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US Headlines Special 3: The Outcome

Monday 12 November 2016 |

With some staying up for the night and others waking up to the news last Tuesday, the unexpected outcome left the world in shock, Donald John Trump will be the next US President. The Republican candidate who won with 306 electoral votes against his opponent Democratic Candidate Hillary Clinton who secured 232 electoral votes, will take office in January replacing current President Barack Obama. Despite a heated election whereby both candidates were faced with public scandal, many assumed, particularly in the Western world, that Clinton would be the next US President. As with Brexit earlier in the year, predictions were far from accurate. How is it that these forecasts were so wrong? This article will not only analyse the results of the election but also question and examine who actually is Donald Trump?

The Results

The actual number of votes Trump secured to become the 45th Presidency of the United States are yet to be confirmed, however it is clear Trump’s appeal to the swing states helped him win the Presidency. This result has led some to question the electoral system and whether it is a fair system. Others have queried how the election could have been different if Bernie Sanders had secured the Democratic nomination. Nonetheless, despite this questioning, Trump will be the next President.

The seventy-year old Republican candidate won major swing states including Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Whilst Clinton won the electoral votes on both the East and West coastlines, Trump secured the majority of the central states with the exception of four. This result will see the Republican party controlling both the Senate and the Presidency.

Although many predicted an economic meltdown following the result, markets remained fairly stable. Initially panicking, markets closed on results day up 1.4%, with the dollar also being up against the yen. Leaders around the world, including British Prime Minister Theresa May called Trump congratulating him. Meanwhile Hillary Clinton took around twelve hours to release her concession speech, offering her form of congratulations in the phrase ‘we owe him an open mind and a chance to lead.’ In light of her comments, it seems appropriate now to question who actually is Donald Trump?

Who is Donald Trump?

Donald John Trump was born in 1946 in New York City. He would later follow in his father, Frederick Trump’s footsteps becoming a major property developer. Eventually taking over the family company, Elizabeth Trump & Son, after he graduated from Pennsylvania University, the business would soon be transformed and renamed into the Trump Organization. Taking on several projects in Manhattan, Trump soon expanded into the casino gambling business acquiring the largest-hotel casino in Atlantic City, the Taj Mahal in 1990 (closed in 2016 following debt struggles). In the earlier 2000s, Trump featured on the US reality show The Apprentice, before becoming the Republican Presidential candidate in 2015.

Whilst many have accused Trump with being disinterested in politics, he had previously considered running for President on three previous occasions in 1988, 2004 and 2012. Nonetheless, Trump has not held one political stance throughout his career, leading to further criticism. Between 2001 and 2008 Trump was a supporter of the Democratic party, before changing his political affiliation through endorsing Republican candidate John McCain in 2008. This has led to confusion over his political standings on matters and reason anxiety about the future. People of America are unsure as to how much of Trump’s campaign was truth, with many hoping that it was propaganda to win the Presidency. Since winning the Presidency Trump’s stance appears to be softer than predicted as he has already contracted claims that he will close down Obama Care as well as claims that he would investigate Hillary Clinton. It would appear Mr Trump got a little carried away in the midst of the election and has a steep learning curve ahead as he has a matter of weeks before taking over the White House.

As the weeks grow nearer to Trump’s inauguration on 20th January, discussion will not cease, keep tuned for more information and analysis of US election.

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