President Trump

Donald J. Trump has been elected the 45th President of the United States of America as part of a Republican landslide that sees the party keep its majority in both Houses of Congress.

It has been an election campaign full of surprises. In the run-up to the primaries last autumn, no one seriously expected Donald Trump to be nominated as the Republican candidate, never mind win the election. The Republicans were very divided, with 12 different candidates in the primaries. Hillary Clinton was expected to have an easy run to the Democrat nomination. Instead she had a hard-fought battle with Senator Bernie Sanders, who is not even a Democrat. And up until the morning of 8 November, most opinion polls and election experts forecast a Clinton win.

Instead, Clinton phoned Trump to concede victory as he passed the barrier of 270 Electoral College votes in the projected results. Trump appears to be the fifth candidate in U.S. electoral history to lose the popular vote but win the Electoral College.

In his acceptance speech in front of a hall packed with his supporters, Mr Trump's tone was calm and grave, in contrast to many of his campaign speeches. He thanked Mrs Clinton for all her service to the country and called for "America to bind the wounds of division." He continued, "I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all of Americans," and he reached out those who opposed him in the past, "for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country."

A Businessman in the White House
Donald Trump is the first President who has never held political office nor been a military commander. The billionaire businessman and reality TV star is more used to boardrooms and TV studios than debating chambers. His opponents charged that this made him unprepared for the presidency. His supporters and voters felt it made him a breath of fresh air, and a force for change.

Scroll down for a brief biographical profile of Donald Trump.

Next Steps
Since Hillary Clinton conceded, Donald Trump is considered President Elect, even though Clinton seems certain to have won the popular vote. With one state still undeclared, Michigan, Clinton has a roughly million-vote lead in the popular vote, but Trump has a 20 votes more for the Electoral College than the 270 needed, so Michigan's 16 will change nothing.

However there are still a number of steps to be taken before President Trump starts his administration on 20 January.

The results that everyone has been poring over are in fact just projections. The final, official results of each state election will be published over the upcoming days and weeks. On 19 December, the Electoral College will vote and officialise Donald Trump's election. (The electors to the Electoral College don't convene in one place for the vote, the electors for each state meet in the state.) Congress will then approve the election in early January. On 20 January, Donald Trump will be inaugurated President in a ceremony in Washington, DC.

In the meantime, Barack Obama remains President in name, but in reality can't do very much, especially with Congress firmly Republican. He will truly spend his final months as a lame duck.

 

Bio Box
Donald Trump
Age: 70
Career: Donald Trump inherited his company from his father, but made it much more successful but upgrading from building and managing apartments for rent in New York to building luxury hotels, casinos and golf courses.

Trump Towers, where he has his offices, is one of the most famous skyscrapers in New York. It is also where The Apprentice is filmed, the reality TV show Trump starred in from 2004 to 2015.

Mr Trump puts his fortune at almost $9 billion. Forbes Magazine, the U.S. business magazine that is considered a reference in its field, puts it at $3.7 billion. Several of Trump's other business ventures have ended in bankruptcy. He refused to release his tax records during the campaign and is believed to have not paid taxes for 20 years or more.

Family: He is now married to his third wife, and has five children ranging in age from 38 to 10, and seven grandchildren.