Hillary Clinton Says Defeat Was "Painful" But Urges For All Americans To Bind Together

Hillary Clinton has publicly conceded the election to Donald Trump, urging her supporters to accept his presidency and to keep an open mind, giving him a chance to lead the country.

Clinton thanked her supporters and called the loss "painful", but has urged for national unity in her concession speech, The New York Times reports.

"This is painful, and will be for a long time," she said.

Clinton also expressed regret that the glass ceiling wasn't shattered, but hopes, "someday, someone will [do it], and hopefully sooner than we might think right now."

Barack Obama has also reminded Americans that solidarity is needed now, more than ever, saying, "[We] are all on the same team".

He has called for the public to keep good faith in fellow citizens, saying everyone is on "the same team".

In his victory speech, Trump said his campaign wasn't simply a campaign, rather an "incredible and great movement made up of millions of hard-working men and women who love their country and want a better, brighter future for themselves and for their families."

The shock victory of Trump is said to have been on the backs of an enormous wave of support from white working-class voters, reports the New York Times.

Exit polls show most white voters of both sexes and almost all ages and education levels backed Trump.

Given Clinton led in almost every national poll, even Trump's own data team wasn't forecasting a victory. On the other hand, the Clinton team was convinced it was on track to victory; they hardly even aired advertisements in states like Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan (which were lost to Trump).

Across the country thousands of people took to the streets in protest, yelling anti-Trump profanities and chanting "not my president."

Photo: ABC News