The United States of America voted in Republican Presidential candidate, Donald John Trump, 70, as its 45th President on 9th November, 2016, in a shocking culmination of a populist and divisive campaign that ceaselessly attacked the institutions and long-held ideals of American democracy, proving wrong all the polls, the pundits and the data! ! Trump won the Electoral Votes, surpassing 270 compared to Democratic Presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton’s 218 Electoral Votes.

The unbelievable triumph for the thrice-married Manhattanite – living in a marble-wrapped three-story penthouse apartment on Fifth Avenue, a real estate developer-turned-reality television star millionaire with no government experience – was the result of the powerful, discontented American voice rejecting the current government structure and regime. Repudiating the legacy of President Obama, the election result was a solid demonstration of a largely overlooked coalition of mostly white, blue-collared, working-class voters who felt that the promise of the United States remained undelivered amid decades of globalization and multi-culturalism.

Constantly under the global spotlight over the past few months, Trump’s sensational campaign made shocking claims, calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals, suggesting a ban on Muslims entering the United States, threatening opponents, promising lawsuits against news organizations that covered him critically and women who accused him of sexual assault. At times, he simply lied! Even so, Trump was widely underestimated as a candidate both – by his opponents for the Republican nomination, and later by Hillary Clinton, his Democratic rival. But his unshakable self-regard and unfiltered rallies – aggressive, entertaining, heavy on name-calling and nationalist overtones – attracted a fervent following and became the nexus of a political movement, with daily promises of a sweeping victory, to ‘Make America Great Again’, and an insistence that the country’s political machinery was “rigged” against him and his followers. His numerous business engagements abroad will raise questions about potential conflicts of interest in the Oval Office. Also, his refusal to release his tax returns, and his acknowledgment that he did not pay Federal Income Tax for years, has left global audiences stumped.

Hillary Clinton’s shocking defeat signals an abrupt end to a generation-long, democratic political dynasty . Eight years after losing to President Obama, and 16 years after leaving the White House for the United States Senate, (when President Bill Clinton exited office), Hillary seemed perfectly positioned to carry on the legacies of both former Presidents. Her defeat also crushed the hopes of millions who cheered her march toward making history as the nation’s first female president.  Hillary’s weakness lay in failing to connect with the voters who were desperately looking for change. She was unable to recuperate from the charge of using a private email server as State Secretary. She failed to convince the voters that she would be the champion of the economically downtrodden after delivering perfunctory paid speeches that earned her millions of dollars.

His victory has created worldwide outrage, with social media platforms buzzing constantly. The sentiments of the American Media can be widely summed up by the Editor of the popular magazine, ‘The New Yorker’, David Remnick, where he writes in his article titled An American Tragedy, “The election of Donald Trump to the Presidency is nothing less than a tragedy for the American republic, a tragedy for the Constitution, and a triumph for the forces, at home and abroad, of nativism, authoritarianism, misogyny, and racism. Trump’s shocking victory, his ascension to the Presidency, is a sickening event in the history of the United States and liberal democracy. On January 20, 2017, we will bid farewell to the first African-American President—a man of integrity, dignity, and generous spirit—and witness the inauguration of a con who did little to spurn endorsement by forces of xenophobia and white supremacy. It is impossible to react to this moment with anything less than revulsion and profound anxiety.” He goes on to predict, “There are, inevitably, miseries to come: an increasingly reactionary Supreme Court; an emboldened right-wing Congress; a President whose disdain for women and minorities, civil liberties and scientific fact, to say nothing of simple decency, has been repeatedly demonstrated. Trump is vulgarity unbounded, a knowledge-free national leader who will not only set markets tumbling but will strike fear into the hearts of the vulnerable, the weak, and, above all, the many varieties of Other whom he has so deeply insulted. The African-American Other. The Hispanic Other. The female Other. The Jewish and Muslim Other.”

Trump’s win set off financial jitters with global markets falling as well as instant apprehension amongst international allies, based on his campaign which vociferously challenged many of US’s military commitments abroad and its allegiance to international economic partnerships. In fact, even within the US, such was Trump’s unpopularity, that dozens of celebrities vowed, over the past months, to leave if he became President. And perhaps a lot more planned on considering that option, as overnight, Canada’s immigration website crashed multiple times due to traffic surge, after it became clear that Trump would win! Even New Zealand reported an increased traffic to its website for residency visas from US nationals on the same evening! Included amongst the long list of celebs who promised to leave were actors – Samuel L. Jackson, Lena Dunham (HBO’s ‘Girls’), Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Neve Campbell (House of Cards), Natasha Lyonne (Orange is the New Black); singers – Cher, Miley Cyrus, Barbara Streisand and Ne-Yo; and comedians Amy Schumer, Jon Stewart (former Daily Show host), Whoopi Goldberg and George Lopez.

Undoubtedly, Trump is a wild card. If he is able to get his vanquished rivals aboard his team, he may become a successful leader. To his credit, he commands a history of job creation, which may serve him in tackling the failed Obama economy. “The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer,” Trump told his supporters at 3 a.m. (USA) on Wednesday at a rally in New York City, just after Clinton called to concede. Contrary to his campaign, in which he repeatedly stoked division, Trump appealed for unity. “Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division,” he said. “It is time for us to come together as one united people.” Trump will take the President’s Oath of Office on 20th January, 2017.