Trump elected president: Time to ‘bind the wounds of division’

It looks like Donald Trump will accept the results of the election, after all.

The Republican presidential nominee declared victory shortly before 2 a.m. Chicago time, after the Associated Press declared him the winner and he said Democrat Hillary Clinton called to concede.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, complicated business,” Trump told supporters in New York. “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 hard fought campaign.”

“Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division,” he said. “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.”

Trump called his campaign “an incredible and great movement made up of millions of hardworking men and women who love their country.”

He vowed to give Americans opportunities to reach potential and spoke to the “forgotten.”

“The forgotten men and women will be forgotten no longer,” Trump said.

And he vowed to fix the country’s inner cities, and rebuild the country’s infrastructure, creating “millions” of jobs along the way.

The billionaire businessman and reality TV star was introduced by his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence:

“This is a historic night. The American people have spoken, and the American people have elected their new champion,” Pence told the crowd.

Trump clinched his stunning victory minutes earlier, after winning Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes, putting him over the 270 threshold, AP reported.

After a tumultuous campaign, a divided nation appeared to opt for change over President Barack Obama’s Democratic legacy.

Earlier Wednesday, Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said the Democrat had no intentions of conceding, telling supporters to go home for the night.

“We can wait a little longer, can’t we?” he asked supporters short after 2 a.m. Eastern Time at her Election Night party in New York . “We’re still counting votes, and every vote should count.”

“She’s done an amazing job, and she is not done, yet.”

As the results came trickling in, markets in Asia plunged, as investors reacted to the potential for a Trump presidency and what that might mean for trade and the economy. In the U.S., Dow Jones futures were also down as much as 600 points in after-hours trading.

Trump’s wins in battleground states Florida, North Carolina and Ohio helped to catapult him on the path to victory. Both Clinton and Trump had worked hard for the potential swing states in their final election push — Clinton spending her last rally in North Carolina.

Michigan and Wisconsin were part of Clinton’s victory strategy.

Trump’s strength with white, working-class and rural voters came out in full force on election night, helping to take key votes in those battleground states.

States that went blue for Obama didn’t quite do the same this time around — meaning some voters who voted for Obama last election opted to vote for Trump.

Earlier in the evening, Clinton notched wins in Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Illinois, Hawaii, Washington, Nevada, Oregon, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.

In deep blue Illinois, Clinton won handily, 55 percent to 39 percent, with 96 percent of precincts reporting.

Hispanic voters backed Clinton over Trump 86 percent to 10 percent, according to a Latino Decisions poll. Exit polls showed 43 percent of independents chose Clinton.

Exit polls showed women nationwide supported Clinton by double digits, with men more likely to back Trump. More than half of white voters backed Trump.

Trump’s strength with white, working-class and rural voters came out in full force on Election Night, helping to take the lead in those battleground states.

Trump’s commanding victory stunned political observers. Poll after poll had Clinton in the lead, even in the waning days of the election.

Trump famously said in the last presidential debate that he wouldn’t commit to accepting the results of the election: “I will keep you in suspense,” he said. And for the past month, he’s called the system “rigged.” He’s long said the media is working against him.

Before announcing his campaign, Trump was known to Americans as a billionaire businessman, a television star and an author. He spoke to many in the country who weren’t satisfied with President Obama’s presidency.

Trump gained supporters by connecting to working class Americans, some who felt left out in the economy. He spoke of support for a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico and cited immigration as a cause of many problems plaguing the country.

The path to victory was never going to be easy. From confrontational debates, to defensive ads, there was a sense of doubt from voters on both sides of the race — many questioning whether either candidate was qualified enough to run the country. From Clinton’s email scandal, to Trump’s leaked comments about women, exit polls across the country on Tuesday showed a sense of uncertainty that plagued Clinton and Trump throughout what seemed like an endless campaign.

But the tireless campaigning — which began for Trump on June 16, 2015 and on April 12, 2015 for Clinton — led to a huge surge in early voting, as it expanded in many states. Many who early voted said they did so just to get the nasty campaign over with.

FBI Director James Comey on Oct. 28 told Congress that a new batch of Clinton emails would be analyzed in a separate investigation. But Comey on Nov. 6 told lawmakers the FBI hadn’t changed its opinion that Clinton shouldn’t face criminal charges after a review of the new emails. That new investigation might have affected Clinton’s numbers. There were nine days of early voting between when Comey announced the investigation and when it concluded.

Clinton was seen as a way to continue the Obama legacy, and the Obamas, both President Obama and the first lady Michelle Obama were out in full force at Clinton rallies. The Obamas both spoke in deep support of Clinton at the Democratic National Convention.

For Clinton, the dream of presidency was a culmination of a long career in public service. Born in Chicago and raised in Park Ridge, Clinton left Illinois for schooling, then moved to Arkansas when she married Bill Clinton. After her years as First Lady of Arkansas, she spent eight years as First Lady in the White House. She adopted New York as her home and quickly won election as a senator there. Clinton served as Secretary of State from 2009 until 2013.

Trump from the get go was an unexpected Republican choice for president — many in the party bucked Trump. But he plugged ahead, and spoke to a large group of people disenchanted with the current political structure.

“I am your voice,” Trump told his supporters as he accepted the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention in July. There he painted himself as the plain-speaking, politically incorrect man who could turn around a bleak country.

“It is finally time for a straightforward assessment of the state of our nation,” Trump said.

Throughout the campaign, Trump cast Clinton as a dangerous candidate who is unfit to lead. Those are words Clinton in turn said about Trump.