Truth is often stranger than fiction and no where has it been more apparent than what the world witnessed a few hours ago when Republican Donald Trump defeated the front runner Democrat Hillary Clinton to win the elections. Accordingly Trump will become the 45th US president after a stunning victory, which had political pundits al over the world reeling in what can best be comically described as 'shock and awe.'
The Republican nominee defied pre-election polling to claim swing states, winning the key battlegrounds of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Standing at the Trump election headquarters in New York after the results had been announced, he told cheering supporters that Americans must now unite and "bind the wounds of division", after a gruelling, acrimonious campaign.
Global markets plummeted, with the US dollar diving and gold prices surging.
As poll counting went late into the night, it was clearly Trump's shock victory in Wisconsin that put him over the 270 out of 538 electoral college votes needed to win the White House.
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| Trump with his running mate Pence |
In what might be described a a possible moment of stark realisation, just a few hours earlier, Hillary Clinton had suggested that she might be going to lose the US election.
The Democratic candidate posted an Instagram tribute to her staff and supporters as her chances of winning plunged on the election night.
Hillary Clinton on Instagram
"This team has so much to be proud of," she wrote on her official profile. "Whatever happens tonight, thank you for everything."
Millions of pages will be written in as many magazines worldwide over the coming days, weeks and months on the hows, whys and whats of this shock election victory but my top of mind thoughts as I close this piece are:
Changing times clearly demand changing solutions - as to whether Trump will be the harbinger of that change remains to be seen.
Can't help but wonder - what were Hillary's thoughts as the final results came in- when she realised that she had lost and picked up the phone to make that congratulatory call to Trump- who then started his thank you speech with that very same thought and in a complete turnabout, actually thanked Senator Clinton and her family for their contribution to the US of A.
And finally, the year 2016 and another American Presidential election has concluded, but the world is still waiting for the day when a woman will become the President of the USA.
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