Sir, – On May 30th, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said in Dáil Éireann that: “If Trump’s comments are racist and dangerous, which they are, there is an alternative to vote for”. Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar made similar comments: “I don’t think there can be any doubt that many of the speeches he has made were racist and showed a very misogynistic attitude to women”.

Given that Mr Trump is now president-elect of the United States, and that it is not appropriate for senior Irish politicians to intervene in the democratic process of foreign countries, then perhaps Mr Kenny should resign as Taoiseach sooner rather than later, in the national interest. His successor needs to be carefully chosen. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – Perhaps the time is now right for the next taoiseach, whoever he or she may be, to resume spending St Patrick’s Day at home. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – The median wage in the United States peaked in 1973, stagnating and declining ever since. This means that for over 40 years, the average American has been getting slowly poorer. With that in mind, it should be no surprise that voters chose to cast aside a candidate who so thoroughly embodied the system that has failed them. Yet the lasting shame is that when Bernie Sanders made this exact point during the primaries, the Democratic establishment tossed him aside. If only they had listened. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – The success of Brexit in the UK, and of Donald Trump in the US, is in part the dangerous result of late 20th- and 21st-century capitalism, which, unlike its mid-20th-century predecessor , has created the widest division between “haves” and “have-nots” since the 19th century. In the UK there is an increase in poverty, as evidenced by an increase in food banks. In the US, the average blue-collar worker earns less than he did 20 years ago. It is not so surprising that those who consider themselves dispossessed would grasp the coat tails of anyone, even Beelzebub himself, who could promise them hope. The most pessimistic of the observers now consider that both democracies are on the highway to hell. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – In this post-truth era, who needs truthful hyperbole? – Yours, etc,

Sir, – The silver lining? Another blow to the tyranny of the pollsters, whom international media organisations – including The Irish Times – have given far too easy a time over the last 10 to 15 years, allowing them to influence news cycles to an unwarrantable degree and allowing excitable journalists to write articles about poll changes that are usually within the margin of error instead of pursuing deeper stories. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – Poll results have become so unreliable in recent years I am left to wonder how they are conducted. My own poll of friends, family and anyone I get into conversation with reveals that I have never spoken to a person who has been polled or who knows of anyone who has been polled! The fact needs an explanation. How is polling conducted? Is it being conducted by or for those who have an interest in shaping an outcome? Are they attempting to provide their own popular trend? In other words, are they attempting to shape an outcome by polling? – Yours, etc,

A chara, – Many in Government, media and positions of authority – and indeed the general public – have all expressed considerable surprise at Brexit, the election of Donald Trump and the general rise of protectionism. But the reality is that the world is still rocked and buffeted by the aftermath of the 2008 financial shocks. In the 1930s, after the 1929 crash and the Great Depression, there was a similar rise in protectionism. So this cycle is nothing new. This is all the more reason why history needs to be a mandatory subject in all schools. And, dare I say it, why many of our politicians ought to go back to school themselves! – Is mise,

Sir, – A sizeable plurality of American voters, decidedly less than a majority, has chosen to ignore the blunt reality of Donald Trump and has instead propelled him to become president. It decided for whatever reasons to ignore Mr Trump’s hate-filled and violence-condoning words, listening instead to vague promises of a return to “greatness”. The entire world is now forced to confront the bleak consequences of a Trump administration. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – Donald Trump’s election proves that the only thing most Americans really believe in, and on which their value system is based, is money. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – Welcome to the new democracy; one where the slime of lies that rises to the surface of our so-called smart-screens carries the day. – Yours, etc,

A chara, – The US has suffered through an embarrassing presidential election campaign and now has suffered an embarrassing result of that election. It is doubtful whether any redemption will be found in the presidency of Donald Trump without a strong Congress to hold him to account. The only positive note is that maybe this is the jolt that America needs to get its house in order for the next election in four years. – Is mise,

Sir, – The “same old, same old” is gone for ever. An “American Spring” revolution is about to begin. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – I have to concede that Donald Trump was correct – the election must indeed have been rigged. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – Could it be that a lot of US voters found the one-syllable name Trump easier to support than the more complex two-syllable name Clinton? – Yours, etc,

Sir, – Do we believe in democracy or not? Although I am shocked and worried about the future, the American people have spoken. The challenge now is to understand who will be running the US and how we can work with them. The US president, senate, and house of representatives in alignment. Wow! Life is going to be interesting for the next four years. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – Now that Donald Trump is US president-elect, I am sure he will discover an Irish ancestor. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – It would appear that liberals the world over, with the Irish branch very definitely included, only believe in democracy when democracy steers in their favour. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – Do we have a sufficient stock of passports available to cater for the large number of Americans of Irish descent who may now be expected to apply for Irish citizenship? – Yours, etc,

Sir, – I sit in my townhouse in the suburbs of Chicago. I have just poured a Jameson to help lessen my anxiety. Can I live in a country whose leader disparages women and builds walls around a country whose history is built on immigrants just wanting a chance at a better life? I’m a proud Irish-American. With The Donald in charge, I don’t know if I can live here. Would you welcome me into your country? I might not be the only one. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – Donald Trump represents nothing that is great about the United States. This country is inclusive, loving, beautiful, and welcoming. It is not full of hate, racism, sexism, and lies. Please know that America has made a horrible decision to elect this man as our president. I want the world to know that we are better than this. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – You call yourselves journalists? I have a box of salt if it will help you lick your wounds. – Yours, etc,

A chara, – Donald Trump might not have been the media’s darling, but he beat Hillary Clinton – and in doing so, ensured that the US supreme court will stay pro-life for the foreseeable future. Now for the battle here to retain the Eighth Amendment. – Is mise,

Sir, – Who said the lunatic fringe couldn’t win? – Yours, etc,

A chara, – Fintan O’Toole fumes that with the election of Donald Trump “The United Hates of America has raised its middle finger to the world” (Opinion & Analysis, November 9th). Hardly; it is a little vain to think the American people were thinking about us as they voted. But I would think they were raising two large fingers to a couple of other groups: to the big polling companies, which spun numbers to try and give and give them the impression that Hillary Clinton was unassailable; and to the US mainstream media, which were so nakedly pro-Hillary that trust in it has fallen to an all-time low – as demonstrated, ironically enough, by a recent Gallup poll. So it is a finger each for them, and the presidency for Trump. And what that really means for the rest of the world is anyone’s guess. But we shall know soon enough. – Is mise,

Sir, – Would shares in a major cement and block supplier be a safe bet? – Yours, etc,

Sir, – What makes and what has always made America great is its openness, its tolerance and its acceptance of people whatever their faith, their class, their colour or creed. It gave a home to millions of Europeans looking for freedom in the 18th century, a home to Irish fleeing famine and oppression in the 19th century, a home to Jews fleeing genocide in the 20th century, and out of all these disparate groups, one America was made.

That promise written at the base of the Statue of Liberty, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”, is dead. The door to America is firmly shut. Extreme nationalism, isolationism and the misnomer of American exceptionalism have replaced the openness.

The dream of a more open, more liberal, post-national world has taken its second blow in less than six months. This is day one of a new era, and liberals everywhere need to arise and realise that apathy is no longer an option. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – The Disunited States of America. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – The people have spoken. Orange is the new black. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – It is difficult to convey my genuine shock and sadness at this result. Not only because the most ostensibly unsuited and unqualified person has won and will hold the most powerful political office on the planet from January, but because he represents a type of cynical politics that has division and anger at its core.

This wasn’t just a vote against Hillary Clinton, but a vote against every reputable newspaper, corporation, public figure and celebrity that endorsed her. And, to a large extent, it was America’s way of saying to the rest of the world that it won’t be told what to do.

2016 has proven that anti-establishment and nativist sentiment is very real and is a threat to a more diverse, prosperous and open world. Unfortunately, it might take four years of a Donald J Trump presidency to realise that he and his populism are not the answer. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – Listening to the shenanigans being trumpeted in the US, is it just me or does anyone else feel we are watching democracy sinking into terminal decline? Viktor E Frankl warned, “Freedom is not the last word. Freedom is only part of the story and half of the truth. Freedom is but the negative aspect of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibleness. In fact, freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness.” The lack of anything close to “responsibleness” in someone who is going to occupy the office that has traditionally most represented democracy is menacing. As is the use of non-facts, assertions and accusations. A structure whose foundations are eroded collapses eventually. Is that also true of an ideology? – Yours, etc,

Sir, – Those of us who smilingly dip in and out of celebrity news-bites and reality TV might now reflect on the effect of giving oxygen to this subtle brainwashing. Americans have had Mr Trump in their living room each week, looking fabulously successful and, yes, presidential in his weekly TV show, The Apprentice. The programme each week reinforced him in this role. Voters think they know him, and the line between fantasy and politics has been blurred. If she plays her cards right, Kim Kardashian has a good chance of being the first female US president. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – I wonder if there are any spaces left on the Mars One mission to establish a permanent human settlement on the red planet.

I would speculate that the organisers may well be inundated with new applicants in the coming days. – Yours, etc,

A chara, – You report that “Enda Kenny congratulates Trump on behalf of the people of Ireland” (November 9th).

I understand the importance of Irish-American relations. However in this case, I believe a sizable amount of Irish people would join me in voicing their disgust and abhorrence for some of the positions Mr Trump and his running-mate Mike Pence have taken. For that reason, I believe Mr Kenny should retract his generalised congratulations and offer his own personal wishes.

I would like to officially remove myself from that particular list “of the people of Ireland”. I’m sure many citizens of this country would join me. – Is mise,

Sir, – Every Irish citizen and politician should take the time to reflect on where, on balance, this country’s real friends and supporters are now: in London, in Washington or in Brussels? From the answer to this question should then flow the necessary profound changes not only in terms of our economic and political orientation, but also in terms of the educational, social and cultural policies determining the future of this country. The time of sitting on the fence and keeping everybody happy is drawing to a close. – Yours, etc,

Sir, – The election of Donald Trump is another example of anti-establishment sentiment in lots of western countries. We have had Brexit in the UK and a move away from establishment parties in Ireland. The rampant globalisation of the past 20 or 30 years has been fuelling out-of-control capitalism. The establishment parties have badly underestimated the power of social media in educating and mobilising the ordinary person in the street, in convincing them that they were the ones being screwed. This has created an anti-establishment sentiment that is driving people to vote for anybody who opposes the status quo. This is gaining momentum everywhere. It is not easy to put the genie back in the bottle! – Yours, etc,</s>With the shocking news that Donald Trump has become the 45th President-elect of the United States, let's delve into just who he'll be bringing with him into the White House.

Along with his third wife Melania Trump, here are the other members of the Trump family who will be given access to the most famous building in the States.

The third child of Donald and Ivana, Eric is the founder of the Eric Trump Foundation, which fundraises for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. He also manages the Trump family’s 18 golf clubs and is married to Lara Yunaska.

Journalist Lara first met Eric Trump in New York - and had no idea he was the heir to a property empire. They married seven years later in November 2014 at the Trumps’ Mar-A-lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

Newly elected President of the United States of America, AKA leader of the free world. After a long and bruising election, he'll now have access to the nuclear codes, be in charge of America's military, and have the power to turn his policies into law. Infamously said he could "grab [women] by the p***y" and that, as a famous man, "you can do anything [to them]".

The youngest of Donald's five children, Barron is described by his mum Melania as her "little Donald" (minds out of the gutter, please). He sparked headlines the day after Election Day for stifling yawns while his father gave his victory speech - and Twitter went wild. Best known for wearing teeny versions of his dad's suits, complete with little ties.
• Donald Trump's 10-year-old son Barron 'looks how we feel' as he tries to stay awake during victory speech

Former model who raised eyebrows with her many naked photoshoots. She was born in Slovenia to a Communist father and speaks five languages - Slovenian, French, English, Serbian and German. Met Donald in 1998 and married him in 2005, becoming his third wife after Ivana Trump and Marla Maples.
• Donald Trump's wife Melania naked shoot for GQ Magazine as girl-on-girl photos are exposed

Model, businesswoman and actress who starred in Something's Gotta Give. She married Donald Jr. in 2005 and has five children with him.

With her cousin Barron just one year older than her, Kai is one of the youngest of the Trump Tribe. She - along with parents Don Jr. and Vanessa - has been supporting her granddad on the election trail.

One of eight grandchildren, the third Donald to carry the President’s name knows how to rock a tiny suit.

Businessman who works alongside his siblings as Executive Vice President at the Trump Organization. Don made a series of appearances in his dad's reality show, The Apprentice, and married model Vanessa in 2005. He's father to their five children; Kai, Chloe, Donald III, Tristan and Spencer.

Businesswoman whose net worth is thought to be around $150million. Ivanka is the founder of her own jewellery and fashion line and works in the Trump family business. She's also mother to Arabella, Joseph and Theodore, and married to their father Jared.
• Ivanka Trump pitches Donald's softer side as she talks equal pay and child care in RNC speech

Husband of Ivanka and father to their three children. Jared is a property developer and owner of the New York Observer, a newspaper that came out stronger for his father-in-law.

A college graduate who's dating Democrat Ross Mechanic. Tiffany is the youngest of Trump's daughters (her mother is his second wife, Marla) and has dabbled in fashion (with an internship at Vogue), music (she released a song called Like A Bird at the age of 17. It wasn't great) and social media influencing - her Instagram has over 310,000 followers.

Donald Trump's campaign manager won't rule out hiring a special prosecutor to probe Hillary Clinton

Nigel Farage hails Donald Trump victory and chillingly warns world to 'prepare for further political shocks'</s>Clinton on Trump: 'We owe him an open mind, chance to lead'

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton finishes speaking at the New Yorker Hotel in New York, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016, where she conceded her defeat to Republican Donald Trump after the hard-fought presidential election.

WASHINGTON — A day after Donald Trump, against all odds, won election as America's 45th president, Hillary Clinton on Wednesday said the nation proved to be "more divided than we thought" but urged unity and told her supporters, "We owe him an open mind and a chance to lead."

Standing before a crowd of crestfallen but cheering supporters, she said, "This is painful and it will be for a long time."

Trump's triumph over Clinton, not declared until well after midnight, will end eight years of Democratic dominance of the White House. He'll govern with Congress fully under Republican control and lead a country deeply divided by his rancorous campaign against Clinton. He faces fractures within his own party, too, given the numerous Republicans who either tepidly supported his nomination or never backed him at all.

As he claimed victory early Wednesday, Trump urged Americans to "come together as one united people."

That sentiment was echoed by the GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan, who had been a reluctant Trump supporter. "This needs to be a time of redemption, not a time of recrimination," Ryan said in a news conference. He also said Trump had earned a "mandate" to enact his agenda.

Clinton, who had hoped to become the first woman to be elected president, called her Republican rival to concede but did not plan to speak publicly until Wednesday morning. She was leading the nationwide popular vote. Though some states were still counting ballots.

Global stock markets and U.S. stock futures plunged early Wednesday, but later recovered, reflecting investor concern over what a Trump presidency might mean. The Dow Jones industrial average was flat after trading opened Wednesday.

President Barack Obama called Trump to congratulate him and invited the Republican to a meeting at the White House Thursday to discuss transition. Obama also called Clinton to convey his admiration for the "strong campaign she waged throughout the country," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

Obama planned a televised statement Wednesday on "what steps we can take as a country to come together after this hard-fought election season," the White House said.

Trump, who spent much of the campaign urging his supporters on as they chanted "lock her up," said the nation owed Clinton "a major debt of gratitude" for her years of public service. Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said Obama and Trump had "a very nice talk" when the president called him.

The Republican blasted through Democratic strongholds of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, states that hadn't voted for a GOP presidential candidate since the 1980s. He needed to win nearly all of the competitive battleground states, and he did just that, including Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and others.

A New York real estate developer who lives in a sparkling Manhattan high-rise, Trump forged a striking connection with white, working class Americans who feel left behind in a changing economy and diversifying country. He cast immigration, both from Latin America and the Middle East, as the root of problems plaguing many Americans and tapped into fears of terrorism emanating at home and abroad.

GOP Senate candidates fended off Democratic challengers in key states, including North Carolina, Indiana and Wisconsin. Republicans also maintained their grip on the House.

Senate control means Trump will have great leeway in appointing Supreme Court justices, which could shift the bench to the right for decades.

Trump has pledged to usher in sweeping changes to U.S. foreign policy, including building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and suspending immigration from countries with terrorism ties. He has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and spoken of building a better relationship with Moscow, worrying some in his own party who fear he'll go easy on Putin's provocations.

Putin sent him a telegram of congratulations.

Trump upended years of political convention on his way to the White House, leveling harshly personal insults against his rivals, deeming Mexican immigrants rapists and murderers, and vowing to temporarily suspend Muslim immigration to the U.S. He never released his tax returns, breaking with decades of campaign tradition, and eschewed the kind of robust data and field efforts that helped Obama win two terms in the White House, relying instead on his large, free-wheeling rallies to energize supporters. His campaign was frequently in chaos, and he cycled through three campaign managers.

Conway, his final campaign manager, touted the team's accomplishments as the final results rolled in, writing on Twitter that "rally crowds matter" and "we expanded the map."

Clinton faced persistent questions about her honesty and trustworthiness. Those troubles flared anew late in the race, when FBI Director James Comey announced a review of new emails from her tenure at the State Department. Just two days before Election Day, Comey said there was nothing in the material to warrant criminal charges against Clinton.

Trump will inherit an anxious nation, deeply divided by economic and educational opportunities, race and culture.

Exit polls underscored the fractures: Women nationwide supported Clinton by a double-digit margin, while men were significantly more likely to back Trump. More than half of white voters backed the Republican, while nearly 9 in 10 blacks and two-thirds of Hispanics voted for the Democrat.

Associated Press writers Bradley Klapper, Catherine Lucey, Jonathan Lemire, Lisa Lerer and Jill Colvin and AP Polling Director Emily Swanson contributed to this report.</s>Trump and Modi will be ‘best friends’: adviser to U.S. president-elect

The U.S. president-elect will be “best friends” with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an adviser to Donald Trump told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Shalabh Kumar, an Indian émigré businessman, is Trump’s point person for outreach to Indian-American voters.

The Chicago-based Kumar emigrated from India in 1969 and founded the Republican Hindu Coalition, a political interest group, last year.

Kumar spoke to Reuters a day after Trump’s election as the 45th U.S. president.

– Cutting business taxes from 35 percent to 15 percent

 – Repatriating offshore capital for a small fee

 – Imposing a tax or duty on companies that shut down a factory, take it outside the country and then import the products

 – Reducing regulations

 – Getting rid of Obama executive orders

Here are excerpts from the interview:

Q: What was the key to Donald Trump’s victory?

A: We are obviously very confident as to what the mood of the country is, as well as the intelligence of our electorate. House Speaker Paul Ryan put it very eloquently when he said that there was a voice, a murmur throughout the United States which the Democrats did not hear and which, for the most part, the Republicans ignored.

Donald Trump had this unbelievable ability to listen to this sound and to judge the mood of the country. He understood that the electorate was fed up with the status quo, their economic status, their lack of job security, college education and their children not getting proper jobs. Three in four college graduates are not finding a job. Wages are stagnant. Obamacare costs are going through the roof.

There was so much discontent in the country that he was able to lead, and that establishment politicians were not able to lead.

 Q: What will his priorities be during the transition and first 100 days?

A: The first thing is to tap the talent in the country – he has repeatedly said that in private and in public. There is a ton of business talent in the country.

Politicians have appointed trade negotiators who have never run a hot dog stand. When you have smart businessmen running departments, whether it’s Treasury, Commerce or Trade the results will be different.

Q: How will the fiscal math work? Does it add up?

A: I am passionate about this subject – to reduce spending while increasing services. Reaganomics was successful in the 1980s – that got copied throughout the world.

Q: How will Trump get on with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi?

A: They will be best friends – not only the two nations will be best friends, but these two guys will be best friends. Donald Trump knows about Modi through me. He is very keen to learn about Modi.

A meeting would come a little bit later – he has too much of an aggressive agenda, too many wrongs have been done to the nation that need to be sorted out.

A: First of all, he’s not opposed to free trade at all – he is a free trade, free enterprise person. But he will want a fair trade deal.

My belief is that trade with India is going to increase when you have a fair trade deal. Business that supports him is innovative and creative in expanding trade with India. I expect trade to double to $250 billion within one to two years.

Q: And what about South Asian security in the context of India’s rivalry with Pakistan?

A: He calls out the camel in the room when nobody else does. He already talks about cross-border terrorism — he is the first president to do so, essentially acknowledging that Pakistan is a perpetrator of terrorism.

What I expect from him is a full expression of support for the surgical strikes that Modi ordered. The war against radical Islam is going to be properly prosecuted. He is going to find great partnership with India in that.</s>Despite the shock of politicians, pundits and observers around the world, it should come as no surprise that Donald Trump was elected president of the United States. As we know from Rousseau’s The Social Contract and the notion of popular sovereignty upon which our society rests, the mission of the people is to abolish a government when it exceeds the boundaries set in place by the people. That is what happened on November 8th, when the American people voted to reject an extension of the status quo in Hillary Clinton and the Democratic party.

The frustration with the almost uniformly liberal ruling class for the past decade or so has been simmering not just in the United States but across Europe. Trump skilfully grasped this frustration while the ruling class remained deaf.

Since the UK’s Brexit vote, the response of the liberal elite has so far been to blame the woes of the middle class on the uncontrollable effects of globalisation and digitalisation, or even the voters themselves – the “deplorable” voters who must be racist, xenophobic and bigoted.

These factors probably exist in some pockets of the vast, diverse US. But the liberal elite is unwilling to recognise how its own policies and principles are driving instability in every part of the country. In the US, rising healthcare costs under Obamacare, onerous taxes and regulations on businesses, scandals within the justice department, IRS and state department (at which Clinton was central), executive overreach in areas such as immigration and open borders are a few examples of the failed liberal policies that Americans rejected on Tuesday.

For the US, President Trump may not be the solution, but he represents a dismantling of the political elite and its constant seeking of increased power over people for their own benefit. Trump is returning that mantle to the people.

A Trump victory makes the US great because it reminds us that our democracy is working as it should. Now that he has been elected, he deserves a chance to deliver under this new social contract.

To be clear, we do not know for certain what Trump will do but we know what his campaign priorities were. There is early bipartisan support in Congress for corporate tax reform, which would help to correct US job loss, and a transportation budget, which would move a backlog on infrastructure projects. Immigration is more contentious but there is a clear mandate for reform.

Even more important is the appointment of Supreme Court justices. In the short term, Trump will appoint a replacement of conservative justice Antonin Scalia. He would be wise to appoint a constitutional conservative, one who understands that the US constitution was designed to be a check on both Congress and the president should they mess up along the way. Certainly, the prospect for someone like this is greater under a Trump presidency than a Clinton one.

Behind the scenes, the Republican Party has been working on new solutions during a sclerotic time for Democrats and a presidential campaign that, on both sides, generally lacked policy specifics.

House Speaker Paul Ryan’s A Better Way: Our Vision for a Confident America outlines fresh, consensus-based proposals on topics including poverty, national security, the economy, the constitution, healthcare and tax reform. At the heart of these proposals are powerful ideas that reflect those of our founding fathers: free enterprise, self-determination and individual empowerment.

Trump should lean on his vice-president, Mike Pence, and on Ryan (as well as, hopefully, other seasoned and disciplined Republicans in his cabinet) to guide him on policy with these principles at the core.

Even if those abroad do not think Trump himself is so great, the free and fair democratic process by which he was elected still is so. The good news is that if Trump fails, Americans will once again have the opportunity to decide whether to renew the new contract.

Meghan Kelly is an Irish Times reader. In June she wrote an article entitled “Why don’t you Irish get Donald Trump?”</s>ATLANTA (AP) — As Oprah Winfrey reflected Thursday on this week’s election, she said she was initially in disbelief after learned Donald Trump was elected president of the United States.

But the media mogul, who was vocal in her support for Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton, found some comfort in watching President Barack Obama and president-elect Trump meet with each other at the White House on Thursday.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, Winfrey said “hope is still alive” after Obama said he was encouraged by Trump’s willingness to work with his team during the transition of power. The meeting between Obama and Trump lasted nearly 90 minutes.

Winfrey didn’t think Trump being elected was a repudiation of Obama. She credits Trump’s victory to his millions of supporters who felt like their voices had not been heard.

“I could sense, maybe I’m wrong, but I could sense from Donald Trump’s body language even when he came out for the acceptance speech, that brotha has been humbled by this whole thing. I think it’s a humbling process that now you literally have the weight of the world on your shoulders,” she said.

This story has been corrected to show Winfrey said “whole thing.”</s>COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio's bellwether status secure. Its leaders of both parties were reeling Wednesday over what a Donald Trump presidency would mean to the future.



"We got hit by a tsunami," said Ohio Democratic Chairman David Pepper, whose party lost the White House, a once seemingly winnable U.S. Senate race and additional ground in both state legislative chambers in Tuesday's election.



Pepper said the election results were "much bigger than politics" and his party's focus needed to be on standing up for those groups that Trump insulted during the campaign.



"Forgetting politics, our job is to do everything we can to stand up and support people who are questioning their place in this country," he said. "My hope is there will be a unified bipartisan wall to stop some of the stuff that Trump said he would do if elected."



Trump topped Democrat Hillary Clinton in the state by more than 8.5 percentage points, according to final unofficial results, winning all but seven of 88 counties — from farm country to Appalachia to union-heavy, blue-collar areas. Third-party challengers captured about 4.5 percent of the vote combined.



What happened wasn't just an uprising from whites who are on the bottom in Ohio.



It came from working-class whites — people whose families make between $50,000-$100,000 a year — and those who went to college and have two-year degrees, according to exit polls.



White college graduates in Ohio backed Trump by the same 3 out of 5 margin as did whites who had a high school diploma.



But supporters of Republican Gov. John Kasich, who resisted supporting or voting for Trump, also were weighing what the New York billionaire's surprise national win would mean for them going forward.



Signals that Kasich anticipated a Clinton win and would try to lead a charge to rebuild the GOP afterward quickly evaporated after Trump's victory. He has scrapped plans to deliver a speech Thursday at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, a policy think tank.



Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman also withdrew support for Trump toward the end of the race and wrote in a vote for Trump's running mate, vice president-elect and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.



Portman told reporters Wednesday that he doesn't believe his decision not to support Trump will hurt his relationship with the president-elect. He also said he doesn't see Kasich's opposition hurting Ohio's standing in Washington.



Portman called on Ohioans of all political persuasions to come together after the contentious presidential election to work for the country's betterment.



"People expect us to put aside the campaign and to get working on issues important to them, and I think that's what's going to happen," said Portman, who soundly defeated Democratic challenger Ted Strickland. "I may be a little more optimistic than some, given the partisan atmosphere in Washington."



Portman said he anticipates tax reform, infrastructure improvements and a rewrite of the Affordable Care Act to be priorities of the Republican-controlled Senate under Trump.



Asked if he supports building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico as Trump has advocated, Portman said immigration reforms — regarding enforcement, workplace oversight and the visa system — are needed, but the form those fixes take is unclear.



"I don't know that it will be a physical wall everywhere across the border, or whether you can do this with a virtual wall in certain areas where a wall might not be practical, but I do think people are going to generally support the idea of reforming our immigration system and ensuring that there is adequate enforcement," he said.



Anger and angst about fair trade, the economy and the federal government played to Trump's advantage in securing victory Tuesday, the exit polls showed.



Half of Ohio's voters thought trade with other countries takes away jobs and even more were worried about the nation's economy and upset with the federal government. Trump won all those groups by overwhelming numbers.



Rural voters, as expected, backed Trump by a wide margin. But suburban voters gave the Republican candidate a bigger edge than they did the presidential candidate four years ago. Trump won almost 3 out of 5 votes in Ohio's suburbs; Barack Obama, by contrast, drew almost half of their votes four years ago.



___



This story has been corrected to show the percentage of the vote won by third parties was about 4.5 percent, not less than 3 percent.</s>The stock market rally continued for a second day after Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton, a reaction few expected.

The Dow rose 218 points Thursday and closed at a record high for the second day in a row.

And why not? It's fitting that following the most unusual presidential election campaign in recent history, the stock market is also reacting in atypical fashion.

Many investors worried that a Trump win would be bad for stocks. In case you haven't heard this before, the market hates uncertainty. And Trump is uncertainty on steroids.

What's more, stocks have historically gone down the day after Election Day. It hasn't mattered much if it was a Democrat or Republican winning, if the incumbent party (or president) was re-elected or if the outcome was considered an upset.

According to data from Jeff Hirsch, editor of the Stock Trader's Almanac , the average decline for the S&P 500 the day after Election Day between 1932 and 2012 was 1.1%. But the S&P 500 rose 1.1% on Wednesday.

The market only rallied on 6 of the past 21 post-Election Days.

Stocks even fell in 1980, after Ronald Reagan, the hero of the modern Republican Party, defeated Jimmy Carter. And the market dipped nearly 1% after Reagan's landslide win over Walter Mondale in 1984 as well.

Sign up for CNNMoney's morning market newsletter: Before The Bell

Stocks plunged 5.3% in 2008 after Barack Obama was elected. Of course, those were unusually tumultuous times for the market and economy. But the S&P 500 also fell 2.4% after he beat Mitt Romney in 2012.

The last post-Election Day rally prior to this year was in 2004. The S&P 500 rose more than 1% after President George W. Bush was re-elected, defeating John Kerry.

But stocks also rallied after Bill Clinton won a second term in 1996. They fell slightly when he beat the first President Bush in 1992 though.

The market usually gets over election jitters pretty quickly though.

The S&P 500 has risen an average of 0.2% in the first three days after Election Day going back to 1932. And the market is up more than 1%, historically, between Election Day and the end of the year.

So can stocks keep rallying as Trump starts to make Cabinet picks and give more details about his economic and foreign policies?

Perhaps. Despite his mercurial nature during this long, nasty election cycle, Trump has already won raves from investors for his more measured acceptance speech.

Trump's remarks pleasantly surprised many since he dropped much of the bombast that was a hallmark of his throughout the campaign and pledged to be a president for the whole country.

Shares of many banks, drugmakers, oil companies and construction firms all rallied sharply Wednesday and rose Thursday as well.

Investors now seem to be betting that Trump, combined with a Republican-controlled House and Senate, may look to unwind some of the regulations on financial services companies put into place during the Obama administration.

Related: Trump will have major sway over the Fed's future

There are also hopes that Trump will propose plans to boost infrastructure spending, drill more for oil and also push back on some of the attacks against drug and biotech companies for price hikes on key medications.

But there are still questions about who Trump may appoint to key slots on the Federal Reserve over his term. That will impact the markets. Who Trump may choose to add to the Supreme Court could also have an effect on stocks.

Tough talk from Trump about Mexico and China have also raised some worries that he could start a trade war which could be damaging to the markets, jobs and overall economy.</s>Some leading Republicans among Indian-Americans are rejoicing the victory of President-elect Donald Trump and claiming it will provide a boost for Indian-Americans and U.S.-India relations, apart from improving the American economy.

Shalabh ‘Shalli’ Kumar, a Chicago businessman and founder of the Republican Hindu Coalition, who organized a Bollywood style event attended by Trump just weeks before Nov. 8, says he ran the pro-Trump campaign “to get Hindu Americans in the country educated and voting for the right party and the right presidential candidate.”

“We were hugely successful,” Kumar said in an interview with News India Times. He also expressed confidence in a Trump administration recruiting Indian-Americans to top positions in his administration, like President Obama had done.

“I am on his Indian American Advisory Council, and it will be our push to include as many talented Hindu Americans and Indian Americans, particularly in the State Department,” Kumar said, adding, “We would like to bring about 20-30 into the administration.”

Kumar criticized the State Department contending it “has been occupied by pro-Islamist, too liberal elements, and anti-India people.”

As for relations with India, Kumar said his “deep discussions” on policy with Trump, lead him to believe the new president will keep his word about increasing trade, spurring joint defense treaties with India that do not compensate Pakistan, step up green cards for Indian visa holders waiting for years to get them, and push for India’s membership in the United Nations Security Council.

“Trump is all in for creating a system to bring the best and the brightest from around the world, including Indian-Americans here,” Kumar said.

These views were echoed by other leading Republicans including Dr. Sudhir Parikh, publisher of News India Times. “Relations with India will flourish and both countries want it. America wants a large market and the technical savvy of Indian youth. And it is a good partnership against China and Pakistan,” Parikh told News India times. Trump may have “over dramatized” issues like promising to throw out illegal immigrants, building a wall with Mexico, and temporarily banning Muslims from conflict-ridden areas, Parikh said, it was merely rhetoric in the heat of the campaign. “Immigration is a problem. The border should be secure and immigrants vetted properly,” Parikh added.

“Despite his personal shortcomings, Trump’s message resonated with the country because he was trying to address pain and suffering of middle classes, the loss of jobs going out of the country, and the North America Free Trade Agreement’s negative effects,” Parikh said.

Long-time Republican and delegate to several party conventions, Sampat Shivangi of Mississippi and a former Jeb Bush supporter, called Trump’s win one of the “greatest victories our time” when a man with no experience in public office “bulldozed the Clinton Machinery.” Apart from the nation, Shivangi said, the other bigger beneficiary would be India.

“Trump has promised to be best Friend (sic) in the White House India ever had. I am sure he will be, especially in eliminating or transforming Radical Islamists a menace that has inflicted the world especially by India’s closest neighbor,” Shivangi said referring to Pakistan without naming it, in a statement released Nov. 9. Calling the real-estate tycoon “An Average American” Shivangi said he had exposed the two standards applied to the elite and the “regular Joe” and “taught a biggest lesson to Washington Establishment as they want their past glory, pride and self esteem back and they hope Trump will provide that.” Shivangi is chair of the Mississippi Board of Mental Health, and also serves as president of the Indian American Forum for Political Education.

Dave Makkar, co-founder of Indian Americans for Trump, an organization formed in December 2015, said with Trump at the helm, the relationship with India will improve. “In the last two years Obama has given billions of dollars to Pakistan in defense aid. Not Trump. He is going to modernize the U.S. Army, not the Pakistani army.”

Makkar said he “hated” career politicians. “I was attracted to Trump’s plan that we will not be policemen of the world, not support regime change, and will not do nation-building,” Makkar said. He was also attracted to Trump’s view that NATO countries should pay the U.S. for the costs of providing a security umbrella, revising trade treaties and making countries like China lower barriers to American goods.

Both Parikh and Makkar criticized the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare, one of President Obama’s signature legislations. “Repealing Obamacare will be good for healthcare industry and doctors because right now it gives more people coveage but that coverage is very pathetic and not good. But good aspects of Obamacare should be kept.”

Kumar said the Republican Hindu Coalition is “very proud” to present “a single, unified platform as a respected voice on policy issues, and that it is “a very inclusive group” patterned after the Republican Jewish Coalition. “A major part of our access has been through the RJC,” Kumar said. He was undecided on whether he would take a position in the new Trump administration if offered one.

“I would seriously have to think about that. I would aid in policy terms between the Trump Sarkar and the Modi Sarkar if I can add something in terms of policy enhancement.”</s>WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump shook up his transition team Friday as he plunged into the work of setting up his administration, elevating Mike Pence to head the operations. The move, one of the first key decisions as Trump pivots from campaigning to governing, amounted to a demotion for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who had been running the Republican's transition planning for months.

On the heels of Trump's upset victory this week, his team has begun to embark upon building a government, an enormous undertaking that likely requires Trump to alter his hands-on management style and consider going outside his small, insular group of loyalists. He has been scrambling to identify people for top White House jobs and Cabinet posts, a herculean task that must be well in hand by the time Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20.

Christie was a loyal adviser to Trump for much of the campaign, offered a key early endorsement and came close to being the businessman's pick for running mate. But Trump ultimately went with Indiana Gov. Pence, a former congressman with Washington experience and deep ties to conservatives.

Christie will still be involved in the transition, joining a cluster of other steadfast Trump supporters serving as vice chairs: former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions.

In addition, three of Trump's adult children — Don. Jr., Eric and Ivanka — are on the transition executive committee, along with Jared Kushner, Ivanka's husband. Kushner played a significant role in Trump's campaign and was spotted at the White House Thursday meeting with President Barack Obama's chief of staff.

The children's inclusion raises questions about the role the Trump family will play in the White House — as well as Trump's ability to sever ties between the administration and sprawling family business — after the celebrity businessman repeatedly said during the campaign that his grown children would not follow him to Washington and instead run the Trump Organization.

And another apparent contradiction emerged Friday as Trump, who repeatedly vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act "on day one," said that he would be open to maintaining portions of President Barack Obama's signature legislative achievement.

Trump told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published Friday that, after speaking with Obama at the White House the day before, he was considering keeping the clause that allows children to stay on their parents' insurance policies. He has previously said he may keep the prohibition against insurers denying coverage because of patients' existing conditions.

He also said that he wants "a country that loves each other" but said he did not regret his incendiary rhetoric during the campaign.

By appointing Pence, Trump became the first incoming president since at least Jimmy Carter to use his to run his transition team.

Trump and Christie grew apart through the last stretch of the campaign. The governor became increasingly frustrated that Trump wouldn't listen to his advice, particularly over the response to the release of a video in which the businessman is heard making predatory comments about women.

Christie is also facing calls for impeachment in New Jersey following the conviction of two former aides in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing trial. Christie has denied any knowledge of the lane closures until weeks or months after they occurred in September 2013.

The governor was notably absent from the steady stream of advisers entering Trump's eponymous skyscraper in New York for meetings Friday. Among the first decisions facing the president-elect is whom to choose as chief of staff, a key post that will set the tone for Trump's White House and be a key conduit to Capitol Hill and Cabinet agencies.

Trump is said to be considering Steve Bannon, his campaign chairman and a conservative media executive, and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus for the role. Neither has significant policy experience, though Priebus is well-liked in Washington and has ties with key lawmakers.

Kellyanne Conway, Trump's campaign manager, is also said to be in the mix for a senior job. Conway is a veteran Republican pollster who formed a strong rapport with the candidate after taking the helm of his campaign in the general election.
President-elect of the United States Donald Trump meets with President Barack Obama for the first time at the White House.