Timothy Moynihan
In Motion Staff Writer
Nov. 8 was the 58th American presidential election and Donald Trump amazed reporters and citizens the world over by claiming victory in the wee hours of that Wednesday morning.
He happily gave his winning speech to a crowd at the Hilton in Manhattan saying, “Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division. We have to get together. To all Republicans and Democrats and Independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people. It’s time.”
His success was only part of a larger, crushing victory for the Republican Party, which retained the House and maintained control of the Senate, despite Hillary Clinton winning the popular vote by 1.5 million (and still counting at press time.)
Donald John Trump will be the 45th president of the United States. The 70-year-old real estate mogul — who is now the oldest person ever elected to a first presidential term —is capping a historic and boisterous run by an outsider who captured a loyal following across a swath of America fed up with establishment politics, the news media and elected officials. The incumbent president Barack Hussein Obama is expected to relinquish his power in a ceremony, as all other presidents before him, after his term expires at noon on Jan. 20, 2017. Then, president–elect Trump will be sworn in.
Stunned, confused, shocked and dumbfounded looks appeared on almost all of the faces of reporters who were covering the election live on all major television news stations. With all of the flare and pomp that was to be expected, this year’s election exceeded any seen in modern U.S. history.
Trump faced several challenges on his road to the White House, including allegations that he sexually assaulted or harassed multiple women, and several women making such claims came forward after the release of a 2005 video in which he bragged about groping women.
“Trump’s presidency is historic in the fact that he is the first true outsider who’s world has not revolved around politics, but mostly business. His election is also a historic shift for the Republican Party, which has shed its conservativism in favor of populism,” said Daytona State political science professor Trey Orndorff.
Tuesday’s election results are a strong repudiation of the entire system of Washington politics, not just the Democrats or Clinton. A long list of Republican leaders and luminaries came out against Trump, or at least refused to endorse their party’s new, de-facto head. Now, they are slowly creeping into his camp.
The Trump victory also marks a rejection of the mainstream news media, which extensively covered Trump’s scandals and self-contradictions. Polls showed many Republican’s supporters dismissed those negative polling reports.
Pundits on both sides suggested that Trump was not angling to win the election, moreover that he was instead interested in establishing a base of support for profitable post-race enterprises such as a reality TV show, endorsements and setting up more business and financial enterprises. But after such an acrimonious election, Trump is turning to building a team that can work together to implement his ideas for the country.
Hillary Clinton did not give a concession speech at her “Hillary for America” election night event, located only two miles away from The Hilton, at the Jacob K, Javits Convention Center. She instead let campaign manager John Podesta make a brief appearance under that massive glass ceiling so many had thought she was going to shatter, to tell them, “Several states are too close to call. So we’re not going to have anything more to say tonight. So listen — listen to me — everybody should head home. You should get some sleep. We’ll have more to say tomorrow.
“I want you to know, I want every person in this hall to know, and I want every person across the country who supported Hillary to know that your voices and your enthusiasm mean so much to her and to Tim and to all of us. We are so proud of you.”
It wasn’t until the following day that Clinton spoke. Media members speculated she hasn’t even considered writing a concession speech, so confident was she over the polls and media predictions.
“I’m sorry.” With those simple words Clinton, who thought she would wake up Wednesday as the first woman president-elect, crashed to a stunning election defeat to Donald Trump. Thus, ending her White House quest and possibly her political career.
Not many presidential candidates bounce back after such a close defeat. But even as Trump has said, “Hillary is a fighter, she doesn’t quit” at the end of the second debate in October, no one can truly know her mind but herself. Only the future can tell if she has thrown in the towel on her Oval Office aspirations.
In many cities across the United States, unhappy Americans took to the streets the very next day in protest of the presidential election results. From coast to coast followers of Clinton’s Democratic Party formed large demonstrations throughout the U.S. and at an anti-Trump rally in Portland, Ore. protesters confronted police. What started out as a peaceful march with more than 4,000 people quickly turned violent. Police publicly declared it a “riot” due to “extensive criminal and dangerous behavior” and called the protest unlawful, according to posts on the department’s Twitter page.
Although it was widely reported that of the hundred-plus protesters arrested in Portland, a grand majority had not bothered to vote in the presidential election. A check of Snopes.com — a credible fact-checking online site — said that such claims are unproven: “The data omitted important variables; the information only included 112 people arrested in Portland and not all protesters in all anti-Trump demonstrations.”