On Republican Hands

As media outlets all over the globe react to the results of the Presidential election, astonishment and incredulity are among the most common sentiments. The electoral map matched the worst possible predictions of the Clinton campaign, as President-elect Donald Trump, perceived an unlikely winner for most of his campaign, managed to pull off several wins in key states on his way to victory.

Reactions in the Press

Senior reporter Stephen Collinson, from CNN explained that the results indicated “a populace desperate for change and disillusioned with an entire generation of political leaders”. Reuteurs’ Bill Trott, on the other hand, suggested that the President-elect’s campaign “broke every tradition and upended the political establishment with the same bluster, hyperbole and media mastery that made him one of the world’s best-known businessmen”.

The New York Times editorial, by Eric Thayer, described Trump’s victory as a “humbling blow to the news media, the pollsters and the Clinton-dominated Democratic leadership”, emphasizing the role played by misogyny and racism on his rise, even if accompanied by a “fierce and even heedless desire for change”.

The Results

According to exit polls, a low Latino and African-American turnout was observed, playing an important role in Clinton’s defeat, as the candidate proved unable to hold onto many of the locations across the board that had been Obama’s the election before, underperforming the current President even among women.

Surveys also showed Clinton to skew younger, and more strongly among women, while Trump’s main voters were men over 45 years of age. The state of Wisconsin provided the biggest surprise of the night, leaning towards the Republican candidate despite pollster’s strong belief that it would constitute a certain victory for Hillary Clinton. The wider margin attained by Donald Trump in other major swing states (Florida, Ohio, and North Carolina) also surprised analysts. The final results can be checked here.

The Republicans have also managed to keep the House of Representatives and their majority over the Senate, adding to the Democratic Party’s disastrous night. During his victory speech at the New York Hilton Midtown, Donald Trump congratulated Hillary Clinton for her campaign and political career, and declared that it was time for Republicans and Democrats to “come together as one united people”.

International Impact

As election night events unfolded, the global stock markets were quick to react. The US dollar and the Mexico Peso have sunk, stocks plummeted, and gold has risen to a 6-week high.

The founder of the French National Front Party, Jean-Marie Le Pen, and Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of the Russian Liberal Democratic Party, showed support for Trump’s victory. Conversely, the official paper of China’s Communist Party has commented that the American Presidential elections have exposed an ‘ill democracy’. More reactions across the world can be seen here.

Donald Trump, Photo by Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0

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