WASHINGTON (AP) – A day after Donald Trump, against all odds, won election as America’s 45th president, Hillary Clinton on Wednesday lamented that the nation proved to be “more divided than we thought” but urged supporters: “We owe him an open mind and a chance to lead.”
Standing before a crowd of crestfallen campaign aides and backers, Clinton said, “This is painful and it will be for a long time.”
Trump’s triumph, declared only after midnight, will end eight years of Democratic dominance of the White House. He’ll govern with Republicans controlling both houses of Congress and lead a country deeply divided by his rancorous campaign against Clinton. He faces fractures within his own party, too, given the numerous Republicans who refused to back him or only tepidly supported his nomination.
As he claimed victory early Wednesday, Trump urged Americans to “come together as one united people.”
That sentiment was echoed by the GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan, who had been a reluctant Trump supporter. “This needs to be a time of redemption, not a time of recrimination,” Ryan said in a news conference, saying Trump had earned a “mandate” to enact his agenda.