TRUMP-IN-CHIEF
US BILLIONAIRE SNATCHES SHOCK ELECTION VICTORY
Despite a campaign laced with missteps and scandals, Trump narrowly defeated his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in an election that went right down to the wire.
BILLIONAIRE DEVELOPER Donald Trump pulled off a shocker last night when he was elected president of the United States.
Despite a campaign laced with missteps and scandals, Trump narrowly defeated his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in an election that went right down to the wire like most opinion polls predicted.
Before Trump was declared the winner, the US Embassy in Kingston last night sought to allay concerns among Jamaicans, announcing that several of the initiatives started by President Barack Obama would continue, regardless of the outcome of the poll.
UP TO press time this morning, the major networks in the United States were indicating that businessman Donald Trump was on his way to becoming president-elect of that country.
Capping a presidential campaign of venom, audacity and history, Donald Trump scored major victories in Florida, Ohio and North Carolina yesterday, building steam in a stunningly competitive contest with Hillary Clinton that raged across battlegrounds late into the night.
Clinton pocketed Virginia – a squeaker like Florida – and both candidates rolled up victories in their predictable strongholds. But nothing else was predictable as the man who faced a narrow path to the presidency inched closer to it, in an election that laid bare the divisions gnawing at the nation.
Trump flipped Iowa, a state that twice voted for Democrat Barack Obama. He won Utah, a slam-dunk for most Republicans but a state where many diehard Republicans were said to find him intolerable.
Both candidates left multitudes of Americans dissatisfied with their choices.
STRUGGLE FOR VOTERS
The struggle over who to support was voiced by two voters in Independence, Missouri, after casting their ballots.
“I had such a hard time, harder than I’ve ever had,” said Joyce Dayhill, 59, a school bus driver who “reluctantly” voted for Trump. “I just prayed on it as hard as I could and felt this was the right decision.”
Said Clinton voter Richard Clevenger, 58: “I think Trump’s not stable. But I can’t say there was really anything Hillary’s shown me that made me feel like voting for her. But Trump just doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing, and he’s surrounded by the Mickey Mouse Club.”
The first states to be decided Tuesday night produced expected results: Kentucky, Indiana, Oklahoma, West Virginia, South Carolina and Tennessee went for Trump; Vermont, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware and the District of Columbia for Clinton.
In later waves, Trump added Texas, Kansas, Georgia and more to his column while Clinton took New York and Illinois, each reaping significant gains in the contest for 270 electoral votes but still searching for a breakout. Trump’s trio of wins in Florida, Ohio and North Carolina may have provided it.
Control of the Senate also hung in the balance on a night that was reshaping the political calculus in Washington, a dozen governors’ offices and statehouses.
At press time, Trump was leading in Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Pennsylvania with 254 of the 270 Electoral College votes that he needs to win. Clinton had 215 votes. The media were reporting that Trump was preparing his victory speech and that he would be gracious.