President Trump: Republican to take office in January following shock election night

Brits awoke to the news that the 45th President of the United States of America had been elected on Tuesday 9th November with outsider, Donald Trump, receiving the approving nod from American voters.

The 70-year-old, who has zero political experience and has never held any sort of office in the country, will take over the world’s most powerful presidency in January next year.

His opposing Democrat candidate, Hillary Clinton, was all but forced to concede the election after losing out on battleground States, eventually calling Mr Trump to confirm her withdrawal.

Despite strong backing from celebrities and former President Barack Obama, Ms Clinton was unable to amass the required votes in hotly contested States, including Florida, North Carolina and Ohio.

Speaking after his victory was confirmed, Trump addressed the nation, telling Americans it was ‘time to bind the wounds of division’.

“It is time for us to come together as one united people,” he continued. “I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans, and this is so important for me.

“For those who have chosen not to support me… I’m reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together to unify our great country.”

He added: “We will double our growth and have the strongest economy in the world. At the same time, we will get along with all other nations willing to get along with us.

“America will no longer settle for anything less than the best. We must reclaim our country’s destiny, and dream big, and bold and daring.

“I want to tell the world community that while we will always put America’s interests first, we will deal fairly with everyone.”

After thanking his supporters and paying his respects to Ms Clinton, he told the world’s media that his work was ‘just beginning’.

“It’s been what they call an historic campaign,” he said. “But to be really historic, you have to do a great job. And I promise you that we will not let you down. We will do a great job.

“While the campaign is over, our work on this movement is really only just beginning.

“We’re going to be doing a job that hopefully you’ll be so proud of your president. It’s been an amazing honour…

“And I love this country. Thank you. Thank you very much.”

Trump’s campaign was one with many controversial moments, including promises about building walls to separate Mexico from the US, a ban on Muslims coming to America, and to grow the nation’s economy by six per cent.

Whether he will be able to stick to the promises now remains to be seen. He may have won the battleground states but the fight has just begun.

We asked Asian Express Readers what they thought about Donald Trump becoming President of the United States of America:

Osman Gondal:  “It’s a scary situation. Donald Trump – who doesn’t have a political background – is effectively makes decision that will affect the rest of the world. It’s a disturbing state of affairs. I don’t think he has the political nous and political know-how to deal with the current situation in Russia and China and so on and so forth and it could lead to something much bigger and much more worrying.”

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Qari Asim: “Some people want to make America great again, but this offer excludes, Muslims, Jews, black people, disabled people, LGBT community, Mexicans and other minorities. By choosing to elect Donald Trump as leader of the free world, the US seems to have lost its credibility to lecture other nations about extremism and immorality. Trump has been voted in by the (primarily white) neglected lower and middle class, many of whom might not like the specifics of the Trump persona but were so anti-establishment that they wanted a ‘change’ . Trumpism and Brexit is a wake-up call for the political elite throughout the world. The ‘outsiders’ campaigning against the ‘establishment’ also need to realise that they don’t have to become racist, misogynist, bigots and xenophobic to win votes. Political campaigns should be based on solid policies and not on politics of hatred.”

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Milly: “I don’t have much to say really other than I’m just concerned. I’ve got family and friends over there, so I’m worried what the future holds for them.”

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Nazim Ali: “Blimey. It’s too early to say how I feel at this moment in time because he’s just become President. All the rhetoric which he’s used before; I wonder if he’ll live up to it? There’s all these constraints once you become President and you have to become more mature. In the recent Presidential election, a lot has been said about women, Mexicans, Muslims and other ethnic groups. That is a real concern. Also, with him being the most powerful man in the world, how that will play out in the international community and his relationships with other countries and America itself.”

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Habib Khan: “America is a fantastic country but if we look at the history, we have had a President that’s an actor – Ronald Reagan – and now they’ve got a clown. Some of the stuff he’s said is just ridiculous. It’s one rule for one community and another rule for another community. If a comment was made like that from someone else it would be put down to extremism but he gets away with it. One rule for one, another rule for another.”

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Nazmin Din: “Emotions are running very high so I’m not sure if I can say too much. It’s a very sensitive topic.”

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Hardeep Singh Sahota: “I am pretty shocked and dismayed. It is a similar feeling to Brexit. You got to bed thinking everything is going to be alright and you wake up and it’s a completely different world.”

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Balbir Singh: “The way I look at it is, it’s the public that decided it. We live in a democratic society. It’s what they wanted. Donald Trump is clever enough – he did the Apprentice in the America. He’s a successful businessman with potential. Maybe he’s not into politics but he’s got the ability and he will manage. Things have changed over the years. If you look back, we had Ronald Reagan and he was an actor. That’s what politics is. It’s what people want. I’m sure he will make a good President. He will have the backing of his aids. We’re in a new era now and he’s not on his own. He’s a speaker and top advisers will help. Of course, I don’t agree with what he says about Muslims and Mexicans, but that’s how politicians behave. Donald Trump is very assertive and if he says he’ll do it, he’ll do it.”