- Donald Trump shocked the globe by soundly defeating Hillary Clinton to become the 45th president of the United States.
- Trump ran one of the darkest campaigns in modern history — he called Mexicans rapists, he vowed to build a wall at the southern border, he said he wouldn't allow Muslims to come to the US, he repeatedly made offensive and sexually aggressive remarks against women, and consistently lied.
- Trump, in his victory speech, said he will "begin the urgent task of rebuilding our nation and renewing the American dream."
- Worldwide reaction was swift. The US dollar's value plummeted, but Wall Street doesn't seem to be freaking out. Scientists and doctors are freaking out. And the global far right is rejoicing.
- Clinton delivered her concession speech Wednesday, saying running was "one of the greatest honors of my [her] life," but added that "our nation is more deeply divided than we thought."
- Speaker of the House Paul Ryan spoke Wednesday: "Donald Trump heard a voice out in this country that no one else did."
- President Obama addressed the public Wednesday vowing to work with Trump to ensure a peaceful transfer of power.
- Read our full coverage of election night here.
Here's the electoral map
Updates
How Donald Trump could revitalize the death penalty
Over the past several decades, President-elect Donald Trump has proved malleable on a wide array of policy — from Iraq and abortion, to marriage equality and immigration.
But he has been steadfast in his support for the death penalty.
Back in 1989, Trump paid for a full-page ad calling for the reinstatement of New York's death penalty to be used on five young black men after a grisly and violent rape in Central Park. Even after the five men were exonerated and another man confessed to the crime, Trump expressed skepticism that the men were actually innocent, as recently as this fall. More broadly, Trump continued to advocate for the death penalty in the time since 1989.
Now that Trump will become president, he will have a chance to revitalize the death penalty. Here's how he could do it.
Read the full story here.
–Chris McDaniel and Chris Geidner
The ACLU couldn’t keep up with everyone trying to donate after Trump won
In the 24 hours after Donald Trump became president-elect, people flocked to donate to the ACLU — a national legal organization known for suing the government to block racially biased laws and advocate for free speech.
The group's donation website crashed under a crush of visitors Wednesday morning, a ACLU spokesperson Gabriela Melendez told BuzzFeed News.
By Thursday morning, she said, the group reached a record for online donations in that timeframe: $2.4 million from 38,626 contributions.
Read the full story here.
–Dominic Holden
Donald Trump spoke to loads of other leaders before Theresa May
Donald Trump has finally called Theresa May, who insists there's still a "very special relationship" between the UK and the US despite the President-elect talking to at least nine other world leaders before her.
During her call, the prime minister lauded the close ties between the two countries even though Trump decided to speak with leaders from Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, Israel, Turkey, India, Japan, Australia, and South Korea ahead of her.
Chancellor Phillip Hammond is reported by the BBC to have explained the delay by saying the UK government had no "urgent business" to discuss with Trump after his shock election victory over Hillary Clinton on Tuesday.
Read the full story here.
–Jamie Ross
Trump team "had contacts" with the Russian government during campaign, Moscow says
Trump's team "had contacts" with the Russian government during the campaign, the country's deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabakov, confirmed to the state-run Interfax news agency.
He added that "we will continue this work, of course," but did not detail who the contacts were or what was discussed.
Trump has repeatedly denied claims that his campaign had been in contact or had a relationship with President Vladimir Putin's regime in the run-up to the election.
Read the full story here.
— Francis Whittaker
Trump and Melania will meet the Obamas at the White House today
Trump and his wife Melania are going to the White House Thursday, to meet President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as part of the presidential transition process. The meeting is scheduled to take place at 11 a.m. EST.
Obama said Wednesday that it was "no secret" that the two of them had "pretty significant differences."
Trump has said the meeting is "going to be, I think, very good."
Read the story here.
— Tasneem Nashrulla
Syrian opposition leader pleads Trump for help
A leading representative of Syria's political and armed opposition, Riad al-Hijab, congratulated Trump on his win and appealed for his help in to "stop the bloodshed of Syrians."
Hijab, a former minister in Assad's cabinet who defected and joined the opposition, praised the "friendly American people" for choosing Trump as president and appealed to the president-elect to for help against the "state terrorism practiced by the Syrian regime against the Syrian people" who are opposing Assad's "obnoxious dictatorship."
Read the story here.
— Rose Troup Buchanan
Gathering of tech elites reacts to Trump’s election with shock and cautious optimism
Before venture capitalist Patrick Lord left Paris to attend Web Summit, a gathering of 50,000 global tech executives and enthusiasts taking place in Portugal this week, he warned his family that Trump's election would mean disaster. When he awoke to the results Wednesday and called home to check in, he found out his daughter, worlds away from the vote, was already in tears.
"I was really quite shocked to see the result," Paris-based venture capitalist Patrick Lord told BuzzFeed News in Lisbon. "It was not what I expected and it was not what I was hoping for."
The same shock was palpable today across Web Summit. Attendees everywhere could be heard saying words like "unbelievable," "fear," "sad," and "shocking." A man walked across one pavilion shouting "Fuck everything. Fuck Trump. Fuck everything."
—Alex Kantrowitz
These Latino voters explain why they voted for Trump
Yose Chiquillo is still in shock that Donald Trump won the presidency.
"I didn't think he was going to win," she told BuzzFeed News as she sat in her Audi on the way home from a grocery store in Hialeah, Miami. "I don't like when he's insulting, but I like that he is honest and says what he thinks in the moment."
Chiquillo, a 44-year-old Venezuelan immigrant who has lived in the US for 21 years, voted for Trump on Tuesday in part out of frustration with how the Clinton administration handled immigration in the 1990s.
"They made life really hard for Latinos," she said, noting Clinton's deal that would send Cuban migrants caught at sea back to the island while granting citizenship to millions of undocumented immigrants in the US. "It was hard, really hard."
—Leticia Miranda
Young Latinas celebrate bittersweet victories at the ballot box in Nevada
LAS VEGAS — It was a bittersweet victory. The young Latina election workers who crowded into a union conference room here Wednesday afternoon had helped pull of a stunning win: Not only had Nevada, long a swing state, gone for Hillary Clinton, but the state elected the nation's first Latina US Senator, Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat.
And yet, casting a pall over what should have been a joyous occasion was the triumph of Donald Trump, a man many Latinos fear and abhor because of his hardline positions and rhetoric on immigration.
"Everything we did here in Nevada I'm very proud of," said Miriam Cardenas, 19, who worked on an early voter outreach team put together by a community-based organization.
Still, Cardenas added, Trump's election had made her heartsick and terrified, both for herself and her family.
"I was scared to even get out of my house this morning, just thinking that I look Hispanic from a mile away," Cardenas added. "This guy says that we're criminals, we're bad people."
—Tamerra Griffin
Secretary Of Education Ben Carson? Here’s a list of potential Trump cabinet picks
President-elect Donald Trump's transition team has put together a who's who short list of Trump surrogates and advisers to take top positions in his administration next year, ranging from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for attorney general to 39-year-old Rep. Duncan Hunter Jr. to be the secretary of defense.
The list of 41 names, obtained by BuzzFeed News, covers 13 departments, the attorney general, Office of Management and Budget, White House chief of staff, and White House counsel. A source familiar with the list stressed it was not final, and it is unclear whether transition officials have narrowed it down or added more potential candidates for consideration by Trump.
In a handful of instances there is only one candidate listed — Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus is the only name listed for Chief of Staff, EEOC Commissioner Victoria Lipnic is listed for secretary of Labor, Rep. Jeff Miller as Veterans Affairs administrator, Sen. Jeff Sessions as director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Donald McGahn, who has served as counsel to Trump's campaign, to be White House counsel.
—John Stanton
Thousands protest outside Trump Tower after election stunner
NEW YORK — Thousands of protesters gathered Wednesday night in New York City, marching through the streets to demonstrate against the election of Donald Trump.
The protest, which began Wednesday afternoon when hundreds gathered at Columbus Circle, culminated in a massive march through the streets to Trump Tower, where the crowd swelled to thousands.
"Donald Trump go away; racist, sexist, anti-gay," the protesters shouted at Columbus Circle, across the street from Trump International Hotel & Tower. "Pussy grabs back," some yelled. "Donald Trump is full of shit, he can't be the president."
Latchmi Gopal, who helped organize the event, said the protest was planned before the results of the election came in.
"[The protest] is not to get one woman elected, or against one man," Gopal told BuzzFeed News. "It's about a system that's oppressed communities — communities of color, immigrants, and women."
—Mary Ann Georgantopoulos
Immigrants fret loss of deportation protections after Trump win
Attorneys, pro bono organizations, and immigrant advocacy groups have reported getting a flood of calls from concerned immigrants worried about their chances of being deported or losing their legal status under a Trump administration.
"A lot of them will ask, 'What will happen to me now that my name is on a certain list?'" Jorge-Mario Cabrera, spokesman for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), told BuzzFeed News. "Questions from the general public were, 'Am I going to be deported? When will we know when the deportations are going to start?'"
A lot of the inquiries are coming from young immigrants, as well educators, said Nicholas Espiritu, an attorney with the National Immigration Law Council.
"They're very concerned, scared, and upset," Espiritu said. "We're going to do as much advocacy and work to help protect them, but unfortunately we just don't know what might transpire."
—Adolfo Flores
The fight to lower drug prices may be dead, for now
On the campaign trail, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump agreed on at least one thing: the need to control America's spiraling costs of prescription drugs.
But after Tuesday's election, the likelihood of drug pricing reform seems small. In California, Big Pharma spent more than $100 million to help defeat a ballot measure that would have pegged the state's drug purchases to the discount rates currently offered to the Veterans Administration (VA).
That's not to say that Big Pharma is thrilled with president-elect Trump, who has suggested that the huge Medicare program, which provides health insurance for senior citizens, should be able to negotiate prices with drug companies — something that's currently prohibited by law. But with both houses of Congress remaining firmly under GOP control, legislation to shake up drug pricing seems unlikely. And specific plans proposed by Clinton, including fines for companies that jacked up prices without clear justification, are now off the table.
—Peter Aldhous and Stephanie M. Lee
Silicon Valley is worried that Trump is going to grab them by the data
NEW YORK — Silicon Valley was reeling Wednesday from the implications of what a Trump presidency might mean for tech companies that collect and store the data of private citizens across the world.
Two people who run smaller tech companies in San Francisco catering to groups marginalized by Trump told BuzzFeed News that they have begun quietly considering moving their servers, and potentially company headquarters, to outside the US because of fears that Trump might force them to hand over data they store on their clients.
"The types of people who use the services of our company are the sort of people Trump would want data on," said one, who developed an app largely used by minority communities in the US.
—Sheera Frenkel
Lots of Californians want to secede from Donald Trump’s America
I wonder, as a natural born Californian who now lives in Minnesota, could I have dual citizenship #CalExit
Californians have taken to Twitter to declare their desire for an independent republic in the wake of Donald Trump's election.
An organization dubbed Yes California, which has an official secession petition and policy platform, surged in popularity Wednesday. Others have taken to the streets to protest.
Some prominent figures in the tech industry have also pledged to lead a charge on secession.
—Blake Montgomery
Muslims are asking what place they have In President Trump’s America
DEARBORN, Michigan — Barely a day after voters across the country, including those in their own state, had voted to elect as president a man who had demonized them and cast suspicion on their patriotism, many Muslim Americans here in Michigan were left asking one question Wednesday: Where do we go from here?
All along Warren Ave. in Dearborn, where many Arab American small business are located, the mood was one of shock and confusion, as people quietly processed the stunning result of the election.
"Today is like a dream," Mohammad Halabi told BuzzFeed News as he left the New Yaseem Bakery, a popular local shop. "A not-so-good dream."
—Talal Ansari and David Noriega
This is why France is the next battleground for the Trumpian Revolution
With divisions that mirror the US, parties across the political spectrum in France held up a mirror and saw themselves in the American election, with many spending most of Wednesday morning spinning the US decision to suit their own narrative.
The National Front (FN) party, who has engaged in much of the populist rhetoric that swept Donald Trump to victory, have celebrated the victory as their own, as in his win could mean success for them in the 2017 presidential elections.
"Their world collapses. Ours is built. #PlaceForThePeople," FN leader Marine Le Pen tweeted out.
—Paul Aveline and Otillia Steadman
Bernie Sanders: Trump tapped into the anger of a declining working America
Bernie Sanders said he and other progressives were ready to work with President-elect Donald Trump to improve the lives of working families, but were also ready to fight back on xenophobic or anti-environment policies.
"To the degree that Mr. Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him," he said in a statement. "To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him."
Trump tapped into growing anger among the middle class, Sanders said, a segment of America that was "tired of establishment economics, establishment politics and establishment media."
—Salvador Hernandez
The Democrats’ dilemma: work with Trump or obstruct
Heading into Election Day, Sen. Chuck Schumer was hailed as a bridge-builder capable of pushing through top Democratic priorities with Republican support.
But soon after the results were in, it was clear Schumer — the likely successor to retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid — wouldn't be cutting many deals in the next Congress. With the Senate map and political climate looking favorable for Democrats for months, Schumer had been working alongside Senate Democrats' campaign arm to ensure his position as Senate majority leader. But because of Democrats' failure in retaking the Senate and the White House Tuesday night, Schumer, the hard-charging New Yorker, is now in a much different position.
Although Democrats say the lines of communication are open with Trump — both Schumer and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said they spoke with him by phone Wednesday — Democrats have indicated that charting the path forward might involve Schumer playing the role of an obstructionist.
—Tarini Parti and Lissandra Villa
Healthcare industry braces for repeal of Obamacare
In the wake of Donald Trump's stunning victory Tuesday night, the only certainty for the American healthcare industry is the end of the the Affordable Care Act, at least in its current form.
Everything else for the industry, however, is deeply uncertain. Supreme Court cases have jeopardized parts of Obamacare before, but with a Trump presidency, the industry is for the first time facing the real possibility of a drastic and abrupt repeal of the entire ACA — a scenario that some industry sources say insurance companies and hospitals are unprepared to deal with.
Many in the healthcare industry are hopeful that they could still have an influential seat at the table in the shaping of a new healthcare law — one that would allow them to preserve some of the key parts of the Affordable Care Act that they have spent six years building, and would give them enough time to craft new plans that will keep people insured.
—Molly Hensley-Clancy
Instagram keeps forcing people to relive Election Day
Dear @instagram, please come up with a 'newest first' option. These optimistic Hillary posts are rubbing salt in the wound. #USelection
For some Instagram users, scrolling through their feeds after the election results felt a bit like time travel.
When some people opened the app last night and this morning, they saw optimistic posts about casting historic votes for Hillary Clinton with their daughters by their sides at the top of their feeds — at the same time as or even after the election was being called in favor of Donald Trump.
Instagram introduced a new algorithm in March to organize feeds according to what people might be most interested in looking at, rather than chronological order.
—Priya Anand
Kelly Ayotte concedes New Hampshire Senate race
New Hampshire Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte conceded the US Senate race Wednesday to Gov. Maggie Hassan, giving Democrats a second seat pickup in the GOP-held Senate.
"I wish Gov. Hassan, her husband tom, and their children Ben and Mag the very best," Ayotte said in a statement. "I want to thank our family, friends, supporters, and volunteers who worked their hearts out for our campaign."
Ayotte, a first-term senator, lost her seat with a thin margin of 692 votes, Politico reported, leaving Republicans with a majority of 52 seats in the chamber.
—Salvador Hernandez
Mexico’s president says he will meet with President-elect Trump
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto said he and Donald Trump were planning to meet sometime before January's inauguration to discuss cooperation between their two countries.
Peña Nieto said at a press conference on Wednesday that he had called President-elect Trump to congratulate him and his family on their victory, and the two leaders' teams were now working to schedule a meeting and set an agenda — ideally in the coming months. The conversation was respectful and cordial, he added.
"Mexico and the United States are allies, partners and neighbors," he said. "When Mexico is doing well, the United States is doing well."
—Claudia Koerner
BuzzFeed News’s model for predicting the popular vote was taken by surprise, too
Before the election, BuzzFeed News went looking for a simple and accurate way to predict the popular vote. The best way we found? Find the five counties that had come closest to the overall popular vote in each of the past four elections and then take their average spread between the Democratic and Republican candidates. This method led us to Dakota County, MN; Granville County, NC; Calhoun County, MI; Macomb County, MI; and Cedar County, IA.
But, in an election full of unexpected twists, it turned out that these counties didn't do what our model suggested they would. Hillary Clinton appears poised to win the popular vote, but four of those five counties saw a dramatic shift toward the Republican party.
Overall, the counties skewed red by an average of 8.1 percentage points, far higher than Trump's ultimate margin of victory.
— John Templon
Why people are unfriending newly public Trump supporters
For months, President-elect Donald Trump and his campaign spoke of a "Silent Majority" who were afraid to publicly support Trump but who would vote him into the Oval Office. Election night's upset proved them right.
Now, emboldened by Trump's win, that "Silent Majority" is silent no longer—at least not on Facebook. Online, Trump supporters are revealing themselves to their friends, family, and co-workers, leading both Democrats and Republicans to vow to "unfriend" anyone who disagreed with their candidate of choice.
"I voted for Trump!" wrote one Rhode Island woman. "If you don't like me anymore because of it, then you were never really my friend. I'll help direct you to the unfriend button."
"I proudly voted for Trump," a man from California announced. "Unfriend me, call me racist, sexist, uneducated, simple minded, etc. my real friends know the truth and everyone else, I don't need you in my life. #sorryimnotsorry"
—Katie J.M. Baker
After Arpaio defeat, immigration activists set their sights on President-elect Trump
PHOENIX — A day after their victory against Sheriff Joe Arpaio, immigrant organizers in Phoenix began to set their sights on their upcoming battle against President-elect Donald Trump.
For these organizers in Maricopa County, Arpaio's removal from office represents a hard-fought victory that took years to accomplish. Even as they celebrated with chants and an inflatable Arpaio in cuffs outside his office, the threat at the national level by the man the sheriff said was his "political soul mate" was on their minds.
Maria Rodriguez, an undocumented Phoenix woman who canvassed against Arpaio, said she was not afraid of a Trump presidency after the sheriff was defeated.
"I'm ready to fight," Rodriguez told BuzzFeed News. "We won the battle at the local level now we have to win the war at the national level."
—Adolfo Flores
Teachers are reaching out to students to help them deal with election results
My professor brought in her dog and look at the tag on it's collar ð©
A lot of students across the country stayed up late on election night, and showed up to class emotionally wrought the next morning because Donald Trump had won.
Teachers were not immune either, but some educators are trying to make the classroom a less stressful atmosphere for those upset about the election. One teacher emailed students the next day on ways to exercise self-care and activism.
—Tanya Chen and Remy Smidt
5 theories of why the polls failed so hard
As November 8th dawned, it all seemed so clear: National polls predicted that Hillary Clinton would prevail. Polls conducted at the state level, meanwhile, indicated that a "blue firewall" of Democratic-leaning states would comfortably propel her to victory in the electoral college.
Now we know better. In the final reckoning, Clinton underperformed across the board, not only losing battlegrounds like Florida and North Carolina, but also sliding to defeat in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, long seen as safely in the Democratic corner.
So what went wrong? Here are the leading theories, from polling experts who are struggling to work out what just happened.
Read more here.
—Peter Aldhous
House investigations into Clinton’s emails may continue
Hillary Clinton will not be the next president, but House Republicans are not ready go drop their investigation into her emails.
Republicans had openly mused about impeaching Clinton if she won the election. While that will no longer come to pass, the focus on Clinton's private email server doesn't appear to be over.
The Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee, led by Chairman Bob Goodlatte, signaled Wednesday that it would continue to question the FBI over its refusal to prosecute Clinton for mishandling classified information.
"The House Judiciary Committee will continue to press for answers to the questions about whether the investigation was thorough and whether there was special treatment given to the political elite," said a committee aide.
—Paul McLeod
Wall Street has convinced itself that Trump won’t be bad (for now)
US stocks were supposed to fall. Stocks in Japan crashed overnight, and European markets opened lower. Futures markets for the S&P 500 hit their limit for an overnight fall.
But, alas, after Donald Trump won the election, the S&P 500 rose over 1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the day up up 255 points, or 1.4%.
Despite many economists' and analysts' predictions that a Trump White House would mean a devastating trade war and a gloom of uncertainty over companies, investors, and countries, some Wall Street sages now are saying that Trump is most likely to pursue policies that could provide short-term stimulus — tax cuts and lots of infrastructure spending — rather than bogging himself down in massive, immediate immigration restrictions and trade wars.
"We see this election result as less about sides taken on such divisive issues and rather a 'make growth priority one' mandate; something investors should welcome," David Bianco, a Deutsche Bank strategist, wrote in a note today.
—Matthew Zeitlin
George R.R. Martin has responded to Trump's victory
"Winter is coming. I told you so."
Yes, he said it. And for more on what the Game of Thrones author said, go here.
—Jarry Lee
Here's how abortion rights organizations are reacting to Trump’s presidency
Abortion rights organizations across the country grappled Wednesday with how they plan to deal with President-elect Donald Trump, who ran on an anti-abortion platform.
Trump has also repeatedly said that he will appoint justices who will overturn Roe v. Wade, which would make abortion illegal across the US.
In a series of tweets, Planned Parenthood, the central and most specific target of Trump's abortion policy plans, released a statement assuring the women of America that they would stand by them throughout.
Other abortion rights organizations reacted on social media as well.
—Ema O'Connor
Despite heavy black voter turnout, Philadelphia couldn’t stop Trump
The election of Donald Trump as president brought shock, fear, resignation, and despair among the more than 20 black and Latino residents who spoke to BuzzFeed News on Wednesday. Some said that the 2008 and 2012 elections had given them faith in the future of their country. But last night, they said, that faith vanished.
"There's a lot of people in this country who don't care about us," said Kelly Nelson, a 30-year-old college student. "I guess we shouldn't really be that surprised. But white people can't act like racism doesn't exist anymore."
Many more across north Philadelphia's mostly black neighborhoods shared the sentiment.
—Albert Samaha
GOP party officials celebrate election wins
WASHINGTON – The day after Donald Trump's decisive victory and Republican wins in the House and Senate, party officials rushed to celebrate (and take credit for) Tuesday's gains.
"Last night was truly extraordinary," Republican National Committee Chief of Staff Katie Walsh told reporters gathered at the party headquarters near the Capitol. "Let me be clear: A large piece of our success last night was due to chairman Reince Preibus' strategic vision four years ago to building a world-class ground game that would be a decisive asset in the 2016 presidential election."
"Many Democrats were prematurely celebrating yesterday afternoon," she said, "but we knew we had a big ace up our sleeve with our ground game. This victory vindicates every decision we made over the past four years."
Sen. Roger Wicker, who coordinates fundraising for Republican senate candidates, said the credit goes to Preibus — and to the GOP's "superior candidates."
"There's nothing like having good candidates," he said.
Rep. Greg Walden, who heads GOP fundraising and electioneering on the House side, was nearly dumbstruck.
"Frankly, I don't know how to say it," he said, before adding, "We kicked their tails last night. And we did it knowingly, willfully, thoughtfully, and with a lot of planning."
Walsh said election night showed off the first step of a Trump presidency.
"He delivered a calm, presidential speech that communicated how seriously he understands the enormousness of his responsibility," she said. Trump has "made it clear his mission in governing finding unity and giving a voice to Americans who have not had one for a long time."
—Daniel Wagner
People are so inspired by this Obama-Biden moment
On Wednesday, President Obama addressed the nation for the first time after Donald Trump's victory. In his speech he discussed a peaceful transition to his successor.
Vice President Biden then did the sign of the cross, leaned into Obama, and said, "Remember, you beat me badly."
Watch the moment here.
— Remy Smidt
Europe's spies and cops react to Trump: "Bomb the shit out of ISIS isn't exactly a policy"
America's European law enforcement and intelligence allies in the global fight against ISIS, al-Qaeda, and other transnational threats ranging from human smuggling to narcotics woke up to the most hated of all situations for intelligence professionals: Uncertainty over the policies and commitment to alliances by the most powerful country on the planet.
None of the current and former intelligence and security officials reached by BuzzFeed News Wednesday in the wake of Donald Trump's election victory would speak to the situation on the record because of legal or political considerations, but half a dozen professionals ranging across four key European allies expressed grave concern about the lack of information about the composition or ideology of the incoming administration.
Read more here. — Mitch Prothero
President George W. Bush congratulates Trump
JUST IN: Pres. George W. Bush has spoken via phone with Pres.-elect Trump; wishes him the best as he takes on "an a⦠https://t.co/F7YTdFcN0C
Here’s how labor activists are reacting to Trump's win.
Activists on the left see an urgent need to harness the same populist energy that propelled Trump to victory. "There's a clear rebellion continuing against the economic and political elite, and that's in both parties," said Larry Cohen, former president of the Communications Workers of America and Chair of the political-activist organization Our Revolution. Read more here.
— Cora Lewis
Trump on Obama meeting: "It's going to be, I think, very good"
President-elect Donald Trump confirmed Wednesday that he spoke with President Obama overnight about his victory.
"I did hear from him," Trump said in a brief interview on Orlando radio station WDBO. "We're going to have a meeting. It's going to be, I think, very good."
"I'm going to very busy today," Trump added. "We're going to do a lot of planning and a lot of planning for the future."
"We're going to make America great again, We're going to do a lot of great things."
Listen to the interview here. — Nathaniel Myerson
How a Trump presidency might upend the Middle East
ISTANBUL — Already mired in conflict, the Middle East woke up on Wednesday to a disturbing new reality. The US had elected a man who has vowed to drastically change American policy in the region, and made outrageous statements about the region's majority Muslims — but whose ultimate intentions and beliefs are so scattered they remain largely a mystery.
"The region is a mess," a UK diplomat said on condition of anonymity. "Does it need somebody to shake it up? Maybe. But I don't know who these Trump people are and what they are going to do."
Read more here. — Borzou Daragahi
Read Hillary's emotional concession speech
Missed Hillary's tearjerker concession speech?
Watch it here and read along. — Mary Ann Georgantopoulos
Obama says he was "heartened" by Trump's victory speech
Addressing the country after Donald Trump won the election to replace him, President Obama said, "Regardless of which side you're on, the sun will come up in the morning. The sun is up."
Obama said he congratulated Trump on winning early Wednesday morning and invited him to the White House on Thursday to talk about the successful transition between the presidencies.
"It's no secret that he and I have had some pretty significant differences," Obama said.
Obama said he was "heartened" by Trump's victory speech, which spoke of unity and inclusion, as well as his telephone conversation with the president-elect.
The president reflected on the "gracious and professional" transition between George W. Bush and his presidency eight years ago.
"The presidency is bigger than any of us," he said. "So, I have instructed my team to follow the example and work as hard as we can to make sure this is a successful transition for the president-elect."
"We are rooting for a success in uniting and leading the country," he said.
Obama said he also spoke to Clinton and had listened to her concession speech on Wednesday morning: "I couldn't be prouder of her. She has lived an extraordinary life of public service."
Obama called her candidacy and nomination "historic."
"Everybody is sad when their side loses in an election," the president said. "But we have to remember we are all in one team. We're not Democrats first or Republicans first. We are first Americans and we all want what's best for this country."
— Tasneem Nashrulla
Clinton's campaign used way more mobile data than Trump's yesterday
Hillary Clinton's campaign party at the convention center in downtown Manhattan used 55% more mobile data than Donald Trump's New York Hilton Midtown, according to data from AT&T. Clinton's camp used 816 GB, while Trump's used 528 GB. The telecommunications giant measured mobile data usage at these locations from 6 am on November 8 through 2 am November 9 through its Distributed Antenna System networks in each location.
To put that in perspective, the Clinton's campaign's data usage is the equivalent of uploading 2.3 million pictures to Twitter or Instagram, an AT&T spokesperson told BuzzFeed News. Trump's is equal to 1.5 million pictures.
Clinton delivers emotional concession speech
Clinton delivered her first remarks after losing the election to Trump on Wednesday.
Tim Kaine, her running mate, first addressed supporters and staff in New York, saying, "My wife, Anne, and I are so proud of Hillary Clinton. I'm proud of Hillary Clinton who has been and is a great history maker."
Clinton then gave an emotional speech, apologizing for not winning the election, but urging Americans to offer Trump "an open mind and the chance to lead."
"Last night I congratulated Donald Trump and offered to work with him on behalf of our country," Clinton said. "I hope he will be a successful president for all Americans."
She expressed the pain and disappointment she felt about the outcome of the election and apologized for the loss.
"This was not the outcome we expected," Clinton said. "I am sorry we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we hold for our country. I know how disappointed you feel because I feel it too. And so do tens of millions of Americans who invested their hopes and dreams in this effort. This is painful and it will be for a long time."
But Clinton urged her supporters to "believe in America" and to accept Trump as their leader.
"We have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we thought," she said. "But I still believe in America — and I always will. And if you do, we must accept this result and then look to the future. Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead."
Clinton thanked her staff, her family, President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as well as the volunteers and activists on her campaign.
"This loss hurts," Clinton said. "But please never stop believing that fighting for what's right is worth it."
She addressed the women and girls who were willing her to be the first female president of the country.
"To all the women who put faith in this campaign and me, I want you to know nothing has made me prouder than to be your champion," she said. "We still have not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling. But someday, someone will."
"To all the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every opportunity in the world to pursue your own dreams."
Clinton said she was grateful to the country.
"I count my blessings every single day that I am an American, and I still believe, as deeply as I ever have, that if we stand together and work together with respect for our differences, strengthen our convictions, and love for this nation, our best days are still ahead of us."
She concluded her speech saying, "I believe we are stronger together and we will go forward together. And you should never, ever regret fighting for that. You know, Scripture tells us, 'Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.' My friends, let us have faith in each other, let us not grow weary and lose heart, for there are more seasons to come and there is more work to do." —Tasneem Nashrulla
Paul Ryan says Trump "turned politics on its head"
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan congratulated Donald Trump Wednesday morning, calling his victory "the most incredible political feat I have seen in my lifetime."
"Seven out of 10 Americans said they don't like the direction our country is going," Ryan told reporters. "Many of our fellow citizens feel alienated and have lost faith in our core institutions. They don't feel heard. And they don't feel represented by those in office. But Donald Trump heard a voice out in this country that no one else heard."
Ryan said that it is clear the county is divided, but insisted Trump will bring the country together.
"There is no doubt our democracy could be very messy and we do remain a sharply divided country, but now as we do every four years, we have to work to heal the divisions of a long campaign," Ryan said.
Ryan said he spoke to Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence twice since last night adding that "we are going to hit the ground running."
"We are already talking about getting our transitions working together," Ryan said. "We are very excited."
—Mary Ann Georgantopoulos
Steve Bannon: Breitbart audience “not surprised” by Trump victory
Steve Bannon, the former Breitbart executive who left the website in August to become Donald Trump's campaign CEO, declared victory Wednesday morning for Trump's populist movement and conservative media outlets like Breitbart that gave voice to the anti-establishment current sweeping the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom... Read more here
— Nathaniel Meyersohn
Private Prisons Are "Clear Beneficiaries" Of Trump Presidency
Stocks of publicly traded prison companies soared early Wednesday. Many traders expect a Trump administration to reverse the Obama administration's August decision to not use privately run facilities to house Federal prisoners, or to expand these companies' involvement in immigration detention. "We expect a Trump administration to be more supportive given its focus on immigration and crime," said analysts at Compass Point.
— Matthew Zeitlin
President Obama to address nation at 12:15 p.m. ET
The president is set to make his first public comments after Donald Trump's win in the Cabinet Room in front of reporters. Hillary Clinton and Paul Ryan will be speaking earlier in the morning.
He will be joined by Vice President Biden, according to the White House.
— Dino Grandoni
Trump Leads A Global Nationalist Wave
NEW YORK — Donald Trump's victory Tuesday is the new high water mark for the populist nationalist movement sweeping Europe and the United States, but the tide is still rising.
The media and political elites missed the story on Donald Trump and the voters he rallied. His win over Hillary Clinton — which wasn't foreseen in the polling leading up to the election — stunned his supporters and enemies alike.
But we should have seen something coming. Voters in the United Kingdom chose Brexit earlier this year. In France, polling has shown the National Front's leader Marine Le Pen reaching the second round of the presidential election next year. In Austria, a member of the far-right Freedom Party of Austria stands a good chance of being elected president next month.
All over what was called in Cold War days the "First World", the signs have been there. It took Donald Trump to deliver to political and media elites the bad news: the liberal world order is nearly over, and the age of populism is here.
Read the full story here.
Everyone wants a job in Canada now.
Not only did Canada's immigration website crash on election night, throngs of Americans also started hunting for jobs there in the hours immediately following Trump's victory was called. Americans were searching for jobs in their northern neighbor at ten times the rate of previous nights, according to the job site Indeed. "For many Americans, the election result was such a shock that many are imagining a way out," said Jed Kolko, chief economist for Indeed, in a statement. - Venessa Wong
Merkel and Hollande congratulate Trump but make clear they won’t compromise values
The European Union's two most powerful leaders have offered a cautious response to Donald Trump's election victory, congratulating the president-elect while making clear that they would not compromise on their liberal values.
In a carefully worded statement on Wednesday, German chancellor Angela Merkel listed the values her country shared with the US and told the president-elect that continued close cooperation would be on the basis of these.
The key lines from Merkel's message to Trump:
Merkel's response was echoed by French president François Hollande, who told reporters that the result opened a period of uncertainty with at stake issues such as peace, terrorism, the Middle East, and the preservation of the planet.
— Alberto Nardelli
Stocks are jittery and falling following Trump's win.
US markets were modestly down in early Wednesday trading as investors and traders began to digest Donald Trump's electoral victory.
Many analysts and investors expected a contraction following Trump's win.
"Markets could go down materially because Trump is such a wild card," Jeff Rottinghaus, a bond manager at the investment firm T.Rowe Price, said in a note.
So far, the pain has mostly been felt overseas, as the Mexican peso had its biggest drop in decades against the dollar and markets for large US exporters fell.
-- Matthew Zeitlin
American Muslim women are saying they’re afraid to wear hijabs after Trump wins presidency
"Trump wins — my cousins get deported, I'm scared to wear my hijab, women are punished for abortions, Syrian refugees suffer," one woman said.
— Tasneem Nashrulla
Hillary Clinton to speak to staff and supporters in New York at 10.30 a.m. ET
Hillary Clinton will speak at 10.30 a.m. ET in New York. It'll be the first time we hear from her since Trump won last night.
She was originally scheduled to speak at 9.30 a.m. but the time was pushed back an hour.
Clinton will deliver her remarks to staff and supporters in the Grand Ballroom of the New Yorker Hotel.
Mitt Romney has extended his "best wishes" to Trump following his election win
Best wishes for our duly elected president: May his victory speech be his guide and preserving the Republic his aim.
Bill Clinton’s rape accuser says she can now “let go of the pain”
Juanita Broaddrick, the 73-year-old woman who has long said Bill Clinton raped her in the 1970s, told BuzzFeed News on Wednesday morning that she can now "let go of the pain and suffering that has been a part of my life for 38 years" now that Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton and is president-elect of the United States.
— Katie J.M. Baker
9 Brexit lessons from Britain that America might want to learn
Trump promised his victory would be "Brexit times five". Here's what Britain learned from Brexit times one.
— Tom Phillips
Six historic firsts from this year’s election you might have missed
From the first Latina senator in US history, to the former refugee elected as America's first Somali-American Muslim woman legislator, meet the women who made history last night.
— Ryan Broderick
Nigerians are being very funny about Trump becoming the next US president
Trump in USA, Buhari in Nigeria... Nigerians in US right now
What with a president in Nigeria who's not overly popular, and now a Trump administration on the horizon, Nigerians in America are generally finding life as confusing AF.
— Victoria Sanusi
Clinton's phone call to Trump was "very warm, very gracious," says Trump campaign manager
Kellyanne Conway says Hillary Clinton's phone call to Donald Trump was "very gracious, very warm"⦠https://t.co/1482OXERSG
Kellyanne Conway told CNN that she received a phone call from top Clinton aide Huma Abedin early Wednesday morning. She said that after she had a "nice exchange with Huma, whom I respect very much," Abedin said Clinton wanted to talk to Trump.
Conway said that Trump and Clinton had a one minute conversation which was "very gracious, very warm."
According to Conway, Trump commended Clinton for "being smart and tough and running a very hard-fought campaign." She said that Clinton congratulated Trump on his victory and conceded to him." — Tasneem Nashrulla
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has issued a statement congratulating president-elect Donald Trump on his victory
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau just issued a statement congratulating Donald Trump on his election victory. Here it⦠https://t.co/1JXkfS9jqe
The two men couldn't have more different ideologies, but they both followed a not dissimilar path to power. Read more here.
— Paul McLeod
World leaders are congratulating Donald Trump on his election victory
Congratulatory message from Japanese PM Shinzo Abe to @realDonaldTrump, a "very successful businessman with extraor⦠https://t.co/3hAUYgG3sa
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offered his "heartfelt congratulations" and praised Trump's skills as a businessman.
Meanwhile, China's foreign minister said he was looking forward to a "sustainable, healthy" relationship with the president-elect.
— Sara Spary
President Obama called Trump to congratulate him on his victory
The White House said in a statement that Obama phoned Trump to congratulate him on his victory. Obama also called Clinton and "expressed admiration for the strong campaign she waged throughout the country."
Obama has invited the president-elect to meet him at the White House on Thursday, Nov. 10 "to update him on the transition planning his team has been working on for nearly a year," the White House said. "Ensuring a smooth transition of power is one of the top priorities the President identified at the beginning of the year and a meeting with the President-elect is the next step."
Obama is set to make a statement at the White House on Wednesday to discuss the election results and "what steps we can take as a country to come together after this hard-fought election season." — Tasneem Nashrulla
Donald Trump's first tweet as president-elect
Such a beautiful and important evening! The forgotten man and woman will never be forgotten again. We will all come together as never before
Women in Los Angeles react to Trump's shock win
BuzzFeed News spoke to women in LA and asked them their thoughts on Donald Trump's surprise election victory.
"I'm feeling a bit of a loss in faith, in humanity and in our ability to elect a competent person in office," Elizabeth, 33, from Echo Park said.
Meanwhile, Olivia, 24, from Long Beach said: "I can't believe that throughout this entire election cycle, everyone has heard what he's had to say about women and their bodies, and how he expresses himself towards women and he's still been elected. Luckily, with the type of people I associate with, it's probably not gonna affect my immediate daily life. But knowing that it's going to affect so many other people, especially those in the red states, that affects my life in a different way."
Read more of their reactions here.
— Laura Geiser
Donald Trump updated his bio and banner image on his @realDonaldTrump Twitter account to say "President-elect of the United States"
New Twitter bio and banner:
Protests have spread across several US cities after Trump's shock victory
The protests have been largely concentrated on the west coast, with demonstrations in Oakland, Los Angeles, Portland, and other cities.
—Ellen Cushing and Tasneem Nashrulla
Here’s what’s happening at Delhi’s Hindu, nationalist, Trump celebration party
BuzzFeed India met Hindu Sena members as they took to the streets, fed laddoos to posters of president-elect Donald Trump, and insisted everyone should be a nationalist.
—Andre Borges and Pranav Dixit
Here are some devastatingly funny tweets about Donald Trump winning the election. Or maybe they're just devastating. Idek at this point.
HISTORY OF US PRESIDENTS: ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð´ð¼ð¨ð¾ð¹
maybe if we put 2016 in rice?
England: Nothing can be more embarrassing than Brexit. America: Watch this.
And there are plenty more where those came from.
—Luke Bailey
This is how newspaper front pages around the world reacted to Trump's election win
Newspapers around the world react to Donald Trump being elected https://t.co/g3qkBTF5jg
—Laura Silver
14,000 people probably didn’t vote for Harambe to be the next US president
Photos are circulating on social media of people voting for Harambe, the gorilla who was shot dead at the Cincinnati Zoo in May, as write-ins. But the write-in process is a lot more complicated than you think.
—Kassy Cho
Muslim Americans fearful that “Islamophobia is a winning message”
DEARBORN, Michigan — The night started out upbeat. People ate, chatted, and packed the annex room at the Arab American Museum, settling in for what many thought was a night of victory for Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate for president.
But slowly, as each state was called increasingly for Donald Trump — the candidate that said he would ban all Muslims entering the country and once said "I think Islam hates us" — the room grew more anxious.
Then, Florida went red, people began to realize the likely outcome of the election, and Muslim Americans at the watch party began using the words "uncomfortable," "worried," and "hope" to describe their thoughts.
Many people, like Kamal AlSawafy, told BuzzFeed News that they learned a lot about their fellow countrymen and women. "This race shows there's a lot of challenges ahead if he's the president," said Kamal AlSawafy. Others were more direct.
"I am frightened, I am petrified," Saad Akhmad told BuzzFeed News.
—Talal Ansari
NATO chief reminds Donald Trump: We were there for the US after 9/11
NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg has pointedly reminded US president-elect Donald Trump that the only time the alliance invoked Article 5, its collective defense clause, was in the wake of 9/11.
Responding to a question during a press conference on Wednesday morning as he congratulated Trump on his victory, Stoltenberg said that all allies had made a "solemn", "absolute" and "unconditional" commitment to defend each other. The NATO chief told reporters that this security guarantee was important not only for Europe, but also for the US.
"We have to remember that the only time we have invoked article 5, our collective defense clause, is after an attack on the United States, after 9/11," he said. —Alberto Nardelli
Now it's time for America to bind the wounds of division; have to get together. To all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people.It's time. I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans, and this is so important to me.For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I'm reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country.
Read the full transcript here.
— Claudia Koerner
Russian Twitter trolls are talking so much shit about Donald Trump becoming president
UK Prime Minister Theresa May has congratulated Donald Trump on his victory
Theresa May has congratulated Donald Trump after the Republican candidate pulled off a shock victory in the US presidential election. Read more here.
The UK prime minister insisted that the "special relationship" between the UK and the US will endure, despite Trump being overwhelmingly unpopular among British members of parliament, with one lawmaker describing the news as "the end of the world".
Meanwhile, UK financial markets trembled, before steadying again, following Trump's election.
— Jamie Ross, Rose Buchanan, Francis Whittaker
In pictures: the world reacts to the US election
See more images here. — Matthew Tucker
People are fuming Trump won the election, declaring "he's not my president"
#HesNotMyPresident but he is a rapist a racist a sexist a bigot a demagogue and an ignorant ham sandwich that somehow became sentient
After Donald Trump won the presidential race Tuesday night, people started using #HesNotMyPresident on social media to express why Trump did not represent them.
— Michelle Broder Van Dyke
Protests sparked along West Coast after shocking Trump victory
Protests erupted up and down the West Coast Wednesday in the wake of Donald Trump's shocking presidential victory.
From Portland and Seattle in the northwest, to Oakland and Los Angeles in California, the demonstrations saw protesters take to the streets and in some cases take part in vandalism.
Read more here.
—BuzzFeed News staff
Seriously, though, Canada is ready to welcome terrified Americans
Since Donald Trump was elected the next president of the US, a lot of people of color, LGBT folks, Muslims, and other minority groups have expressed concern about what's to come.
And while there's been a ton of jokes about moving to Canada, it's not quite so funny anymore. And the people of Canada are here for their neighbors to the south.
If Trump wins, I say Canada develop an open door immigration policy for Americans of colour and queer folks. #ElectionDay #USElection2016
Read more about Canada's offer of a life raft to the despondent here.
—Lauren Strapagiel
People think Trump's victory will bolster far-right support in France
Conservative French politicians are celebrating Donald Trump's election as US President, calling it the first in a wave of far-right victories to come.
National Front leader Marine Le Pen was among the first foreign politicians to congratulate Trump and the "free American people" on the results.
One of her senior advisors and Vice President of the National Front Florian Philippot then tweeted that Trump's election showed "their world was collapsing, Our is being built."
Far-right supports across the global began celebrating early Wednesday, as Trump's victory became more likely.
Many eyes will now turn to France ahead of their presidential election next year.
Thinking of placing a large bet on Marine Le Pen as president of France.
— Alicia Melville-Smith
Russia is super happy about Donald Trump being elected US president
Russian politicians are looking forward to a better relationship with the United States now that Donald Trump has been elected president.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate Trump on his win.
Putin expressed "hope" that Russian-American relations would improve under a Trump presidency, the Kremlin said in a statement.
"In a telegram, Vladimir Putin expressed hope for working together in taking Russian-American relations out of current critical state, and for finding solutions to actual questions of international agenda as well as effective answers to global security threats," the statement said.
Loads of other Russian politicians celebrated the news and said they hoped Trump's win would lead to the lifting of international sanctions against Russia.
— Alicia Melville-Smith
People are really freaking keen for Michelle Obama to run for president in 2020
Complete some pretty confident prophecies and offers to change lifestyles just so she will.
Read more here.
—Victoria Sanusi
Protests break out after Trump wins election
Protests broke out in several US cities early Wednesday after Trump was declared the winner of the presidential election.
In Oakland, people blocked traffic along the freeways, lit trash fires, and broke windows in downtown businesses just hours after Trump took the surprising victory.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported a woman suffered major injuries after being struck by an SUV when hundreds of protesters walked onto Highway 20.
Police officials told BuzzFeed News officers in riot gear responded to the area to block of streets, but there were no immediate reports of arrests.
Police could not verify reports of injuries.
Police estimated about 50 people in the downtown area and another 300 on the freeways at one time, Officer John O'Reilly told BuzzFeed News.
Protest is getting violent @northoaklandnow @baybandwidth #Oakland
Protests also seemed to have erupted in Southern California near the University of California Los Angeles Campus and near the University of California Irvine.
People were also seen marching in Portland and Santa Barbara, yelling out anti-Trump chants early in the morning.
—Salvador Hernandez and Ellen Cushing
“Well, Fuck” — basically the whole world right now
Well Fuck. - America
Read more similar sentiment here.
—David Mack
British politicians cannot believe Donald Trump has been elected president
British politicians are reacting with disbelief at Donald Trump's shock victory over Hillary Clinton in the US presidential election.
As Trump's victory became clear over the course of the night in the UK, Westminster MPs tweeted about their confusion, anger, and fear about what happens over the next four years of Trump's presidency.
Concern was expressed across the political spectrum. Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake said that after the Brexit vote in June, Trump's victory feels like "the end of the world."
Read more here.
—Jamie Ross
If you're still catching up with everything, you can read all our election day and night updates here.
It's been quite a ride.
— Francis Whittaker