Donald Trump struck a conciliatory tone in his victory speech on Wednesday, calling for healing the divides ripped open during a raucous campaign.
"Now it's time for America to bind the wounds of division," Trump said, surrounded by his family and running mate Mike Pence. "Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country."
Trump addressed a crowd of supporters, many of them waving red caps in the air, after what proved to be a surprising and overwhelming win.
As the night wore on, what seemed to be an unlikely path to the White House became a poll-defying victory that seemed to contradict practically every prediction for more than a year.
"This political stuff is nasty and it's tough," Trump said.
Though marred by a campaign in which he called Mexican immigrants rapists, proposed to ban all Muslims from entering the country, and repeatedly described inner cities as centers of violence, Trump promised to "be a president for all Americans."
It was a tone much different from that heard at rallies across the country that drew crowds of thousands.
"I say it is time for us to come together as one united people," Trump said. "For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, 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."
Noticeably missing from his victory speech were his regular calls to build a wall along the Mexico border and complaints about a rigged election system.
"I want to tell the world community that while we will always put America's interest first, we will deal fairly with everybody, everyone, all people and all other nations," he said.
Trump also thanked his surrogates and supporters for helping to propel a campaign that seemed to have caught most polls and experts by surprise at the end of a tough election.
"While the campaign is over, our work in this movement is only just the beginning," Trump said. "We're going to get to work immediately for the American people."