Associated Press
The Latest on the U.S. election:
3:25 p.m. — Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is proposing that she and President-elect Donald Trump “put aside our differences” and work together to rebuild the American economy for working people.
A favorite of liberals, Warren has waged bitter wars of words with Trump. She’s called him a “pathetic coward” and worse on Twitter. He’s nicknamed her “Pocahontas” — a reference to claims she made about being part Native American.
As recently as Monday, Trump called Warren a “terrible person,” ”a terrible human being” and a “terrible senator.”
In a statement Wednesday, Warren said the integrity of U.S. democracy is more important than an individual election. She said she hopes Trump will fulfill the role of president “with respect and concern for every single person in this country, no matter who they are.”
3:15 p.m. — White House spokesman Josh Earnest says President Barack Obama has congratulated the Senate’s top Republican about his party’s success in maintaining its majority in the Senate.
Earnest said Obama and Mitch McConnell discussed priorities that should be taken up as lawmakers meet before a new Congress takes office. They spoke Wednesday, the day after the election.
While he did not have details about the issues discussed, Earnest said Obama will continue to encourage Republican leaders to take up a massive trade agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He said the president believes the trade pact will benefit the U.S. economy. President-elect Donald Trump strongly opposes the deal.
Earnest says the president also hopes to talk with House Speaker Paul Ryan.
3:05 p.m. — The White House says the President’s Daily Brief and other intelligence materials are now being made available to President-elect Donald Trump, Vice President-elect Mike Pence and other members of Trump’s transition team.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said it’s a courtesy that former President George W. Bush extended to President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and a few aides as they were preparing to take office.
The President’s Daily Brief is a classified document delivered to the president each morning. Until his victory Tuesday, Trump had received some classified briefings but not as extensive as what he’ll now be receiving.
Earnest says it’s part of Obama’s efforts to ensure a smooth transition.
3 p.m. — The Senate’s top Republican isn’t interested in rehashing contentious comments President-elect Donald Trump made about Hispanics during the campaign.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky wouldn’t say whether he thought Trump’s remarks have caused lasting damage to the Republican Party with an important demographic group. Trump has called some Mexicans rapists and criminals and had claimed that a judge might be biased against him because of the judge’s Mexican heritage.
Several months ago, McConnell publicly worried that Trump could push Hispanics from the party as Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater had done with blacks in the 1964 election.
McConnell said: “We should look forward and not backward and rehash and re-litigate the various debates we had both internally and with the Democrats over the past year.”
2:45 p.m. — White House spokesman Josh Earnest is disputing the notion that Thursday’s meeting between President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump will have an air of insincerity about it given the harsh things they’ve said about each other.
Earnest said “I’m not saying it’s going to be an easy meeting.” But he said the president is sincere about fulfilling a basic responsibility he has to ensure a smooth transition of power.
Earnest said the success of America’s democracy depends on all citizens setting aside their partisan affiliations and political preferences, and rooting for the success of the American president.
During the campaign, Obama had called Trump unfit and unqualified.
2:25 p.m. — Donald Trump is spending the day after winning the presidency holed up in Trump Tower, where sleep-deprived aides appear jubilant as they come and go.
The usually buzzing lobby of Trump’s residence and campaign headquarters is currently closed to the general public, though an impersonator of the famous “Naked Cowboy” — wearing a robe — was at one point spotted strolling through.
The scene outside is chaotic, with protesters and a mass of press gathered in penned-off area. Curious onlookers are clogging foot traffic as they pause to take in the scene.
The east side of Manhattan’s busy Fifth Avenue between 56th and 57th is also closed to the public with dump trucks filled with dirt forming a protective barrier outside the building’s lobby.
1:58 p.m. — White House spokesman Josh Earnest says President Barack Obama’s top priority following Tuesday’s election is not his legacy.
Earnest says the president is focused on the 20 million people who gained health insurance after the Affordable Care Act went into effect.
Earnest is taking questions from reporters about how the election results will affect Obama’s legacy on issues such as health care and climate change.
Earnest says the president is also concerned about the prospect of protections being stripped from millions of Americans who benefit because health insurers are not allowed to discriminate based on pre-existing health conditions or impose a lifetime cap on expenses.
Earnest says the tearing away those protections would negatively affect a lot of people, and “that’s something Republicans will have to consider moving forward.”
1:50 p.m. — Officials hope to unveil Donald Trump’s repaired star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as soon possible now that he’s been elected president.
The star along a well-traveled block of Hollywood Boulevard remains blocked off and covered in plywood two weeks after a protester took a sledgehammer to it. The man was charged with felony vandalism.
Vivian Kish with the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce says the star has been mostly repaired, but still needs to finish drying and then be polished. She said it usually takes about two weeks to complete the process.
About two dozen Trump supporters reveled at the site after the election, snapping photos until police asked them to move on.
Trump’s star was dedicated in recognition of his work on NBC’s “The Apprentice.”
1:45 p.m. — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has spoken to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and has already received an invitation to meet.
Netanyahu said Trump invited him to meet “at the first opportunity” in a phone call Wednesday.
A statement from Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli leader congratulated Trump on his win and said that “the U.S. has no better ally than Israel.” It described their conversation as “warm” and said they spoke about regional issues.
Israel and the U.S. are close allies but relations were often tense between Netanyahu and President Barack Obama, mainly over Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians and concerns over the U.S.-led nuclear deal with Iran.
Netanyahu and Trump are friendly and ties are expected to improve.
Netanyahu met with Trump and Hillary Clinton in September.
1:40 p.m. — A close presidential vote pushed many people past their bedtimes, including President-elect Donald Trump’s 10-year-old son, Barron.
The youngest of Trump’s five children stood next to his father during his victory speech in New York early Wednesday. Television cameras caught the younger Trump fighting through heavy eyelids during his father’s remarks.
The internet took notice with many posting clips of boy, noting that his appearance mirrored those of many at home struggling to stay awake.
1:05 p.m. — Republican Donald Trump won the presidency fueled by a surge of working-class whites across a band of Midwestern states. Those are the kind of voters who had helped anchor Democratic presidential victories for a generation.
Trump won states such as Pennsylvania and Iowa that had twice backed Barack Obama.
Exit polls and unofficial returns reflect deep racial, gender, economic and cultural divides across the region and nationally.
Trump’s support Tuesday skewed older, more male and overwhelmingly white. His supporters said they are deeply dissatisfied with the federal government and eager for change. That’s according to the exit polls conducted by Edison Research for national media outlets.
Democrat Hillary Clinton’s support was anchored in cities, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Trump’s advantages in small towns, rural areas and many suburbs.
1 p.m. — A prominent Republican critic of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is giving the Democrat high marks for her concession speech.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said in a statement Wednesday that Clinton should be congratulated for “doing her part to bring about healing of our nation.”
Unimpressed with either candidate, Graham quipped in September that the choice “makes me want to move to Canada.”
But a day after the election, Graham said Clinton struck the right tone.
Graham said, “all Americans should follow her counsel and try to work with our next president.”
He said Trump “will need all the help he can get given the many challenges we face as a nation.”
12:55 p.m. — Another former president Bush is congratulating Donald Trump on winning the race for the White House.
George W. Bush said in a statement that he called Trump Wednesday. He said he and his wife, Laura, wished the president-elect and his family “our very best as they take on an awesome responsibility.”
Bush added: “We pray for the success of our country and the success of our new president.”
A spokesman said Bush and his wife didn’t vote for Trump when casting early ballots for Tuesday’s election.
Bush’s father, George H.W. Bush, also called and congratulated Trump on Wednesday.
12:50 p.m. — President Barack Obama says he could not be prouder of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Obama said Clinton’s candidacy and nomination sent a message to daughters all across the country that “they can achieve at the highest levels of politics.” Clinton lost to Republican Donald Trump in Tuesday’s election.
Obama was speaking Wednesday in the White House’s Rose Garden. He said he is confident that Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton will continue to do great work for people around the world.
12:40 p.m. — President Barack Obama says he was heartened by President-elect Donald Trump’s call for unity.
Speaking Wednesday at the White House, Obama said the campaign was long and hard fought and that while a lot of Americans are feeling exultant, others are not.
He said everyone is sad when their side loses an election. But, resorting to sports analogies, Obama said “we’re actually all on one team” and we’re in an intramural scrimmage.
He said all Americans should want what’s best for the country.
In his acceptance speech, Trump called for the country to “bind the wounds of division.”
12:35 p.m. — President Barack Obama says he’s instructing his team to make sure there is a peaceful transfer of power to Donald Trump.
Obama spoke Wednesday in the White House’s Rose Garden following Trump’s upset victory in Tuesday’s presidential election.
He noted that he and Trump have had big differences. Trump promises to repeal many of Obama’s achievements over the past eight years. Obama had warned voters that if Trump were to win, “all that progress goes down the drain.”
Now, Obama said, “we all want what’s best for this country.” He said the point is that we all go forward with a presumption of good faith in all citizens. He says that’s how the country has moved forward and he’s confident that the incredible American journey will continue.
12:05 p.m. — Hillary Clinton says America “is more deeply divided than we thought,” but she is urging her supporters to accept the outcome of the presidential election.
In a speech Wednesday conceding the presidency to Republican Donald Trump, Clinton said, “I still believe in America, and I always will.”
She noted that “our responsibility as citizens is to keep doing our part to keep building that better, stronger, fairer America.”
Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
