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A Trump mandate? Clinton says give him ‘chance to lead’

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Former President Bill Clinton listened as his wife, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton spoke in New York today. Clinton conceded the presidency to Donald Trump in a phone call early this morning, a stunning end to a campaign that appeared poised right up until Election Day to make her the first woman elected U.S. president.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Former President Bill Clinton applauded as his wife, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton spoke in New York today. Clinton conceded the presidency to Donald Trump in a phone call early this morning, a stunning end to a campaign that appeared poised right up until Election Day to make her the first woman elected U.S. president.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Hillary Clinton, holding hands with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, waved to a crowd today outside a New York hotel as she arrived to speak to her staff and supporters after losing the race for the White House.

WASHINGTON >> Emboldened Republicans claimed a mandate Wednesday for President-elect Donald Trump after his astonishing election triumph, and an emotional Hillary Clinton told crestfallen supporters the GOP victor deserved a “chance to lead.” President Barack Obama pledged a smooth transition of power.

“We are now all rooting for his success in uniting and leading the country,” the president said of the president-elect, the man who spent years questioning Obama’s birthplace and challenging the legitimacy of his presidency. Obama, who had declared Trump unfit for the presidency, invited him to the White House Thursday.

Trump was uncharacteristically quiet in the aftermath of his triumph and made no public appearances Wednesday. He huddled with jubilant, sleep-deprived advisers at his eponymous skyscraper in Manhattan, beginning the daunting task of setting up an administration that will take power in just over two months. He also met with Vice President-elect Mike Pence and took calls from supporters, family and friends, according to spokeswoman Hope Hicks.

After struggling for months with Trump’s takeover of their party, Republican leaders embraced the businessman in victory. House Speaker Paul Ryan, who was lukewarm in his support throughout the campaign, praised him for pulling off “the most incredible political feat I have seen in my lifetime.”

“He just earned a mandate,” Ryan declared.

Indeed, Trump will take office in January with Congress fully in his party’s control, giving him strength to try to pass his agenda and turn the Supreme Court in a conservative direction. Even Republicans were stunned by the scope of their electoral success, including many who had been privately predicting Trump’s defeat.

Clinton’s emotions were raw as she addressed a crowd of supporters, eyes wet with tears, who gathered in a New York ballroom. She said the crushing loss was “painful and it will be for a long time” and acknowledged that the nation was “more divided than we thought.”

Still, Clinton was gracious in defeat, declaring that “Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead.”

With several million votes still to be counted, Clinton held a narrow lead in the nationwide popular vote. Most of the outstanding votes appeared to be in Democratic-leaning states, with the biggest chunk in California, a state Clinton overwhelmingly won. With almost 125 million votes counted, The Associated Press tally had Clinton with 47.7 percent and Trump with 47.5 percent.

Trump’s sweep of the battleground states that decided the election was commanding. He carried Florida, Ohio and North Carolina, three of the election’s biggest prizes, and snatched reliably Democratic Pennsylvania and Wisconsin away from Clinton.

Trump’s support skewed older, male and overwhelmingly white. His supporters said they were deeply dissatisfied with the federal government and eager for change, according to exit polls conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks.

Global stock markets and U.S. stock futures plunged early Wednesday on word of Trump’s election, but later recovered. The Dow Jones industrial average was up more than 1 percent in late-day trading in New York.

World leaders congratulated Trump on his victory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had a contentious relationship with Obama, called the Republican a “true friend of Israel.” British Prime Minister Theresa May said the U.S. and United Kingdom would remain “strong and close partners on trade, security and defense.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the first to reach out to the incoming American leader. Trump praised Putin throughout the campaign and advocated a closer relationship with Russia, despite Moscow’s provocations in Ukraine and elsewhere.

U.S. intelligence agencies have accused Russia of hacking Democratic organizations during the campaign, actions Clinton’s team saw as an indication that Putin was trying to meddle in the election. Trump notably did not accept the conclusions of intelligence officials.

If Trump makes good on his campaign promises, the nation stands on the brink of sweeping change in domestic and foreign policy. He’s pledged to repeal Obama’s signature health care law and pull out of the landmark nuclear accord with Iran. He’s vowed to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and temporarily ban immigration from nations with terror ties.

It’s unclear whether Trump, a highly unusual candidate, will embrace many of the traditions of the presidency. He’ll enter the White House owning his own private jet as well as a hotel just blocks away on Pennsylvania Avenue. He never allowed journalists to fly on his plane during the campaign, and his team has not said whether he’ll change that practice in the White House.

In Washington, Trump’s scant transition team sprang into action, culling through personnel lists for top jobs and working through handover plans for government agencies. A person familiar with the transition operations said the personnel process was still in its early stages, but Trump’s team was putting a premium on quickly filling key national security posts.

36 responses to “A Trump mandate? Clinton says give him ‘chance to lead’”

  1. yobo says:

    Slick Willy looks concerned in the picture. Could it be the Clinton foundation?

  2. Keonigohan says:

    clinton CARTEL is no more in power. Good riddance!

    • Keolu says:

      The irony of this. Hillary asking her backers to accept the results.

      • amela says:

        The country has spoken. Deal with it, move on and hope for the best. Hopefully Trump surrounds himself with smart people. Not a supporter but believe that the country will find a way to be what we should be. Don’t think one man can bring us down, it wont’t be allowed. Republicans have a huge majority so it’s their chance to fix the problems. Good Luck Donald.

  3. pgkemp says:

    good riddens

  4. Keonigohan says:

    at least hiLIARy and O are equals now….both have ACCOMPLISHED ZERO.

  5. sukebesan says:

    The incoming presidential administration needs to investigate ASAP both Bill and “Hilliar” Clinton, and the Clinton Foundation for illegal domestic and foreign activities.

    • amela says:

      They won’t investigate the Clinton Foundation if they do they’ll open up an investigation into the Trump Foundation and all the women he abused. Why would he want to do that. I’m glad he will finally release his taxes to clear his name.

  6. bahIggins says:

    You guys don’t like ‘crooked Hillary ‘?

  7. madmax says:

    I think all of these comments are from bots. The wording and sentiment don’t match people from HI.

  8. saveparadise says:

    Where are all the Hellary stooges? We miss you. I would love to see the look on your faces. Please post on Facebook. Priceless!!

  9. saveparadise says:

    Congratulations to Trumpo. What started as a joke actually reflected the thoughts of the American people. Politically correct is just a disguise for corrupt minds and patronizers. Insanity did not rule on this day. Let’s hope for changes for the better.

  10. kkelli4u says:

    Good women, but we needed changes, beside the same old corruption!

  11. wiliki says:

    Let’s hope Trump doesn`t try “hands on” management.

  12. fstop says:

    Just to show the magnitude of Pay-for-Play with the Clinton Foundation, watch what happens now to all the foreign, and other, contributions. When they realize Hillary will not be in a position to influence benefits to them, the funds will drop to zero. Poor Chelsea…

  13. 9ronboz says:

    Hillary Clinton says America “is more deeply divided than we thought”. The result was an AMERICAN choice

  14. lespark says:

    Who cares what Crooked Hilliary cares about. She should be worried about staying out of jail.

  15. titasmom says:

    Well one good thing about Trump winning… We won’t have motorcades making our traffic worse during the holidays (fingers crossed).

  16. Ronin006 says:

    Hillary would be President Elect Clinton today if it was not for one thing – stupidity. Yes, stupidity for deciding to use a private secret email server to conduct government business.

  17. AhiPoke says:

    Listening to some of the pundits reflect on how the Dems lost has been interesting. IMO, this was a repudiation of Obama, Clinton and the political class more than a choosing of Trump, although he worked hard and deserved the victory. IMO, it had little to do with race or gender and more about the direction of the country and hope being handed to someone with a better track record of accomplishments. While I still think there is a significant desire by many for a move towards the extreme left and more giveaways as our country becomes more lazy, at least for now that has been stopped. Now the right needs to deliver on their promise of more prosperity for all or we’ll be back again in four years just as divided.

    • CEI says:

      You got that right. It was a giant repudiation of little Barry Hussein and his divisive community organizer behavior. The crash and burn of Obamacare was starting to be felt by those who were victimized by it. The madness of open borders, his failure to calm the middle east, monkeying with social norms, floundering economy and myriad other incompetencies motivated the silent majority. Good riddance to him and the Clintons.

  18. saywhatyouthink says:

    Where’s that fool Klastri? On her way to Canada yet?

  19. bubbaButt says:

    You’re the classy d@uche 808… I see you’ve managed to dodge a coat-hanger back in the day…

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