President #Obama called #Donald Trump this morning, congratulated him on #Election 2016, and invited the newly elected president to the White House on Thursday. The press secretary’s office released a statement that said the president has asked President-elect Trump to visit the White House on Thursday for an update on the January transition.
The White House also said having a smooth transition of government was a top priority and that means working with the president-elect. The White House said Obama will also talk to Americans directly today about the election’s results and how the country can come together.
That may prove awkward given Obama’s numerous comments about Trump’s fitness and temperament to be president, calling him “uniquely unqualified” to be his successor. Obama also phoned the now-defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and commended her for a “strong campaign” that was ultimately decided by blue-collar rural voters.
The problem with polls
Exit polls coming out of the election said 83 percent felt Trump would bring much-needed change to Washington D.C. And Trump got 67 percent of the vote from blue-collar white Americans, known as Reagan-Democrats and heavily unionized. Blue-collar workers were hit especially hard in rust-belt states as factories relocated to China and Mexico.
Trump stunned everyone last night by narrowly defeating Clinton, who was up by 3 points as election day drew to a close. That was according to the Real Clear Politics average of all polls. Even Larry Sabato, the highly respected Director of the UVA Center for Politics, said ‘we were wrong’ about the polls, and they didn’t see a Trump victory coming.
