President-Elect Trump Addresses Crowd: 'It Is Time for America to Bind the Wounds of Division'
— -- President-elect Donald Trump took the stage at the Hilton Midtown in Manhattan just before 3 a.m. Wednesday to celebrate his victory, telling his supporters that Hillary Clinton had called to congratulate him.
"I congratulated her and her family on a very, very hard-fought campaign. I mean, she fought very hard," he said. "We owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country. I mean that very sincerely."
"Now it is time for America to bind the wounds of division," Trump added. "I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all of Americans, and this is so important to me."
He told the cheering crowd, "Working together, we will begin the urgent task of rebuilding our nation and renewing the American dream."
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Trump thanked his family and supporters, saying, "Ours was not a campaign but rather an incredible and great movement."
He said the movement was "made up of millions of hardworking men and women who love their country and want a better, brighter future for themselves and for their family. It's a movement comprised of Americans from all races, religions, backgrounds and beliefs, who want and expect our government to serve the people, and serve the people it will."
Trump asked for help from those who "have chosen not to support me in the past."
"I'm reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country," he said.
Although the campaign is over, Trump said, "our work on this movement is now really just beginning."
"We're going to get to work immediately for the American people, and we're going to be doing a job that, hopefully, you will be so proud of your president," he said. "It's been an amazing two-year period, and I love this country. Thank you. Thank you very much."
House Speaker Paul Ryan, who called Trump this evening and congratulated him on his victory, said in a statement that Trump's "incredible victory ... marks a repudiation of the status quo of failed liberal progressive policies."
"We are eager to work hand in hand with the new administration to advance an agenda to improve the lives of the American people," Ryan said. "This has been a great night for our party, and now we must turn our focus to bringing the country together."
