nbcnews) - America woke up Wednesday to a new and unexpected reality — Donald J. Trump will be the next president of the United States.
In a resounding rebuke to the political establishment, the Manhattan mogul and reality TV star was elected the 45th president following one of the most bitter and wildly unpredictable campaigns in the nation's history.
Trump, in an upset for the ages, defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton by running the table in battleground states across the country — from Florida and North Carolina to Ohio and Pennsylvania.
He declared victory Tuesday night before a large crowd of enthusiastic supporters, pledging to help unite the country after his rancorous battle with Clinton.
"Now it's time for America to bind the wounds of division," Trump said at the Midtown Hilton in New York City. "I say it is time for us to come together as one united people." He congratulated Clinton on a "very, very hard-fought campaign."
Trump said Clinton called him sometime after 2 a.m. ET to concede the race. But she did not address her supporters until several hours later at a Manhattan hotel, admitting "this is painful and it will be for a long time."
"I hope that he will be a successful president for all Americans," she said of Trump, in a call for unity. "We must accept this result and look to the future. We owe him an open mind and a chance to lead."
President Barack Obama, who campaigned furiously for Clinton, congratulated Trump by telephone early Wednesday and invited him to a meeting at the White House on Thursday.
But it was not enough. And now President-elect Trump is poised to be the first person to be sworn in as commander-in-chief without having held elected office or served in the U.S. armed forces.
His unexpected victory also dashed the dreams of millions of women who had hoped Clinton would shatter the ultimate glass ceiling and become the nation's first female U.S. president. (FullText)
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