Trump upsets Clinton, shocks nation, pulls win at eleventh hour

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By Sekar Krisnauli, Breanne Kovatch and Amanda Kaufman

NEW YORK — A 2:33 a.m. announcement from the Associated Press declared Republican Donald Trump to be the President-elect of the United States.

Soon after the announcement, Trump took the stage at the Hilton New York Midtown Hotel. During his speech he said Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton called to tell him she conceded to him. He praised her for her hard work during the election.

“Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country,” Trump said. “Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division … to all Republicans and Democrats and Independents across this nation; I say it is time for us to come together as one united people.”

Trump said his experience as a businessman will allow him to help Americans achieve success.

“I’ve spent my entire life in business looking at the untapped potential in projects and people all over the world,” Trump said. “Every single American will have the opportunity to realize his or her fullest potential.”

Trump concluded by encouraging Americans to continue the movement that started with the beginning of his campaign over a year ago.

“To be really historic, we have to do a great job, and I promise you I will not let you down.  I look very much forward to being your president,” he said. “We’re going to get to work immediately for the American people, and we’re going to be doing a  job and hopefully you will be so proud of your president. Thank you to Mike Pence.”

Before the AP announcement, Clinton’s campaign chair John Podesta spoke to the crowd at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, advising them to wait for the results from their homes.

“We are so proud of her,” Podesta said to the crowd gathered just over a mile away from Trump’s election night event.

The Clinton campaign held an election night watch party Tuesday at the convention center in the hopes of celebrating a winning result under a real glass ceiling.

Thousands of attendees without physical tickets retrieved prior to the event were not allowed to go inside the Javits Center and had to gather outside of the center beginning at approximately 6:30 p.m. A singular stage with a podium and a giant screen that was adjacent to the building aired CNN, MSNBC and CBS News for election predictions and announcements.

Most attendees, ranging from kids brought by their parents to college students to the elderly, dressed with ornaments such as buttons and pins in support of the Clinton campaign, since signs and large fliers were not allowed in the venue. A number of women also dressed to imitate Clinton’s signature pantsuit look.

Canadian-born Brian Hassett, 55, who became an American citizen when he got married, said he wanted to “be sure [he’s] surrounded by Democrats” during election night. Hassett wore 26 buttons that showed his support for Democratic candidates since the 1992 presidential election, and he said they represent “politics, democracy and governance.”

“I’ve heard [Republican] people insulting me,” Hassett, originally from Ontario, Canada, said at the watch party. “Somebody said ‘I hope to God you die.’ You did not hear that when Mitt Romney was the candidate or John McCain or George W. Bush. I’ve never seen this … anger.”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo spoke inside the Javits Center early in the night, and urged party attendees to maintain unity.

“We are Muslims, we are Christians, we are Jews and we are proud,” Cuomo said. “We are one here in New York.”

Approximately 100 Trump supporters were concentrated on the corner of 55th St. and 6th Ave., a block away from the hotel where Trump gave his victory speech.

Trump supporters were more enthusiastic and continuously cheered “USA, USA, USA,” “lock her up” and even “President Trump” before the AP announced Trump as the winner of the election. Most of the Trump supporters sported Trump campaign gear such as buttons, pins, Trump-Pence flags and the famous red “Make America Great Again” hats.

Bianca Tilbot, 23, of Perth, Australia, flew to the states just to support Trump in late October, she said, and since then has been campaigning for Trump across the country.

“I’m here to support Trump to witness this amazing election. In Australia we kind of face the same kind of problems as in the U.S. we just face them at a later date,” Tilbot said. “Trump is the kind of leader that Australia needs in the sense that he stands up to political correctness and fights for the people who feel like they don’t have a voice.”

Massachusetts voters, on the other hand, cast their ballots overwhelmingly in favor of Clinton, with about 60.5 percent of the vote going to Clinton and only 33.8 percent going to Trump, according to the AP.

Clinton claimed the vast majority of Boston voters as well, earning 81.7 percent of the votes to Trump’s 14.2 percent.

At the official Massachusetts Trump campaign election watch party in Newton, supporters voiced enthusiasm for the progression of Trump’s success in the Electoral College throughout the night.

Charlotte Ploss, 71, of Mission Hill, said Trump’s words have been taken out of context throughout the campaign and are incomparable to Clinton’s offenses.

“Here we have a woman who is taking money from our enemies and is being bought and paid for by the Arabs in the Middle East, and we’re going to talk about Donald Trump saying the word ‘pussy?’” she said. “Are you kidding me? I don’t care if he cuts his wife’s liver open and puts it on the White House lawn. What I’m saying is you take it into context.”

Verna Khantzian, 64, of Arlington, said Clinton is “completely corrupt” and would have been detrimental to the country had she been elected.

“The lies and the scandals are immense and huge and she wants a globalist, open border economy and country and I’m totally against that,” she said.

The Clinton campaign Election Night party was held in the The Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub in Cambridge. Clinton supporters questioned Trump’s ability to be president.

Clio Macrakis, 20, a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said America is embedded with divisiveness.

“This is really depressing that there are so many racist, sexist and xenophobic people in the world, especially in America right now,” he said.

Bibek Gurung, 25, of Dorchester, said Trump’s victory would bring “a big fallacy,” narrowing the three branches of government.

“He’ll have the Senate, he’ll have the House, he’ll have the Supreme Court; he’ll just implement anyone; he’ll instate any judge he wants,” he said. “With all three branches of government to a now Republican Party, that is increasingly extremist and falling to the right. I don’t think people like me will be safe here. This isn’t just a game, you know.”

Dave Sebastian and Alyssa Meyers contributed to this story