President-elect Donald J. Trump.
Huge swaths of the American population, and countless people watching around the world, reacted with shock and outrage early Wednesday morning when it was reported that Hillary Clinton had called her Republican rival to concede the election and Donald Trump subsequently declared victory in the 2016 presidential election.
Trump is now slated to become the 45th president of the United States of America.
The results confounded mainstream pundits and upended major polls and electoral analyses throughout the night. But while the final results remained outstanding in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and New Hampshire, Trump victories in the key battleground states of Florida, Ohio, and North Carolina tilted the electoral math in his favor. As of this writing, Trump was widely seen as having the much better chance of winning the electoral college vote and the concession by Clinton appeared to acknowledge that her campaign saw no path to victory.
Trump himself addressed a crowd of supporters in New York City just before 3am local time to deliver his acceptance speech.
Watch:
The reaction to the election results among voters and progressives on social media was both immediate and severe. While some expressed disbelief and anger, others tackled the questions about how this happened or how people should now respond:
How the fuck. Did. This. Happen. pic.twitter.com/ayOH0cyWBJ
— Adam H. Johnson (@adamjohnsonNYC) November 9, 2016
This is unutterably horrifying
— ruth conniff (@rconniff) November 9, 2016
A rapist, a bigot, a man who has promised untold pain to so many people in this country is now our president. #ElectionDay
— Kate Aronoff (@KateAronoff) November 9, 2016
The chants of #USA have never sounded so sinister. I literally hate EVERYTHING about our country right now. #ElectionDay
— DanielleMoodie-Mills (@DeeTwoCents) November 9, 2016
I don't think anyone can yet come close to processing the implications of Donald Trump actually being President of the United States.
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 9, 2016
Trump is awful, which is why it was so irresponsible for media & elites to ignore what made him popular. I'm disgusted.
— Katie Halper (@kthalps) November 9, 2016
Resistance,organizing,solidarity.
— Katrina vandenHeuvel (@KatrinaNation) November 9, 2016
So glad Democrats institutionalized a vast and unaccountable national security apparatus that will soon be controlled by a madman.
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— Trevor Timm (@trevortimm) November 9, 2016
Unfortunately, the next President will have command of a vast nuclear arsenal, biggest military in history, & a vast surveillance apparatus.
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 9, 2016
A Trump presidency is a frightening prospect. The fascists he empowers and seeks to legitimize present a terrifying immediate future.
— jeremy scahill (@jeremyscahill) November 9, 2016
this is what you get for referring to working people as deplorable.
— Winnie Wong (@WaywardWinifred) November 9, 2016
Rudy Giuliani is cackling on MSNBC right now: "this is like Andrew Jackson's victory," he says. You know, the racist genocidal maniac.
— Trevor Timm (@trevortimm) November 9, 2016
I am not going to despair. We are gonna wake up tomorrow and organize like we never organized before regardless. #ElectionNight
— Linda Sarsour (@lsarsour) November 9, 2016
The biggest mistake you made was to dismiss & disparage the candidate who had the best chance to defeat Trump. It's a damn shame. https://t.co/Xdz372bUNe
— Warren Gunnels (@GunnelsWarren) November 9, 2016
The expansion of Guantanamo and a drift to 2 justice systems, for Muslims & non-Muslims. https://t.co/y2ucaB9rBL
— Spencer Ackerman (@attackerman) November 9, 2016
Pundits literally don't have scripts to understand this. The left needs to step in with a cogent plan and analysis #ElectionNight
— Kate Aronoff (@KateAronoff) November 9, 2016
Q: How much of this result is about coastal complaisance with union decline?
NV--Solid Dem win.Other key states--fuck you.
— emptywheel (@emptywheel) November 9, 2016
The 2016 Dem primary, and specifically how it was tilted to Clinton by the machine, now becomes one of the darkest moments in party history
— David Sirota (@davidsirota) November 9, 2016
The unthinkable happened before, to my family in WWII. We got thru it. We held each other close. We kept our dignity and held to our ideals.
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) November 9, 2016
And finally:
In an alternate universe, Bernie Sanders is giving his victory speech right now.
— David Sirota (@davidsirota) November 9, 2016
