In a speech that few envisioned him ever having the chance to deliver when he entered the fray in a crowded GOP primary field, Donald Trump addressed a ballroom of his supporters as the president-elect of the United States of America in the early morning hours following a shocking election that made fools of pollsters and pundits. The anger was real and so was the movement, but while Trump takes the reigns of the country (with the help of a GOP controlled House and Senate), he seems cognizant of concerns that he will only work to “Make America Great Again” for his voters, leaving others out in the cold. It’s an understandable assumption considering the rhetoric that has bubbled up during this long and painful campaign from both candidate Trump, his surrogates, and his supporters, but in his speech, Trump stated that it is “time for us to come together as one united people,” and that the time is now for “America to bind the wounds of division.”
Beyond that stated desire for unity, Trump also both thanks and praised his opponent, Hillary Clinton, who had called to concede the race shortly before he took the stage. With the race trending heavily toward Trump but not yet officially his, Clinton made the decision to exit the splashy ceremony that had been planned for what her supporters thought would be a historic moment; the election of America’s first female president. A Clinton speech will be a widely covered event on Wednesday with many expecting her to echo Trump’s call for an end to divisiveness.
Trump also thanked numerous members of his inner circle and his family after repeating a laundry list of improvements that he hopes to usher in. Under President Trump, America will fix its infrastructure, rebuild its inner-cities, lift up its veterans, double its growth, create millions of jobs, and get along with the nations of the world. This is all, of course, big talk from a man who favors nothing less than grand promises, but will Trump be able to pull it off? That’ll be one of many things on the minds of Hillary Clinton supporters and those on the left in the coming days, but in the end, there are no guarantees. Only hope. Really, time will tell, but to echo a familiar theme from this night of heartache and shock on the left, Trump’s promises of coming prosperity and prioritizing unity are the best offer that’s on the table.
Here’s the second half of Trump’s victory speech.