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Good mourning America,
Yet again the pollsters, experts and analysts got it wrong. Yet again the establishment got a kicking. Yet again expectations have been confounded. Donald Trump will be the 45th President of the United States. You can read our account of how the night unfolded here. This was a howl of rage by Americans against the governing classes. The Republican, a trust-fund billionaire born with every privilege an American could want, managed to position himself as the anti-establishment candidate and surf the wave of anger and frustration that has been threatening to crash on Washington for several years.
Hillary Clinton lost because she was the epitome of a political elite that appeared indifferent to those trapped in low-paid and insecure jobs, fearful of the future and distrustful of mainstream politics, the mainstream media and mainstream business. By contrast, Trump had a simple message which had parallels with Leave’s “Take back control” - he would make America great again by building a wall on the Mexican border, impose trade tariffs on China and create a jobs bonanza. The reaction of the markets shows others have less confidence in a Trump presidency. The unknown question is how will Trump behave in office. Will his unpredictable, free-wheeling, almost anarchic style of doing politics continue in the White House or will he be constrained by a Republican-led Congress and accept that with the office comes a requirement of dignity?
In his acceptance speech he promised to govern for all Americans. But many fear that his victory will stir up racial hatred and further marginalise the marginalised.
Few have entered the White House with so little experience and so many skeletons in their cupboard. He knows how to strike a deal but almost nothing of international affairs, global security and the workings of Capitol Hill. The future of Nato, international trade rules, agreements on climate change, the situation in the Middle East and the global power balance are now in flux. Domestically, Trump has to unite a country whose divisions he exploited to win the presidency. Much of his campaign was based on appealing to prejudice and resentment. Never has the adage that politics is showbusiness for ugly people rung so true. The anger which propelled him to office could be nothing compared to the rage if he fails to deliver on his promises.
We will be carrying live coverage throughout the day with analysis and commentary on what it means for America, Britain and the rest of the world.
If you want to get in touch my email is jason.beattie@mirror.co.uk and you can follow us @mirrorpolitics on Twitter.
Thanks,
Mirror Politics | 
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