Donald Trump has won the Electoral College vote being certified as president, despite a last-ditch effort to deny him the White House.
Six weeks after winning the polls, Donald Trump has secured the 270 votes needed to formalize his victory.
Electors had been flooded with emails, letters and phone calls urging them not to support Donald Trump.
The process is usually a formality, but was beset this year by claims Russian hackers tried to sway the public vote.
Texas ultimately put Donald Trump over the 270 threshold, despite two of its electors voting against him.
Photo AP
According to the New York Times, four Democratic electors also cast their votes for someone other than Hillary Clinton.
The result will be officially announced on January 6 in a special joint session of Congress.
Vice President-elect Mike Pence hailed Donald Trump on Twitter as the results came in: “Congratulations to @realDonaldTrump; officially elected President of the United States today by the Electoral College!”
The movement to block Donald Trump had fought hard to convince Republican electors to abandon their party’s candidate.
Thousands of anti-Trump protesters had gathered at state capitols across the country.
In Pennsylvania, over 200 demonstrators braved sub-zero temperatures, chanting, “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!” and “No treason, no Trump!'”
In Maine, protesters beat drums and waved signs saying, “Don’t let Putin Pick Our President,” – a reference to allegations that Kremlin-backed hackers tried to sway the election in Donald Trump’s favor.
Donald Trump has praised protesters’ “passion” after a new night of demonstrations against his election victory that included rioting in Portland, Oregon.
The president-elect tweeted: “Love the fact that the small groups of protesters last night have passion for our great country.
“We will all come together and be proud!”
Donald Trump had previously blamed the unrest on “professional protesters”.
He is in New York, believed to be discussing his future cabinet.
“Busy day planned in New York,” he tweeted.
Image source U.S. Marine Corps
“Will soon be making some very important decisions on the people who will be running our government.”
Donald Trump is due to be inaugurated on January 20, taking over the White House from Democrat Barack Obama, who served two terms.
President Barack Obama, one of Donald Trump’s most withering critics during the election campaign, said his priority was to “facilitate a transition that ensures our president-elect is successful”.
However, Harry Reid, the Democrats’ outgoing leader in the Senate, said Donald Trump’s victory had “emboldened the forces of hate and bigotry”. It “does not feel like America”, he added.
Protests have taken place across the US on both nights since the result of the election, which Hillary Clinton lost for the Democrats despite enjoying a lead in most opinion polls.
Only on November 10, Donald Trump had tweeted: “Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!”
About 4,000 demonstrators gathered in the centre of Portland, the largest city in Oregon, which voted in favor of Hillary Clinton.
Some protesters smashed shop and car windows, threw firecrackers and set rubbish alight. Objects were thrown at the police, who responded with pepper spray and rubber baton rounds.
Police declared a riot and made 26 arrests.
In Oakland, California, police made 11 arrests after anti-Trump protesters lit fires on streets and in rubbish bins, smashed windows and sprayed graffiti.
Anti-Trump protests have been held in several cities for a second night, but with smaller crowds.
They were mainly young people saying a Trump presidency would create deep divisions along racial and gender lines.
However, police in Portland said they were dealing with vandalism and aggressive behaviour.
In response, President-elect Donald Trump tweeted that the protests were “very unfair”.
Image source Daily Pakistan
Earlier, Donald Trump met President Barack Obama at the White House and described him as a good man.
However, despite their cordiality, Donald Trump is intent on dismantling much of President Obama’s legacy. That includes ObamaCare, the act extending medical insurance to more Americans than ever before.
Crowds of protesters gathered in cities across the country on November 10.
Police in Portland, Oregon said the protest there should be considered a riot, with shop windows being broken, some demonstrators carrying bats and others arming themselves with rocks.
There were no reports of violence at the other protests, although demonstrators in Minneapolis briefly blocked an interstate highway in both directions.
In Philadelphia, crowds gathered near City Hall holding placards bearing slogans such as “Not Our President”, “Trans Against Trump” and “Make America Safe For All”.
In Baltimore, police said a peaceful crowd of 600 people marched through the city, blocking traffic. In San Francisco, high school students waved rainbow banners and Mexican flags.
A small crowd also gathered outside Trump Tower in Chicago, a day after thousands marched through the city centre. Some passers-by cheered them but at least one driver shouted that they should “shut up and accept democracy”, the AP reported.
Protesters also returned to Trump Tower in New York for a second night.
In his tweet, Donald Trump described them as “professional protesters” and said they had been “incited by the media”.
Meanwhile Mexico’s President Enrique Pena Nieto said he was optimistic his country could have a positive relationship with the US under President Donald Trump, despite his anti-Mexican rhetoric during the campaign.
Enrique Pena Nieto said he and Donald Trump had agreed to meet, possibly during the transition period before President Trump’s inauguration in January.
In Russia, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said Donald Trump and the Russian president were “very much alike” in how they see the world.
Dmitry Peskov said Russian experts had been in contact with some members of Donald Trump’s staff during the campaign.
However, he said the Russian government had nothing to do with the theft of emails from the Democratic campaign that were later published by WikiLeaks.
President-elect Donald Trump meets President Barack Obama at the White House for what could prove to be awkward transition talks.
Donald Trump has questioned Barack Obama’s US citizenship and vowed to dismantle his legacy.
During the campaign President Obama called Donald Trump “uniquely unqualified”, but now says he is “rooting” for him after his shock defeat of Hillary Clinton.
Thousands have taken to the streets of major cities denouncing Donald Trump.
Donald Trump flew from New York on his private jet and landed at Reagan National Airport, just outside the nation’s capital.
The two men are expected to appear together for the cameras in the Oval Office after a behind-closed-doors meeting.
Donald Trump is being accompanied by his wife, Melania, who will have a meeting with First Lady Michelle Obama.
On November 9, Barack Obama – who campaigned against Donald Trump – urged all Americans to accept the result of the presidential election.
“We are now all rooting for his success in uniting and leading the country,” the president said.
The defeated Hillary Clinton also told supporters Donald Trump had to be given a “chance to lead”.
Despite their calls, protesters gathered in several cities across the country on November 9. Many chanted: “Not my president.”
In his victory speech, Donald Trump vowed to “bind the wounds of division”, after an acrimonious election contest, and to be “president for all Americans”.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest has insisted President Obama is sincere about ensuring a smooth handover when he meets Donald Trump, although he added: “I’m not saying it’s going to be an easy meeting.”
With the Republicans holding a majority in both chambers of the Congress Donald Trump has an easier path to pass his laws and scrap key Obama initiatives like his healthcare reforms.
In his victory speech, President-elect Donald Trump praised some loyalists widely viewed as his cabinet-in-waiting.
Donald Trump’s aides had already circulated names of contenders in the final days of the White House race.
Here are some of the possible executive branch appointments being touted for Team Trump in the city of revolving doors.
Reince Priebus – Tipped as Chief of Staff
Reince Priebus, 44, is being widely tipped as Donald Trump’s White House aide.
As chairman of the Republican National Committee, Reince Priebus was a bridge between Donald Trump and a party establishment that was embarrassed by its own presidential standard-bearer.
Reince Priebus is close to House Speaker Paul Ryan, a fellow Wisconsinite, who could be instrumental in steering the new administration’s legislative agenda.
Image source Wikipedia
Rudy Giuliani – Tipped as Attorney General
One of Donald Trump’s most ardent surrogates, the former NYC mayor is being mentioned for the post of America’s top prosecutor.
During 9/11, Mayor Rudy Giuliani became the face of the city’s resilience amid the rubble of the World Trade Center.
He also introduced NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy, which critics said was a form of racial profiling.
Donald Trump, who ran as the law-and-order candidate, has championed the tactic.
Rudy Giuliani, a former New York prosecutor, ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.
Newt Gingrich – Tipped as Secretary of State
The 73-year-old former Georgia legislator, an early Trump supporter who made it on to the shortlist of running mates, has been tipped as America’s top diplomat.
As Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1994, Newt Gingrich masterminded the Republican wave election that won control of the chamber from Democrats.
Newt Gingrich quit the speakership because of ethics violations.
Michael Flynn – Tipped as National Security Adviser
Michael Flynn, a retired three-star US Army lieutenant general, helped Donald Trump connect with veterans despite the candidate’s lack of military service.
He claims he was forced out of his role as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency from 2012-2014 because of his views on radical Islam.
During the campaign, Michael Flynn pilloried the Obama administration’s approach to the threat posed by ISIS.
Steven Mnuchin – Tipped as Treasury Secretary
Donald Trump himself has named his finance chairman for the post of Treasury Secretary.
However, it’s unclear whether Donald Trump’s populist supporters would welcome the idea of handing the levers of national tax policy to a consummate Wall Street insider.
Steven Mnuchin amassed a fortune during his 17 years at Goldman Sachs, before founding a movie production company that was behind such box office hits as the X-Men franchise and American Sniper.
Chris Christie – Tipped as Commerce Secretary
After his own Republican presidential campaign foundered this year, the New Jersey governor promptly endorsed Donald Trump.
Chris Christie, 54, currently overseeing Donald Trump’s White House transition, has been mentioned for various posts in the administration, including commerce secretary.
He has been tainted by a scandal over the closure of a major bridge linking New Jersey and New York City, allegedly to punish a local mayor.
Since any presidential cabinet appointment must go before the Senate, confirmation could be problematic while this cloud hangs over him.
Jeff Sessions – Tipped as Defense Secretary
The 69-year-old Alabama senator is being touted as a possible Pentagon chief.
At his victory bash in New York, Donald Trump said of Jeff Sessions: “He is highly respected in Washington because he is as smart as you get.”
Jeff Sessions was a supporter of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, which Donald Trump recently called “a terrible and stupid thing”.
He sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Judiciary Committee and the Budget Committee.
The Trump campaign has declined to confirm cabinet speculation.
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