America’s deplorables have won.
Donald J. Trump is the presumptive 45th president of the United States of America. Trump’s victory was first called by the Associated Press at approximately 2:30 a.m. ET. Other outlets followed, such as Buzzfeed, but the TV news networks were a little more cautious.
But AP pulled the trigger after calling Wisconsin for Trump, giving him more than 270 electoral votes, enough to win the presidency. The popular vote may tell a different story, as it’s looking increasingly likely that Hillary Clinton may have won the overall vote. Clinton reportedly conceded the race moments before vice president-elect Mike Pence and president-elect Trump came to the stage.
Trump becomes the first person without political or military experience to be elected President. In a pre-written acceptance speech, Trump attempted to reach across the aisle by first thanking Clinton for her service to the country. “Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division,” he said. “It is time for us to come together as one united people. I pledge ot every citizen of this land to be president for all Americans. This is so important to me. I’m reaching out to you for your guidance and help so we can unify our great country. Ours was not a campaign but an incredible movement.”
But what comes next is anyone’s guess, and it’s likely to be terrifying to a large swath of citizens.
Over the campaign, Trump promised to prosecute his opponent, Hillary Clinton, and throw her in jail. He promised to retaliate against the media. He planned to prevent members of one religion, Islam, from entering the U.S. – a country built on religious freedom. He said he would build a wall at the U.S. and Mexico border, and somehow blackmail Mexico into paying for it. He hinted at his willingness to use nuclear weapons. And he expressed his admiration for despots like Russia’s Vladimir Putin. He wants to defund Planned Parenthood, and get rid of gun-free zones at military bases and in schools.
After that, “We’re going to win so much – win after win after win – that you’re going to be begging me, ‘Please, Mr. President, let us lose one or twice. We can’t stand it anymore.’ And I’m going to say, ‘No way. We’re going to keep winning. We’re never going to lose.”
Of course, the stock market has dropped every time it looked like a Trump victory was possible; pundits are bracing for a steep decline on Wednesday as the U.S. wakes up to what it has just done.
The Republican’s win is also a victory for the organizations and entities that have endorsed him in recent months, including the Ku Klux Klan, Scott Baio, the National Enquirer, Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the guy who draws “Dilbert,” and Rudy Giuliani.
The shocker came despite the overwhelming number of polls that had predicted a Clinton victory. On Election Day, Nate Silver’s Five Thirty Eight website gave Trump just a 29% chance of winning, compared to Clinton’s 71%. Also, among the nation’s major newspapers, Trump only secured two endorsements, compared to 57 for Clinton.
But Trump supporters crowed that their candidate appealed to a silent majority, who clearly came to the polls on Election Day. Trump had long claimed the election itself was being “rigged,” but he also tore into the media’s polling and claimed that it was biased. FBI director James Comey’s decision to upend the election by announcing that he was looking into more Clinton emails (only later to once again announce the agency wouldn’t take action against the candidate) perhaps pushed Trump over the finish line.
On his Showtime special, Stephen Colbert called the results “too close to call and too terrifying to contemplate… this one is a nail biter and a passport grabber. It feels like we’re trying to avoid the apocalypse and half of the country is voting for the asteroid.”
Trump’s rhetoric, lambasting journalists and Clinton, led to much vitriol at his rallies – including plenty of threats against members of the media. “Lock her up” became the catch phrase at the events, as Trump welcomed the unabashed hatred as he marched to victory.
READ MORE: Hillary Clinton for President: 37 Filmmakers Reveal Why She’s the Best Choice
Trump’s win will send a shockwave through Hollywood, as a majority of the entertainment industry’s stars and execs were vocal in their support of Clinton and disdain of Trump. Ironically, it was Trump’s role as the host and executive producer of NBC’s “The Apprentice” that boosted his popularity and notoriety, leading to his decision to run for president.
“Woke up at 6.30 am. Voted for Hillary,” Zoe Kazan wrote on Twitter. “Cried the whole time. Can’t stop thinking about the women who went before us, who fought for this day.”
Wrote Michael Showalter: “I wanna be able to tell my kids about that time when fascism came to America and we kicked it to the curb.” Added Mark Duplass: “[Because] I want my two daughters to know that anything is possible. #imwithher.”
On Election Day 2016, not enough voters agreed.
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