Donald Trump begins task of healing divided nation as Hillary Clinton gives gracious concession speech

Now none of this is to say Trump will be a great or even good President but it does signal that Donald Trump won't be as bad as you think, writes Douglas Murray. [The Spectator]

Gone were the "Crooked Hillary" taunts in his victory speech, an almost emotionally fatigued Trump spoke of wanting to bind the nation together. He followed it up with a conciliatory tweet on the morning after.

But after threatening to jail his opponent and spending months cheering on his supporters as they chanted "lock her up," Trump has a mammoth task ahead of him if he is sincere in wanting to heal the divide.

2. Clinton concedes with gracious speech

Hillary Clinton was a no-show on election night. Her campaign chairman John Podesta addressed supporters in the early hours of the morning to tell them to go home, get some sleep and come back the next day when she might still have a chance of winning.

Shortly after that Trump headed to his victory party and within the hour, Clinton had phoned him to concede and the networks began calling it for the reality tv star. Clinton left it until nearly midday local time on Wednesday to finally address her supporters and give her concession speech. As Trump supporters were pointing out online, imagine if Trump, as he had threatened, had refused to face the music for that long.

When she finally spoke, Clinton delivered one of the best speeches I've ever seen her give. Human, gracious and authentic, she urged her supporters to give Trump an "open mind and chance to lead" but noted America was more divided than thought. The loss was painful and would hurt for a long time, she acknowledged. [Nick O'Malley/Fairfax]

She said she accepted the outcome, noted Americans cherish their peaceful transfer of power but also values like the freedom to worship. On gender she said she hoped that hardest and highest glass ceiling might be shattered sooner than we might think today.

Shortly after President Obama showed his trademark pragmatism as noted his "significant differences" with Trump but pledged to follow George W. Bush's example in ensuring a smooth transition of power.

He urged Americans to remember they are "patriots first" and :all on the same team: and welcomed Trump's new tone set on election night saying he was "rooting" for success in uniting the country. [ABC News America]

3. GOP responds

After assiduously avoiding Trump during the campaign Ryan congratulated Trump for pulling off "the most incredible political feat I have seen in my lifetime" and said a unified Republican party would deliver Trump's mandate - including repealing Obamacare. [CNN]

Previous GOP Trump critics including John Kasich and George W Bush (who abstained from voting for Trump) also issued their congratulations.

4. World reacts to Trump

Mexico says it won't pay for the wall. [Reuters]

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a telegram, yes a telegram, to congratulate Trump. The champagne corks would have been popping in the Kremlin, analysts say. [Fairfax]

The strongest reaction has been from far-right populists, especially in Europe. [Fairfax]

5. Australia reacts

There's the Daily Telegraph's version:

One government MP in Canberra told me this week that a voter recently told him: "I can't wait for the next election so we can put an independent in."

There's a reason why the people popping corks yesterday (literally) were One Nation and the far-right in Cory Bernardi and the Nationals MP George Christensen. These self-annointed champions of so-called "commonsense" and change see hope for their movements and prove just how especially tone-deaf Turnbull's "never been a more exciting time" schtick really was.

Bernardi has long dismissed rumours that he's planning a breakaway movement but this tweet is sure to set off a fresh round of scuttlebutt.

Christensen says expect to see Trumpism rise in Australia. [Sky News]

For his part, the PM was spot on to identify the need for the right to continue prosecuting for free markets as a hedge against the populist backlash. [Michael Koziol/Fairfax]

A refreshing change from the common "shock, horror, disbelief" response is from former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

To the commentators:

Peter Hartcher: Trump's America is not democracy but despotism. [The Sydney Morning Herald]

Peter Martin: A Trump win will be disastrous for Australia. [The Age]

John Kehoe: Donald Trump has shocked the world, perhaps even his egotistical self. [Financial Review]

Niki Savva: No matter how low politics has sunk in Australia we have a long way to go before we match what we have seen in the US. [The Australian]

Paul Kelly: It is the great American political shock of the past century. [The Australian]

Michelle Grattan: Bill Shorten won't be apologising for calling Trump "barking mad." [The Coversation]

Miranda Devine: It's the revenge of the deplorables. [Daily Telegraph]

6. The Fourth Turning

For those of you who follow me on Twitter I tweeted this recommendation yesterday as the results came in but have been meaning to share this book with you for a while and now feels like the right time. If you're still perplexed why all this has happened and the meteoric shift that's taken place in politics since the late 90s, you need to read a book called The Fourth Turning. http://www.fourthturning.com/

It is the theory of William Strauss and Neil Howe who have identified a pattern of four generations that repeatedly turn over. The Fourth Turning refers to the crises which come when a particular generation comes of age. The Unraveling precedes The Crisis and took place last decade, ending around 2008 (the year of the Global Financial Crisis). A great shock always triggers the turning of the generations.

It is a compelling theory and makes the sense of chaos unfolding in our politics a lot more ordered and understandable than you might think. I couldn't recommend it more.

And that's it from me today, you can follow me on Facebook for more.