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CNN |
The world is still reeling from Republican candidate Donald Trump's shock victory over Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the US Presidential election early Wednesday morning. The result, which is widely thought to be one of the biggest political upsets in living memory, brings to an end Trump's long-fought run to the White House, which has, throughout its time, been widely characterised as a deeply polarising force in American social and political life.
Reflecting this sentiment, onlookers across the globe made their voices
audible through laptops, tablets and mobile phones as they took to
social media to express their feelings of shock, adulation, fear and
relief in what can only be described as one of the most emotional,
varied and divided outpourings of celebration, rationalisation, dark
humour and stupefaction ever to have occupied our collective news feed.
Trump's candidacy has mustered groundswells of both support and
opposition since it began in June 2015. The reactions which dominated
our Facebook and Twitter feeds as the election results trickled through
on Tuesday night reflected this rift in popular opinion. Many in Britain
stayed up through the night to watch the results being tallied by major
news networks. For Clinton supporters here and across the Pond,
comments began with a note of cautious optimism, as the Democratic
candidate opened up an early lead.
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However, as late night became early morning, Trump supporters found a
cause for hope as the Republican challenger's victories in several
tightly-fought key states became clear. Between roughly 4am and 5am GMT Wednesday morning, the NBC electoral maps
of Idaho, North Carolina, Florida and Georgia turned red, along with
those of most other major news channels. With these killer blows having
seemingly been dealt, many commentators were prompted to call the result
early in Trump's favour. Shortly before Wisconsin was also called for Trump (at roughly 8am GMT) Hillary Clinton phoned up her rival to concede defeat. For some, the outcome prompted anger and justified the use of grave comparisons.
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Nevertheless, many others were delighted by the news.
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As time passed, however, onlookers' general elation, shock, surprise and disorientation crystallised into more coherent articulations of their longer-term sentiments.
Many Trump advocates dug into prior research in order to assert various
claims as to the legitimacy of their new President-Elect.
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Understandably, however, perhaps the greatest level of attention thus
far has been paid to issues surrounding race relations in the United
States. From recent polls it's clear to see that Clinton won the vote of
minority communities, whilst Trump's main support came from white voters, especially men. Donald Trump, in a victory speech at about 8am GMT, sought to reassure the public that his America will work 'for every single American,' promising that 'The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.'
In contrast, however, among the highest trending topics on Facebook at that time were comments made by CNN's Van Jones, who claimed 'this was a Whitelash against a changing country.' Nevertheless, Trump claimed his victory to be one for everybody, and described his ascendancy as the result of 'a movement comprised of Americans from all races, religions, backgrounds, and beliefs.'
In contrast, however, among the highest trending topics on Facebook at that time were comments made by CNN's Van Jones, who claimed 'this was a Whitelash against a changing country.' Nevertheless, Trump claimed his victory to be one for everybody, and described his ascendancy as the result of 'a movement comprised of Americans from all races, religions, backgrounds, and beliefs.'
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facebook.com/latimes |
As more organised responses began filtering through, social media was
increasingly dominated by commentary on the morning's revelations. By
about 9am GMT, the L.A. Times was using Facebook to live-stream protest marches in downtown Los Angeles,
in the heart of a state which voted for Hillary Clinton. As such,
L.A.'s citizens spoke assertively in the video of their shock, sadness
and anger at the overall result. Celebrity voices also came to the fore
during the morning, with the likes of Lady Gaga tweeting
their renewed support for the Black Lives Matter campaign, and urging
followers to 'stand up for kindness, equality, and love.'
But of course, there also emerged throughout the morning examples of the
kind of non-partisan satire which only reach for the garb of 'dark
humour' when the world is reeling from a seismic event.
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Nevertheless, most of the comments one could encounter throughout the morning were acting either upon elation or concern.
By noon GMT, as the initial shock began to wear away, many continued to
use social media as a platform from which to express their views,
reasoning, thoughts and predictions. As many pro-Trump onlookers felt
their surprise turn to calm, there began to emerge grassroots commentary
which afforded a unobstructed window into the profound discontent which
underwrote their decision to vote for the outsider candidate whose
promises of radical reform, job creation and a renewed economic
Greatness for America had clearly struck a profound chord.
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Others, meanwhile, sought alternative explanations for the rise of
Donald Trump to the office of President of the United States, yet could
also be seen to be colouring their interpretations with far darker
analyses.
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