Obama urges smooth transition
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says he’s instructing his team to make sure there is a peaceful transfer of power to Donald Trump.
Obama spoke Wednesday in the White House’s Rose Garden following Trump’s upset victory in Tuesday’s presidential election.
He noted that he and Trump have had big differences. Trump promises to repeal many of Obama’s achievements over the past eight years. Obama had warned voters that if Trump were to win, “all that progress goes down the drain.”
Now, Obama said “we all want what’s best for this country.” He said the point is that we all go forward with a presumption of good faith in all citizens. He says that’s how the country has moved forward and he’s confident that the incredible American journey will continue.
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Clinton tells backers they must accept outcome
NEW YORK (AP) — Hillary Clinton says America “is more deeply divided than we thought,” but she is urging her supporters to accept the outcome of the presidential election.
In a speech conceding the presidency to Republican Donald Trump, Clinton said, “I still believe in America, and I always will.”
She noted that “our responsibility as citizens is to keep doing our part to keep building that better, stronger, fairer America.”
Clinton says losing the election “is painful, and it will be for a long time.” But she said of Trump, “We owe him an open mind and a chance to lead.” Clinton says American democracy depends on “peaceful transition of power.”
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Exit polls reveal Trump’s strength
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Donald Trump won the presidency fueled by a surge of working-class whites across a band of Midwestern states. Those are the kind of voters who had helped anchor Democratic presidential victories for a generation.
Trump won states such as Pennsylvania and Iowa that had twice backed Barack Obama.
Exit polls and unofficial returns reflect deep racial, gender, economic and cultural divides across the region and nationally.
Trump’s support Tuesday skewed older, more male and overwhelmingly white. His supporters said they are deeply dissatisfied with the federal government and eager for change. That’s according to the exit polls conducted by Edison Research for national media outlets.
Democrat Hillary Clinton’s support was anchored in cities, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Trump’s advantages in small towns, rural areas and many suburbs.
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Another Bush congratulates Trump
UNDATED (AP) — Another former president Bush is congratulating Donald Trump on winning the race for the White House.
George W. Bush said in a statement that he called Trump Wednesday. He said he and his wife, Laura, wished the president-elect and his family “our very best as they take on an awesome responsibility.”
Bush added: “We pray for the success of our country and the success of our new president.”
A spokesman said Bush and his wife didn’t vote for Trump when casting early ballots for Tuesday’s election.
Bush’s father, George H.W. Bush, also called and congratulated Trump on Wednesday.
Jeb Bush today addressed a Tweet to Trump, saying, “I will pray for you in the days and months to come.”
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GOP critic of Trump and Clinton praises Clinton’s speech
WASHINGTON (AP) — A prominent Republican critic of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is giving the Democrat high marks for her concession speech.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said in a statement Wednesday that Clinton should be congratulated for “doing her part to bring about healing of our nation.”
Unimpressed with either candidate, Graham quipped in September that the choice “makes me want to move to Canada.”
But a day after the election, Graham said Clinton struck the right tone.
Graham said, “all Americans should follow her counsel and try to work with our next president.”
He said Trump “will need all the help he can get given the many challenges we face as a nation.”
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Trump has a Supreme Court vacancy to fill
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump will enter the Oval Office with the ability to re-establish the Supreme Court’s conservative tilt and the chance to cement it for the long term.
Trump is expected to act quickly to fill one court vacancy and could choose the successor for up to three justices who will be in their 80s by the time his term ends.
The court has been short-handed since Justice Antonin Scalia died in February, and Trump has said he would seek someone in Scalia’s mold from a list of 21 people, mainly conservative state and federal judges in their 50s.
Trump’s victory was a vindication for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s strategy of refusing all year even to consider President Barack Obama’s nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to take Scalia’s seat.