Millions of voters were shocked as Donald J. Trump, billionaire business tycoon and newly established politician, was declared the President-elect for the office of the forty-fifth President of the United States of America. This comes as a surprise to most citizens, even Trump’s own supporters, as entry and exit polling suggested that former Secretary of State and democratic nominee Hillary R. Clinton, had a comfortable lead over Trump.
After the most controversial election cycle of modern history, voters were worried about violence, voter fraud and overall chaotic behavior that is not usually present during most elections. This created tension among polling precincts.
Florida, which is infamous for having experienced a problematic and close voting pattern during the 2000 election, was the center of attention for most of the night, as the two candidates went back and forth At the end of the night, just over 120,000 votes separated the two candidates, less than two percent of the vote overall for the state.
Trump delivered his victory speech shortly after Hillary called Trump and conceded when Trump reached the 270 benchmark to secure the votes necessary to win. He immediately thanked and congratulated Clinton for a hard-fought campaign and said that he admired her spirit. Clinton waited until all the votes were counted this morning to publicly announce her concession. She stated that “the citizens should support Trump” and that “we owe him an open mind to lead.”
As interesting as this election has been to watch, it is fair to say that, regardless of who someone supports, the country is glad that the process is over, and we can move forward to see what the future has in store. President-Elect, Donald J. Trump, is set to take his oath of office on Jan. 20, 2017 and begin his presidency.
by Brandon Hussey
