In her concession speech, Hillary Clinton said President-elect Donald Trump must be given a chance to lead.

Appearing in public for the first time since conceding defeat, Hillary Clinton said she hoped Donald Trump would be a successful president for all Americans.

“We have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we thought,” she said.

Donald Trump will become the 45th US president after a surprising victory.

The Republican will hold his first transition meeting with outgoing President Barack Obama at the White House on November 10.

President Barack Obama, who congratulated his successor in a phone call in the early hours of the morning, said it was “no secret” that he and Donald Trump had pretty significant differences.

“Ultimately we’re all on the same team,” Barack Obama said, and people had to remember that “we are Americans first, patriots first, we all want what’s best for this country”.

Barack Obama was heartened by what he heard in Donald Trump’s remarks last night, he said.

Hillary Clinton also urged her supporters to respect the election result, saying the constitution enshrines the peaceful transition of power.

“I’m sorry that we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we hold for our country,” she told her supporters in her address in New York.

“We have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling. But some day, someone will,” she said, referring to her failure to become the first female US president.

“To all the little girls watching… never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world,” Hillary Clinton said.

President-elect Donald Trump told cheering supporters at his campaign rally in the early hours of Wednesday that Americans must now “bind the wounds of division”, after the grueling, acrimonious electoral battle.

“I want to tell the world community that while we will always put America’s interests first, we will deal fairly with everyone,” Donald Trump said.

House Speaker Paul Ryan paid tribute to Donald Trump, saying he had “turned politics on its head” and would lead a unified Republican government.

Paul Ryan, a lukewarm supporter of the president-elect, said that his party’s strong showing in elections to the Senate and House of Representatives was thanks in no small part to Donald Trump.

He referred repeatedly to Donald Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, as “my good friend” and “a good man”.

From January the GOP will control the presidency and both houses of Congress – defying pollsters’ predictions.