Donald Trump’s victory speech, full transcript

Updated by Tara Golshan  

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Against all odds, polls, and projections, Donald Trump claimed victory in the presidential election Tuesday, delivering a speech at the Hilton Hotel in New York City on Tuesday to a cheering crowd of supporters.

Mr. Trump

It was an unexpected outcome for the Republican candidate, who beat out not only a stacked GOP primary field but also an even more formidable opponent in Hillary Clinton, who was consistently ahead of him in the polls up and in a much stronger position on the electoral map.

Not to mention the fact that Trump has been mired in scandals and gaffes throughout the election. More than a dozen women have accused him of sexual assault after a hot mic tape revealed him bragging about “grabbing” women by the genitals; he has made vague insinuations connecting President Obama and Clinton to terrorism groups; he led a campaign built on wild inaccuracies and vague to nonexistent policy proposals; and he built his campaign on divisive anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric, garnering even the support of white nationalists.

Despite all this, however, Trump managed to strike a chord with the American people as an unorthodox candidate without a political background, selling a call for a Southern border wall, a temporary ban on Muslim immigrants, and his strong opposition to trade deals, among his other bombastic talking points.

All the worry over Trump’s possible refusal to concede the election is now moot. He is the one who got to accept Clinton’s concession.

Below Vox will publish a rush transcript of his speech in full. [Editor’s note: The transcript may have missing words or phrases.]

Thank you. Thank you very much, everyone. Sorry to keep you waiting. Complicated business, complicated. Thank you very much.

I've just received a call from Secretary Clinton. She congratulated us. It’s about us. On our victory, and I congratulated her and her family on a very, very hard-fought campaign.

I mean, she fought very hard. 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.

I mean that very sincerely. Now it is time for America to bind the wounds of division, have to get together. To all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people.

It is time. I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all of Americans, and this is so important to me. For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I'm reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country. As I've said from the beginning, ours was not a campaign but rather an incredible and great movement, made up of millions of hard-working men and women who love their country and want a better, brighter future for themselves and for their family.

It is a movement comprised of Americans from all races, religions, backgrounds, and beliefs, who want and expect our government to serve the people, and serve the people it will.

Working together, we will begin the urgent task of rebuilding our nation and renewing the American dream. I've spent my entire life in business, looking at the untapped potential in projects and in people all over the world.

That is now what I want to do for our country. Tremendous potential. I've gotten to know our country so well. Tremendous potential. It is going to be a beautiful thing. Every single American will have the opportunity to realize his or her fullest potential. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.

We are going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, hospitals. We're going to rebuild our infrastructure, which will become, by the way, second to none, and we will put millions of our people to work as we rebuild it. We will also finally take care of our great veterans who have been so loyal, and I've gotten to know so many over this 18-month journey.

The time I've spent with them during this campaign has been among my greatest honors.

Our veterans are incredible people. We will embark upon a project of national growth and renewal. I will harness the creative talents of our people, and we will call upon the best and brightest to leverage their tremendous talent for the benefit of all. It is going to happen. We have a great economic plan. We will double our growth and have the strongest economy anywhere in the world. At the same time, we will get along with all other nations willing to get along with us. We will be. We will have great relationships. We expect to have great, great relationships. No dream is too big, no challenge is too great. Nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach.

America will no longer settle for anything less than the best. We must reclaim our country's destiny and dream big and bold and daring. We have to do that. We're going to dream of things for our country, and beautiful things and successful things once again.

I want to tell the world community that while we will always put America's interests first, we will deal fairly with everyone, with everyone.

All people and all other nations. We will seek common ground, not hostility; partnership, not conflict. And now I would like to take this moment to thank some of the people who really helped me with this, what they are calling tonight a very, very historic victory.

First, I want to thank my parents, who I know are looking down on me right now. Great people. I've learned so much from them. They were wonderful in every regard. Truly great parents. I also want to thank my sisters, Marianne and Elizabeth, who are here with us tonight. Where are they? They're here someplace. They're very shy, actually.

And my brother Robert, my great friend. Where is Robert? Where is Robert?

My brother Robert, and they should be on this stage, but that's okay. They're great.

And also my late brother Fred, great guy. Fantastic guy. Fantastic family. I was very lucky.

Great brothers, sisters, great, unbelievable parents. To Melania and Don and Ivanka and Eric and Tiffany and Barron, I love you and I thank you, and especially for putting up with all of those hours. This was tough.

This was tough. This political stuff is nasty, and it is tough. So I want to thank my family very much. Really fantastic. Thank you all. Thank you all. Lara, unbelievable job. Unbelievable. Vanessa, thank you. Thank you very much. What a great group.

You've all given me such incredible support, and I will tell you that we have a large group of people. You know, they kept saying we have a small staff. Not so small. Look at all of the people that we have. Look at all of these people.

And Kellyanne and Chris and Rudy and Steve and David. We have got tremendously talented people up here, and I want to tell you it's been very, very special.

I want to give a very special thanks to our former mayor, Rudy Giuliani. He's unbelievable. Unbelievable. He traveled with us and he went through meetings, and Rudy never changes. Where is Rudy. Where is he?

Gov. Chris Christie, folks, was unbelievable. Thank you, Chris. The first man, first senator, first major, major politician — let me tell you, he is highly respected in Washington because he is as smart as you get. Sen. Jeff Sessions. Where is Jeff? A great man. Another great man, very tough competitor. He was not easy. He was not easy. Who is that? Is that the mayor that showed up? Is that Rudy?

Up here. Really a friend to me, but I'll tell you, I got to know him as a competitor because he was one of the folks that was negotiating to go against those Democrats, Dr. Ben Carson. Where's been? Where is Ben? By the way, Mike Huckabee is here someplace, and he is fantastic. Mike and his familiar bring Sarah, thank you very much. Gen. Mike Flynn. Where is Mike? And Gen. Kellogg. We have over 200 generals and admirals that have endorsed our campaign and there are special people.

We have 22 Congressional Medal of Honor people. A very special person who, believe me, I read reports that I wasn't getting along with him. I never had a bad second with him. He's an unbelievable star. He is — that's right, how did you possibly guess? Let me tell you about Reince. I've said Reince. I know it. I know it. Look at all of those people over there. I know it, Reince is a superstar. I said, they can't call you a superstar, Reince, unless we win it. Like Secretariat. He would not have that bust at the track at Belmont.

Reince is really a star and he is the hardest-working guy, and in a certain way I did this. Reince, come up here. Get over here, Reince.

Boy, oh, boy, oh, boy. It's about time you did this right. My god. Nah, come here. Say something.

[Reince Priebus: Ladies and gentlemen, the next president of the united States, Donald Trump! Thank you. It's been an honor. God bless. Thank God.]

Amazing guy. Our partnership with the RNC was so important to the success and what we've done, so I also have to say, I've gotten to know some incredible people.

The Secret Service people. They're tough and they're smart and they're sharp and I don't want to mess around with them, I can tell ya. And when I want to go and wave to a big group of people and they rip me down and put me back down in the seat, but they are fantastic people so I want to thank the Secret Service.

And law enforcement in New York City, they're here tonight. These are spectacular people, sometimes under appreciated unfortunately. We appreciate them. So it's been what they call an historic event, but to be really historic, we have to do a great job, and I promise you that I will not let you down. We will do a great job. We will do a great job. I look very much forward to being your president, and hopefully at the end of two years or three years or four years or maybe even eight years you will say so many of you worked so hard for us, with you. You will say that — you will say that that was something that you were — really were very proud to do and I can — thank you very much.

And I can only say that while the campaign is over, our work on this movement is now really just beginning. We're going to get to work immediately for the American people, and we're going to be doing a job that hopefully you will be so proud of your president. You will be so proud. Again, it's my honor.

It's an amazing evening. It's been an amazing two-year period, and I love this country. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you to Mike Pence.

With supporters shell-shocked, Clinton privately concedes in phone call to Trump

CBS NEWS 

Hillary Clinton called president elect Donald Trump to concede at about 2:30 a.m., but gave no speech and put out no public statement Tuesday night after her stunning defeat. Now, supporters are awaiting her speech Wednesday at 10:30 E.T. 

Mrs. Hillary Clinton

On Tuesday night, Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta told supporters she would not say anything and they should get some sleep.The mood in the hall at Javits Center went from jubilant to shell-shocked as the returns came in. People were crying, hugging and many of them wore looks of disbelief, reports CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes.

Every campaign shows a certain amount of bravado in the closing stretch. You never want to indicate you are losing, but that’s not what was going on in the closing days of the Clinton camp. This campaign had been so sure of victory based on its data that at 8 p.m., they told us Clinton was putting the finishing touches on one of the two speeches they had prepared for her – a sign they all believed she had won and might even be declaring victory on the early side. 

They even had transition meetings set up for Wednesday morning, and believed Clinton would be going to Washington D.C. Thursday to meet with President Obama as the first female president-elect. A lot of those tear-trained faces at the Javits Center were young women, who were convinced she was going to break the glass ceiling.

Their easier path to victory, they thought, was going to be to hold Michigan and win Nevada, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Both their internal polling and public polling showed her leading in all of them going into Tuesday’s race. She was ahead in the polls in every state she needed to win and had been for months -- sometimes by double digits. 

She had a superior ground game. They had so much money to spend on ads and staff that they closed this campaign with $150 million. So to say aides were stunned is an understatement. 

But her turnout was soft in some key urban areas, and suddenly, Pennsylvania, where polls had her up eight points, turned into a nail-biter. Michigan, a reliably blue state, was also a nail-biter.

And Wisconsin truly came out of nowhere. Aides freely admitted to Cordes that it had not even been on their radar screen. Clinton hadn’t visited the state since the primary in April. President Obama won in that state by seven points in 2012.

© 2016 CBS Interactive Inc.

Donald Trump wins US presidency

By REENA FLORES CBS NEWS 

Donald Trump, in a major upset, was elected the 45th president of the United States over Hillary Clinton.

Mr. Donald Trump, US President-elect.

He took the stage early Wednesday morning before a raucous crowd of supporters in midtown Manhattan.

“I just received a call from Secretary Clinton,” he said. “She congratulated us on our victory. And I congratulated her on a hard-fought campaign.” 

He praised Clinton for the hard work she’s done for the country, and told the crowd that “we owe her a major debt of gratitude” for her service to our country.

Polls going into Election Day had largely shown Clinton ahead by a few points, though the expectation was that the race would be tight. By early Wednesday, Trump had won 289 electoral votes and the popular vote, compared to Clinton’s 218. Minnesota, Michigan and New Hampshire had not been counted yet, and Trump lost his home state of New York. After a bitterly fought election, Trump delivered a unifying message -- he called on all Republicans and Democrats to “come together as one united people” and he pledged “to every citizen that I will be president for all our citizens.”

It was a remarkably conciliatory speech from a candidate who had employed more fiery rhetoric his campaign and endured few slights silently. 

“The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer,” he promised.

Trump pledged to fix our inner cities, rebuild the nation’s infrastructure, and “finally take care of our great veterans.” 

America “will no longer settle for anything less than the best,” he pledged. The U.S. will double its growth and have the “strongest economy anywhere in the world,” Trump said. And he promised to seek common ground and “not hostility.”

Clinton’s concession call came as a surprise to some of her staffers, who first heard of her call from reporters. Indeed, not long before Trump spoke, the Democratic nominee had dispatched her campaign manager, John Podesta to her election watching party at the Javits Center to send her supporters home and wait for more conclusive results. 

The crowd, which had appeared worried and despondent on TV screens as the returns for Clinton showed an ever narrower path to victory listened as Podesta told them it had been a long campaign, “But I can say, we can wait a little longer, can’t we,” he asked. “They’re still counting votes, and every vote should count.”

Clinton and her campaign had been confident of victory going into election night, CBS News’ Nancy Cordes reported. All of the data they were looking at told them she would win. And in the early hours Wednesday, Cordes said her campaign was going over the data again, while also looking for any voting irregularities that might have occurred.

Trump supporters react

Trump’s victory was a stunning upset -- the political neophyte, who thought little of data gathering, the ground game or TV ads, ended up carrying several key battleground states, including states Democrats had little to no expectation of losing.

The fears of Trump’s down-ballot effect also turned out to be unfounded. The Senate remains in Republican hands, as does the House.

Trump’s dominance was also seen during the primary season, when he knocked out 16 other Republican rivals in his party’s primaries earlier this year, with a candidacy built on the slogan of “making America great again” -- a promise predicated on increased isolationism. He has proposed a ban on Muslims from entering the U.S., the building of a wall on the southern border, the tearing up of international trade deals, and the reworking of defense treaties.

While garnering only lackluster support for his legislative agenda among top Republican lawmakers, Trump also alienated many for his controversial rhetoric both on the campaign trail.

 Early in his primary bid, the New York businessman targeted Arizona Sen. John McCain, his party’s former presidential nominee and a Vietnam War veteran, and said he wasn’t a war hero “he was captured” as a prisoner of war. His attacks on his own party elders didn’t end there: Later, Trump lashed out at vocal critic South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham by giving away his personal cell phone number at a campaign rally. Trump mocked the disability of a New York Times reporter at a campaign rally after he contested the candidate’s account of New Jersey Muslims celebrating 9/11.After he became the Republican nominee, Trump called House Speaker Paul Ryan a weak and ineffective leader.

During the general election, after Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim soldier who lost his life fighting in the Iraq War, gave a speech at the Democratic convention criticizing Trump, the real estate magnate leveled criticisms at the Gold Star family.  And of the women who came forward and accused him of sexually predatory behavior spanning decades, he suggested they were lying -- and also unattractive enough for him to even consider assaulting.

Clinton, the strong media and polling favorite to win the election, targeted all those controversies in her campaign against Trump -- to little avail. The Democratic nominee has not yet given a concession speech.

CBS News’ Hannah Fraser-Chanpong contributed to this report

EX-MINISTER CHIDES BUHARI FOR IGNORING TO RESTRUCTURE NIGERIA

Nigeria’s former Health Minister, Prof. A. B. C. Nwosu, has scolded President Muhammadu Buhari for turning a deaf ear to calls for Nigeria’s restructuring.

Prof. ABC Nwosu

Speaking at a book presentation on Saturday, ex President Olusegun Obasanjo’s former political adviser said Nigeria will cease to exist if it isn’t restructured.

“This country will either live if restructured or die, if it is not restructured. Let me repeat it, this country will die if it doesn’t restructure; this country will live if it restructures.

“If there is a problem in the North-East, it is the Federal Government, in the Niger Delta, it is the Federal Government, in Anambra State, it is the Federal Government. That is not the country our founding fathers envisaged.

“I am a Catholic, but Cardinal John Onaiyekan (Catholic Archbishop of Abuja) doesn’t determine Holy Trinity here; let alone the one in Gwagwalada, not to talk of my town, Nnewi.

“Why does the Federal Government want to be in charge of everything? The Federal Government will collect the money for everything, collect the powers for everything and that is why we have wastage.

“You have a permanent secretary and he has so many billions of dollars and millions of naira.

“It is not right, if you devolve this money or responsibilities from the centre to the government nearer to the people, they will know where the pothole is and patch it up.”

·         Source:Spy Nigeria

Prayers can turn around Nigeria's economic downturn, says Okowa

 DELTA State Governor, Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa has said, with prayers and strong belief in God, the socio-economic challenges bedeviling Nigeria will be a thing of the past in the nearest future.

Governor Okowa, and wife, right. Left are Pastor Julius Oyinloye
 and his wife.

Governor Okowa made the statement yesterday ((06/11/16) at child dedication cum thanksgiving service of the Chairman of Oshimili South local government council, Barr. Chuks Obusom at the Living Faith Church a.k.a, Winners Church, Asaba, Delta State.

He said: "I encourage all those who are looking unto the Lord for one thing or the other to pray and believe that God answers prayers.

Pastor Chuks Obusom with his baby and his wife.

"It is our belief that God will answer us as a people, as a nation and as a state for the land to be blessed and turn around the fortunes of the country for the benefits of His people and to His glory," Governor Okowa said, observing that Barr, Obusom waited fervently for 15 years for God to bless his family with children without giving up hope.

"I thank God that I am here this morning to join Barr. Obusom in this thanksgiving, for 15 years, he waited patiently for God and God answered his prayers," the governor who was accompanied to the church by his wife, Dame Edith, members of the state executive council, legislators and other government functionaries stated.

Governor Okowa exchanging pleasantries with Mrs. Nere Roli
Uduaghan at the Winners' Church service. 

While observing that Barr. Obusom must have encountered a lot of challenges while waiting for God to bless his family with children, Governor Okowa reiterated, "I encourage all those who are looking unto the Lord for one thing or the other to always pray to God, if you pray to God, He will also, answer you."

In a sermon, Pastor Julius Oyinloye called on Christians to always sing praises to God, stating, "For prophecies to be fulfilled, you must praise God! Praise is what to do when you have nothing else to do."

"When you praise God, God will arise for your sake; praise is the vital key to see prophesies fulfilled," he emphasized, adding that Christians should never lose faith in God.

High point of the service was thanksgiving and child dedication by Pastor Obusom and his wife accompanied by the Governor, his family, political associates and well wishers.

I have no hand in Amaechi’s judicial scandal, says Okowa

·        Advice Davies Ikanya to grow up

Delta State Governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, Friday said he had no hands in the ongoing judicial scandal against Minister of Transportation, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi.

The Governor was reacting to statement credited to the Rivers state APC chairman, Davies Ikanya in which he alleged that, Governor Okowa, Wike and others were behind the allegation by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta and Justice Inyang Okoro, two justices of the Supreme Court, who accused Amaechi of prompting them to avert justice to favour the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidates especially in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states. 

Governor Okowa

Okowa described the Rivers APC's allegation as false, misleading and a calculated attempt to smear his hard earned reputation, noting that the Davies Ikanya should concern himself with the dwindling fortunes of his party in Rivers rather than embarking on a wild goose chase.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Charles Aniagwu, Okowa denied the allegation by the APC describing it as not only spurious but laughable.

He said: “The attention of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has been drawn to yet another spurious allegation by the Rivers State branch of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

"Ordinarily we wouldn't have joined issues with a jobless party Chairman like Ikanya, but in order to set the records straight, it is pertinent to state that Governor Okowa has no hand in the latest scandals swirling around the Transportation Minister.

“As governor of Delta State, Okowa is too busy delivering on his SMART Agenda to be enmeshed in such petty accusations of orchestrating any accusations against the transport minister.

"How is it possible for anyone to imagine that two respected Justices of the Supreme Court were told to lie that Amaechi made attempts to influence their judgements in his party's favour?

"Rather than encourage the former Governor to defend himself, the Rivers APC is busy looking for people to rope into their inglorious adventure. Davies Ikanya should grow up."

"We therefore call on the general public to disregard the said publication as there is no iota of truth in it.'' Statement added.

Delta Govt to repair failed portions of Eku/Abraka/Agbor Federal road, others

 In a bid to alleviate the untold hardship being experienced by motorists plying the Eku-Abraka-Agbor Road, the Delta State Government has put machineries in place to rehabilitate the failed portions of the road. 

Mr. Patrick Ukah, Delta state Information Commissioner.

Delta State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Patrick Ukah, who disclosed this after the State Executive Council meeting held in Asaba on Thursday, said though it is a federal road, the state government decided to work on the road in the interest of the people. 

Also approved is the contract for the rehabilitation/asphalt overlay of Ekakpamre/Ekrokpe/Usiefurun Road in Ughelli South and Udu local government areas and the rehabilitation and resealing of Alihiame/Aliagwai/Aliokpo/Agbor-Nta road in Ika South local government area. 

According to Mr. Ukah, the Executive Council equally gave it's nod to the construction of Winners Road and Jehovah Street/Umonu Crescent, all in Abraka, Ethiope East local government area and the reconstruction of Owa-Alero/Ute-Okpu road, (from Railway Fly-Over Bridge to Ute-Okpu Roundabout) in Ika North East local government area.

The continuation of the construction of Issele-Uku/Onicha-Uku/Ugbodu/Ukwu-Nzu/Obomkpa/Idumu-Ogo road and the completion of phase two of the contract (2.43 km length) from Onicha-Uku to Ukwu-Nzu in Aniocha North local government area was also approved. 

In the education sector, the sum of N876,756,756.76 matching grant for 2015 Universal Basic Education (UBE) scheme was also approved by the state Executive Council.