Editor’s note: This story has been updated.
After a shocking night that saw upsets in several states, Donald Trump is the president-elect of the United States. Trump met with President Barack Obama on Thursday morning, a day after Obama and Hillary Clinton both gave speeches that put forth goodwill to the president-elect.
Although Clinton won the popular vote by a margin that is likely to increase, Trump flipped multiple states from Democrat victories in 2012 to Republican grabs in 2016. He came away with a comfortable Electoral College lead.
Clinton asked her supporters to give Trump “a chance to lead” on Wednesday and offered sometimes emotional remarks on the progress her supporters made in breaking the “glass ceiling” of electing a female president.
“Please, never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it,” Clinton said.
Obama also struck an amicable tone, saying “We are all now rooting for his success.” The two Democrats’ effort to encourage a smooth transition of power come in stark and possibly intentional contrast to that of the Republicans’ tone in 2008. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell famously said his top priority was to make Obama a “one-term president,” and influential talk radio host Rush Limbaugh proclaimed “I hope he fails.”
That contrast continued on Thursday morning, when Obama and Trump put aside a contentious past to make a largely symbolic and procedural meeting at the White House. It was the beginning of the administration’s effort to acclimate Trump to the office. Trump, of course, vehemently criticized Obama in the past, but called him “a good man” after the meeting.
Sen. Bernie Sanders said on Wednesday that he’d try to find common ground with Trump, but emphasized that Senate Democrats say they’ll fight him on areas of disagreement.
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, Sanders said in a statement. To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him.”
After midnight Nov. 9, the Clinton campaign announced that it would wait until Wednesday morning after every vote was counted before it considered conceding.
Campaign Chairman John Podesta walked on stage at the Clinton headquarters in New York and spoke to the crowd around 2 a.m. EST. He informed the crowd that Clinton would not be conceding the election that night despite Trump’s increasing lead.
“They are still counting votes and every vote counts,” Podesta said. “She is not done yet.”
Contact CU Independent Editorial Manager Ellis Arnold at ellis.arnold@colorado.edu.
Contact CU Independent Editor-in-Chief Xandra McMahon at xandra.mcmahon@colorado.edu.
