Republican candidate Donald Trump has been elected the 45th President of the United States of America.
Trump struck a conciliatory tone in his acceptance speech at Trump HQ, saying the country owed Hillary Clinton a debt of gratitude for what she had done and pledging to be a President for all of America.
He said: “Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division. I says it is time for us to come together as one united people.
“I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans, and this is so important for me.
“For those who have chosen not to support me… I’m reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together to unify our great country.”
Trump said he was going to set about rebuilding the country’s inner cities and infrastructure which he said would become ‘second to none’ and would put millions of people to work.
“America will no longer settle for anything less than the best. We must reclaim our country’s destiny, and dream big, and bold and daring,” he declared.
“I want to tell the world community that while we will always put America’s interests first, we will deal fairly with everyone.
The news of Trump’s victory came at 7.30am UK time when a number of US media outlets declared Trump the winner over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
And just a few minutes later NBC News correspondent Kelly O’Donnell tweeted that Clinton – whose later campaign was embroiled in a scandal over her personal emails – had called Trump to concede. Trump confirmed that at the start of his acceptance speech.
The businessman, 70, said he had congratulated Clinton on her campaign.
He added: “She fought it very well.”
Trump’s running mate Mike Pence, addressing supporters at at Trump HQ in New York, said: “This is a historic night. The American people have spoken and the American people have elected their new champion.”
More to follow…
