Skip to main content

Calm returns to U.S. after historic tensed poll

Supporters of US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, reacting to elections results Source: DREW ANGERER/GETTY

Supporters of US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, reacting to elections results
Source: DREW ANGERER/GETTY

There is calm in the U.S. after a palpable atmosphere on Tuesday over whether president-elect Donald Trump or rival Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton would accept the outcome of the presidential election.

Many Americans had expressed concerns over how the outcome of the polls would be received by supporters of both Trump and Clinton.

It is a norm in the U.S. for the loser of a presidential election to make a ceremonial call through to the winner, as a sign of accepting defeat and to douse any tension that might be associated with the poll.

The heated election campaigns by Clinton and Trump, which saw the two leading candidates attacking each other, had been seen by most Americans as unusual and taken the presidential campaign to its lowest in the recent history.

Chairman of the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, John Podesta, had also addressed a group of pro-Clinton supporters on her behalf after the exit polls became too close to call.

“Several states are too close to call, so we are not going to have anything more to say tonight.

“Everybody should head home, you should get some sleep; we’ll have more to say tomorrow,” Podesta had encouraged the shocked Clinton’s supporters.

However, the tension-soaked atmosphere evaporated immediately Clinton called Trump to concede the election and congratulated Trump, saying she believed that Trump would be the next president of the U.S. after it became apparent that she had lost the Electoral College.

Trump, while also delivering his maiden speech, in an unusual humble tone, praised Clinton and pledged to unite America as against the violent tones that had pervaded the heated electioneering.

“I just receive a call from Secretary Clinton. She congratulated us, it’s about us, on our victory and I congratulated her family on a very hard-fought campaign, I mean she fought very hard.

“Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time and we owe a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country, I know that very sincerely,” Trump said about Clinton.

The president-elect, also concerned about the effect of the divisive campaigns, appealed to all to Americans to heal the wounds of division, while also pledging to be the president for all Americans.

“Now it’s time for Americans to bind the wounds of division and to get together.

“To all Republicans and Democrats and Independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people. It’s time.

“I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans and this is so important to me.

“For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which they were a few people, I’m reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great party.”

Trump will be inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2017 as the 45th American president while vice president-elect Mike Pence would be inaugurated as the 48th vice president.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Houthis Claim Attack on Central Israel in Response to Gaza ‘Massacres’

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has taken a concerning regional turn as the Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for an attack on central Israel. The group announced this as part of their escalating response to what they describe as "massacres" in Gaza amid the Israeli military’s operations in the strip. Details of the Attack The Houthis, a Shiite militant group with ties to Iran, declared that they launched missile and drone strikes targeting Israel. While the exact impact of these attacks remains unclear, reports suggest that Israel’s defense systems intercepted several threats over its airspace. This marks a significant escalation as the Houthis widen their involvement in the conflict beyond their typical operations within Yemen and neighboring Saudi Arabia. The Houthis’ Justification In their statement, the Houthis framed the attack as retaliation for Israel’s military actions in Gaza, which they characterized as indiscriminate bombings resultin...

Fire: UniJos Senate convenes emergency meeting on Monday

Fire at the University of Jos Library University of Jos is to convene an emergency senate meeting on Monday to review the level of damage done to the institution by the Saturday night inferno. The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Sebastian Maimako, disclosed this on Sunday after inspecting areas affected by the incident. The fire, which lasted for more than six hours, destroyed the Library Complex that equally houses the faculties of management and social sciences. The fire also destroyed examination scripts, books and very crucial materials. Consequently, the vice-chancellor said “the Senate will meet tomorrow (Monday) to take a decision about the unmarked examination scripts that were burnt.” On the cause of the inferno, Maimako said investigation had commenced, adding that “nothing has been confirmed yet. We are still investigating.” The vice chancellor said the school was already working with federal authorities toward establishing a main fire station since the mini fire station in t...

NDLEA arrests 252 suspects, seizes 3,073 kg Indian hemp

NDLEA operatives The NDLEA in Niger on Monday said that it had arrested 252 suspects and seized 3,073.9 kilogramme of Indian hemp(cannabis sativa) in the state. The NDLEA Commander in the state, Mr Joseph Iweajunwa, who disclosed this in Minna, said that the operations were carried out between January and September. “Our operations in Niger State from January to September 2016 led to the arrest of 252 suspects and seizure of 3,073.997 kilogramme of cannabis sativa,’’ he said. Iweajunwa said that within the period, the agency also seized 1, 530 litres of liquid drugs, especially cough syrup with codeine. He said the NDLEA also counselled and rehabilitated 90 drug addicts in the state within the period under review. The agency, he added, secured convictions of only nine of the suspects because the judge at the Federal High Court, Minna, went on leave. “ Now that the judge has resumed more suspects will be tried,’’ he said. He advised motorists, especially commercial vehicle dri...