US Presidential Election: Trump’s Shocking Win

Republican Donald Trump shocked the world on 8 November by defeating heavily favoured Democratic Hillary Clinton in the race for the White House, effectively ending year years of Democratic rule and sending the United States on a new and uncertain path. Global markets have already reacted to the election results, with stock markets plummeting.

With voting still continuing overnight, Donald Trump has so far won 289 state-by-state electoral votes, while Hillary Clinton has so far won 218. President elect Trump effectively collected just enough of the 270 state-by-state electoral votes needed to win the four-year term, which will begin on 20 January. He won battleground states where presidential elections are traditionally decided. CNN has reported that Clinton had called Trump to concede the election. shortly before, Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta told supporters at her elect ion rally in New York to go home, stating, “several states are too close to call so we’re not going to have anything more to say tonight.” Mrs Clinton is expected to make a statement on Wednesday.

The election results overnight came as a shock as opinion polls had forecast that Clinton was the favourite to win. The latest nationwide poll had indicated that Mrs Clinton had a 90% chance of winning. However Mr Trump ended up winning avid support amongst a core base of white non-college education workers with his promise to be the “greatest jobs president that God ever created.”

His win however has resulted in serious concern both within the US and abroad. Worried that a Trump victory could cause economic and global uncertainty, investors avoided risky assets such as stocks. Mr Trump campaigned on a pledge to take the country on a more isolationist, protectionist “America First” path, vowing to impose a 35 percent tariff on goods exported to the US by US companies that went abroad. During overnight trading, S&P 500 index futures fell by 5 percent to hit their so-called limit down levels, which indicates that they would not be permitted to trade any lower until regular US stock market hours on Wednesday.

Both candidates however, albeit Trump more than Clinton, had historically low popularity ratings in an election that has been characterized by many as a choice between two unpleasant alternatives. Trump however came out on top after a bitter and divisive campaign which focused largely on the character of the candidates and whether they could be trusted.

US media have also projected that Republicans will retain control of the US House of Representatives, where all 435 seats were up for grabs. In the US Senate, the party also put up an unexpectedly tough fight to protect its majority in the US Senate. It will however be interesting to see how he will work with Congress as during the Campaign, Trump was the target of sharp disapproval, not only from Democrats but also from many within his own party.

Donald Trump, who at 70 will be the oldest first-term US president while his presidency will be the first elected office that he holds.