Top campaign aides stopped returning calls and texts, as Clinton and her family hunkered down in a luxury hotel watching the returns.Īt 2 a.m., Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta told the crowd to head home for the night with the race not officially called, but the Democrat’s fate all but certain. The mood at Clinton’s party grew bleak as the night wore out, with some supporters leaving, others crying and hugging each other. But the former senator and secretary of state struggled to articulate a clear rationale for her own candidacy. His final campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, touted the team’s accomplishments as the final results rolled in, writing on Twitter that “rally crowds matter” and “we expanded the map.”Ĭlinton spent months warning voters that Trump was unfit and unqualified to be president. His campaign was frequently in chaos, and he cycled through three campaign managers this year. He never released his tax returns, breaking with decades of campaign tradition, and eschewed the kind of robust data and field efforts that helped Obama win two terms in the White House, relying instead on his large, free-wheeling rallies to energize supporters. Trump upended years of political convention on his way to the White House, leveling harshly personal insults on his rivals, deeming Mexican immigrants rapists and murderers, and vowing to temporarily suspend Muslim immigration to the U.S. Senate control means Trump will have great leeway in appointing Supreme Court justices, which could mean a shift to the right that would last for decades. Republicans also maintained their grip on the House. GOP Senate candidates fended off Democratic challengers in key states, including North Carolina, Indiana and Wisconsin. Trump will take office with Congress fully under Republican control. He cast immigration, both from Latin America and the Middle East, as the root of the problems plaguing many Americans and tapped into fears of terrorism emanating at home and abroad.
stock futures plunged, reflecting investor concern over what a Trump presidency might mean for the economy and trade.Ī New York real estate developer who lives in a sparkling Manhattan high-rise, Trump forged a striking connection with white, working class Americans who feel left behind in a changing economy and diversifying country.
He needed to win nearly all of the competitive battleground states, and he did just that, claiming Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and others. The Republican blasted through Democrats’ longstanding firewall, carrying Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, states that hadn’t voted for a GOP presidential candidate since the 1980s. Trump, who spent much of the campaign urging his supporters on as they chanted “lock her up,” said the nation owed Clinton “a major debt of gratitude” for her years of public service. Clinton called her Republican rival to concede but did not plan to speak publicly until later Wednesday.