tonight, shock waves across america and around the world as donald trump defies the polls and the pend its again. the dramatic triumph as the brash billionaire turned reality star is elected the 45th president of the united states. >> i say it for us to come together as one united people. >> for hillary clinton, one of the most stunning defeats in american political history. >> last night i congratulated donald trump and offered to work with him on behalf of our country. >> the candidate and her campaign, so confident victory was in their grasp. what happened? we have exclusive details inside trump's planning. plus the immediate impact of his policies

divided from euphoria to outright fear. how does this country come together? "nightly news" begins right now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. even as the first polls were closing last night, not even the trump camp saw what was coming, a stunning victory that slowly unfolded before the eye o starting with florida, and over the next several hours, overwhelming hillary clinton's blue wall. the latest vote totals show trump winning with 279 electoral votes to hillary clinton's 228. though clinton holds a narrow lead in the popular vote. trump delivered his acceptance speech in the wee hours of this morning followed late this morning by hillary clinton. who publicly conceded the race and acknowledged the pain as she wished trump well. tonight, inside

days before donald trump is sworn in as this country's 45th president. our expanded coverage begins with nbc's katie tur. >> introduce to you, the president-elect of the united states of america, donald trump. >> at 2:50 this morning, donald trump did what so many said could never happen. >> i've just received a call from secretary she congratulated us, it's about us on our victory and i congratulated her and her family on a very, very hard-fought campaign. >> his protest candidacy is now a protest presidency. the billionaire giving voice to those who felt voiceless. suppressed frustration with globalization, immigration, and the

electoral mop from blue to red. >> we have the greatest movement ever put together in this country. >> propelled by turnout in white, rural america breaking clinton's blue wall in the upper midwest. trump proving enthusiasm was more important than ground game. political infrastructure and money. >> winning because of not despite his often crass honesty. still, the victory came as a surprise even to the campaign. going into election learned from campaign sources, team trump's internal data had him losing. but that changed. at 10:59 cheers from the soon-to-be victory party. fox news called florida. trump's campaign seeing the momentum shift right alongside the nation. by 1:36 a.m. when the "associated press" called pennsylvania, they knew they had it. >> 85,000 people there at the county fair and the big question for the media sometimes

>> today the now-president-elect was holed up at trump tower planning. campaign sources say trump was too superstitious to talk transition before he won. leaving his aides to muse about cabinet positions. rudy giuliani as attorney general, newt gingrich, secretary of state. reince priebus, chief of staff. a trump campaign source cautions roles could change once trump has his say. going forward, the hard work of coming together. the country is sharply divided. many wondering if the trump they saw on stage last night -- >> now it's time for america to bind the wounds of division. >> the presidential trump he promised lester holt. is the president trump america will get for the next four years. >> i want to be different. when you're president, you act in a different way. there's no question about that. and i would do that. >> tomorrow donald trump goes to the white house to meet with the president.

perhaps a mirror for what is to come for this country. >> katie tur, thanks very much. for hillary clinton and her campaign it was an outcome so unexpected, so shocking, she didn't come out overnight. instead calling donald trump to concede and waiting until late this morning before addressing her supporters and the nation. we get more on that from nbc's andrea mitchell. ? after weeks of speculation over whether donald trump would concede to hillary clinton, it was clinton this morning speech she never thought she'd have to give. >> donald trump is going to be our president, we owe him an open mind and the chance to lead. >> surrounded by staff and supporters, some in tears, including huma abedin, clinton fighting to keep her own emotions in check. i'm sorry that we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we hold for our country. >> this was clearly the most difficult moment of hillary clinton's political life.

donald trump. difficult for president obama, too. for whom defeating trump was so personal. his staff watching in shock. >> the peaceful transition of power is one of the hallmarks of our democracy. and over the next few months, we are going to show that to the world. >> tonight the candidate and her campaign reeling. up until the last moment they thought they would win. 6:00 p.m. election night poised for a victory celebration, aides describing the mood as confident. by returning calls. supporters watching it all slip away in disbelief. at 2:00 a.m. in awkward moment, campaign chairman john podesta telling supporters not to give up hope. >> we can wait a little longer, can't we? we're still counting votes and every vote should count. >> while only minutes later clinton called trump to concede. tonight the question for the president and democrats -- with the clinton machine's

ground game and star power, how did they lose an election they thought was a sure thing? armchair quarterback's blame clinton's use of the personal server. the embarrassing hacked emails and the fbi director's october surprise. today clinton's message to young people. >> you will have successes and setbacks, too. this loss hurts. but please never stop believing that fighting for what's right is worth it. i know we have still not highest and hardest glass ceiling, but someday, someone will and hopefully sooner than we might think right now. >> comforting staff and friends, even as bill clinton put on a brave face. before heading home, marking what could be the end of the clintons in politics. and now clinton shares a sad legacy with al gore. who was just campaigning with hillary clinton in florida. the two democratic

the presidency. left centre. >> andrea mitchell, thanks very much. we want to take a closer look at one of the major deciding factors in trump's victory. the white vote in rural america. a slice of the country whose strength many underestimated as they made a mockery of the polls. fueling this incredible upset. with more on that we turn to nbc's kevin tibbles in michigan. >> in the american heartland, farmers like aaron kate are back at work. just one day after they say their and their vote was finally heard. what's the message people like you sent? >> i sense we've been forgotten in the last eight years. >> so important was middle america to trump his final campaign event was a raucous gathering of 4,000 in grand rapids, michigan. last night, local republicans in this county of city and country celebrated. >> i think we're going to look back in the records, look back at history and say

tonight. >> it was the rural vote in the small towns of states like michigan and pennsylvania that helped push trump over the top. with issues like jobs, health care and big government. more white voters in rural michigan, pennsylvania and wisconsin went for trump. than they did for mitt romney four years ago. this coupled with the fact that hillary supporters in certain demographics did not turn out in the same way they did for president obama. >> back into business like we're supposed to be less regulations, that means more jobs. and more money for the american people to spend. >> aaron kate sees himself as helping to feed the country. he says he doesn't need any more baggage from washington. >> that's one thing i do hope, is we can get the government out of our lives and let us do what we do best. >> you think trump will do that? >> i think he's a good start. >> voters in rural america say they're ready to roll up their

michigan. the impact of the american election is reverberating around the world tonight. there are concerns among some foreign leaders about how donald trump might view america's traditional role in world affairs. there are plenty of congratulations being extended to the president-elect. including those of vladimir putin. we get details from our chief foreign correspondent, richard engel. >> there were gasps around the headlines, trump ocalypse and disunited states. and echoes of the brexit vote, against the european establishment. but deeper concerns tonight that the world's shining light of democracy has gone dark. >> you cannot look at president trump and call the american president the leader of the free world. because america has increasingly abdicated its legitimacy to that

parties, who rushed to embrace trump as their new hero. >> he's like me, joked the filipino president, accused of turning his police into anti-narco death squads. egypt's general sisi, who came to power in a coup bragged he was the first foreign leader to congratulate trump. and hungary's victor orban who did wall out his country to keep out refugees called trump great news. and of course, russia's putin. >> i think i would have a very, very good relationship with putin and i think i would have a very, very good relationship with russia. >> putin said today he's ready to open a new chapter with the u.s. >> they see in mr. trump, president-elect trump, somebody that they can do business with. there will be a honeymoon period for sure. >> on foreign affairs, trump is considered unpredictable, stoking fears that at least initially his

left centre. >> richard engel tonight, thank you. let's bring if our political director, the moderator of "meet the press," chuck todd. we talk about the political earthquake. people saying we want change in washington. some put it, we want it take our country back. drill down for me. >> what this is, is this economic insecurity that's happened out there. these are the folks that feel a bit left behind. they feel as if government is looking out for the families of undocumented immigrants. but they're not who feel as if their jobs have disappeared. so it's this feeling of, they don't feel they've been prioritized by the political and establishment in washington. the question is going to be, can trump deliver for them? you know left the democratic party in part because they felt like the democratic party didn't deliver. trump's made a lot of promises. can he deliver? the onus and the burden is on them. that's what this is about ultimately. they feel as if

ourselves. flyover country. as if they're just sort of in the way on our way to the west coast type of thing. think that whole feeling that they were just disrespected and not prioritized. >> you talk about fulfilling the promise. that's what we're going to go to next. still ahead, trump's agenda, his first orders of business when he enters the white house. the potential impact on everything from the supreme court to obamacare to his long-promised border wall. after such a bitterly divided

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we're back now with a look at president-elect trump's agenda. after raising expectations of dramatic change in washington, millions of supporters are expecting action and quickly. nbc's halle jackson has a look at the potential sweeping changes ahead. >> it's going to be a beautiful thing. >> so, donald trump won. now what? propelled by the power of a republican-controlled re all but assure as more conservative supreme court. >> the supreme court, it's what it's all about. >> and his presidency guarantees the biggest battle yet over obamacare. >> real change begins with immediately repealing and replacing obamacare. it's a disaster. >> those campaign promises, realistic. others? those so much. >> we will build a great wall along the southern border. >> his mexican-funded

unlikely. his temporary proposed muslim ban? unpopular. trump signaling he won't take such a hard-line stance on it. but some of his promises show a serious split with his own party on policy. disagreements on trade, and on russia. >> the parliament in moscow today celebrating trump's election. vladimir putin sending a congratulatory telegram. evidencef o republicans coming together. e mandate, we now just have the uniied republican government. >> support? sure. but not a slam-dunk. at least eight republican senators say they voted against trump. on one hand, his promise to end corruption in congress. on the other, an agenda that needs help from the very system he says he hates. >> to get anything done, he needs to have them support him. >> he's going to need the congress and the republicans who he blasted again and again. they are now going to

that donald trump can do all on his own. he's already promised to roll back president obama's executive actions on immigration and climate change. no need for congressional approval there. left centre. >> halle, thank you. when we come back, the growing from the penthouse to the white house. getting to when a moment turns romantic, why pause to take a pill? or stop to find a bathroom? cialis for daily use is approved to treat both erectile dysfunction and the urinary symptoms of bph,

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in just a couple of months, the white house will be home to a first family, perhaps unlike any that has ever lived there. nbc's cynthia mcfadden has a look at the soon-to-be occupants of 1600 pennsylvania avenue. the trumps. >> donald trump marches to the beat of his own drum. surrounded by a small band of intimates, many of whom he's related to. he thanked them last night. >> i love you and i thank you. this was tough. this was tough. >> and while they're not a traditional family, melania is his third wife and the kids have three

history. there is clearly a deep bond between them. >> you can't fake good kids. how about his amazing children? aren't they something? >> the glamorous mrs. trump speaks five languages, grew up behind the iron curtain and will be the only second first lady to be born abroad since louisa adams. she's not the first model to fill the role of first lady. pat nixon and ford were models, too. what does history tell bus the role that melania trump might play. >> history usually says a first lady comes into this job, by the time she's leaves she's a very different person doing things she never imagined. >> and mr. trump said many times he'll turn over his business to the three oldest children while he's in the white house. but he's also implied he might call on them for his administration.

put ivanka in. >> but family appointments are tricky. a 1967 law prohibiting nepotism was passed after kennedy served as attorney general for his brother. the white house will a have a child in residence, 10-year-old baron. so good-bye three-story penthouse in trump tower and hello, white house. cynthia mcfadden, nbc news, new york. when we come back, together after

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breathe right. in their speeches after the votes were counted, both donald trump and hillary clinton said it's time to unite the country. but that may be easier said than done. after this long campaign left so many feeling angry and divided. our harry smith takes a look at how america can begin to heal,

of our time. >> so much for polls and pundits. funny things happen sometimes in big games and elections and real life. there is a momentum shift. so today half the electorate is elated and the other half is on edge. we've endured 18 months of partisan rancor. but today president obama said it's time to look at the big picture. >> we're actually all on one team. we're not democrats first, we're not we are americans first. >> back in 2000, after more than a month of hanging chads and legal wrangling, al gore conceded the election to george bush. >> this america and we put country before party. we will stand together behind our new president. >> what's best for the country can be a bitter pill. yesterday, people waited in line for hours to vote. there was a buzz in polling places. that's how it's supposed to be.

with his rhetoric on his way to victory, there was none of that early this morning. >> it's time for us to come together as one united people. >> in fact, there was a very different tone. >> hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time. and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country. humble, perhaps, awed, by the magnitude of what lies ahead this peaceful transition of power goes back to his earliest history. we change governments with ballots, not bullets. we the people decide. and when the counting is done, we move forward. harry smith, nbc news, new york. that will do it for us on this wednesday night, "nightly news" continues now with another half hour of coverage on most of our stations.

streamed live on our website. i'm lester holter for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. now at six. a changing of the guard coming soon to the white house -- with donald trump set to succeed president obama. how iowans are reacting to a memorable election -- the day af part of eastern iowa. how an area county's board of supervisors could add by subtraction soon. the electoral college -- explained on a smaller scale. an up-close explanation is on the way tonight. "you're watching kwwl, we've got you covered. this is the news at six." good evening everyone, i'm amanda goodman

here he is -- the next president of the united states. after a campaign that will not be forgotten any time soon -- donald trump has made history in becoming the country's 45th president. trump -- topping hillary clinton during last night's election, thanks to wins in several key battleground states -- including here iowa. selection -- people here in eastern iowa have a range of reactions to the news of trump's victory today. kwwl's lauren moss speaking with several people today -- who have different outlooks on future president trump. it's been a very passionate season all around.. i stopped by side car coffee shop and morgs in waterloo- to hear what people were talking about waking up to the