or catch up with our overnight live blog here. This blog will be charting the political hangover as the world digests what has just happened.
In a pre-recorded video statement, the incumbent President Barack Obama said: “No matter what happens, the sun will rise in the morning.”
Oh, and California legalised marijuana.