History has been made, but not in the way everyone thought. Donald Trump has won the election, and many pollsters, Democrats, and even Republicans are shocked from the unlikely outcome.

Election day turned out to be a disaster for Democrats. Early on, it became clear that Trump had a better shot than expected, holding steady leads in North Carolina and Florida. Once results started coming in for Wisconsin and Michigan, Democratic nervousness turned into fear, with Trump holding sizable leads throughout the counting process.  Trump solidified his victory with a late comeback in Pennsylvania, which Clinton had led throughout most of the night. Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, all formerly solid blue states, voted for Trump.

Interestingly enough, Trump did not win because he rallied Republicans. Trump received less votes than Romney and McCain, and even lost the popular vote to Clinton by around 300,000 votes. Hillary Clinton failed to invigorate her party, receiving a stunning 9 million votes less than Obama during his 2008 run. Democratic turnout was unacceptably poor, which ultimately led to an easy Trump victory.

Hillary conceded the election to Trump over phone early Wednesday morning, and urged supporters in her classy concession speech to acknowledge that Trump is President, and to allow a peaceful transition of power. Trump also gave a respectful speech, praising Clinton’s hard work and lifelong service to our country, while also asserting that he will be a President for all Americans, urging “Republicans and Democrats and Independents across this nation [that] it is time for us to come together as one united people”.

In her speech, Clinton gave a very hopeful message encouraging Democrats to “never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it”. She also comforted her women supporters, and touchingly asked the little girls watching to “never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams”.

Republicans celebrated their unlikely victory, hoping that Trump can bring the change to America that they’ve desired. Arnella Margolin, a senior at Wayne Hills, thinks that “its a great victory for Trump and this country. It will be a time of great progress […]. Trump’s victory is a historic one and hopefully his presidency will be the same”. Among the many topics on Trump agenda, repealing Obamacare and putting an end to illegal immigration rank near the top.

On the opposite side of the aisle, many Clinton supporters are outraged, and scared of a Trump presidency. Thousands took to the streets of major US cities Wednesday night, expressing their disgust over Trump’s victory. While remaining largely peaceful, many disrupted traffic and required police to act. Many Wayne Hills students are also disappointed. Josh Kurzer, a senior at Wayne Hills, thinks that the election results “validate xenophobia and shows that Americans have more hate in their hearts than I could have ever imagined”.

Trump met with President Obama on Thursday to begin the transition process. On January 20th, 2017, Trump will take the oath of office and we will say farewell to President Obama.