Democrat Hillary Clinton has conceded the 2016 US White House race to Republican Donald Trump and is offering work with the president-elect, who she hopes will be a successful leader for all Americans.
Clinton, appearing at midday on Wednesday after a bruising election loss to the New York real estate magnate, urged supporters to keep an open mind on Trump and give him a chance to lead.
"Last night I congratulated Donald Trump and offered to work with him on behalf of our country. I hope that he will be a successful president for all Americans," Clinton told hundreds of supporters and staff at a Manhattan hotel.
"This is not the outcome we wanted or we worked so hard for, and I'm sorry that we did not win this election for the values we shared and the vision we hold for our country," she said to cheers.
Possibly facing her last opportunity for a presidential run, Clinton, 69, acknowledged Tuesday night's results were painful and that she was disappointed.
She urged her assembled staff and supporters, deflated after recent national opinion polls indicated a good chance at victory, to continue to work for a better nation.
"This is painful and it will be for a long time," Clinton said. "But I want you to remember this: Our campaign was never about one person or even one election. It was about the country we love and about building an America that's hopeful, inclusive and big-hearted."
The former first lady, US senator and secretary of state said the election results showed the nation was deeply divided, but the voters had spoken.
"Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead."
President Obama took to the Rose Garden to assure the world that the White House would craft a successful transition for the billionaire Trump, "because we are now all rooting for his success in uniting and leading the country."
"We are Americans first. We're patriots first. We all want what's best for this country," Obama said, as White House staff were seen wiping away tears.
'Redemption, not recrimination'
Around the world, as Trump's victory settled in as cold reality, observers greeted the political earthquake with warnings that America had handed power to "an unstable bigot, sexual predator and compulsive liar," in the words of Britain's The Guardian.
But the leaders of America's closest hemispheric partners, Canada and Mexico, quickly made clear their willingness to work with the new president, offering a message of continuity and stability with their giant neighbor.
And US investors appeared to be shaking off the shock that initially sent global markets plunging.
The Republican Party leadership, too, embraced their newfound hero, with House Speaker Paul Ryan, who had distanced himself from Trump in the final month of the campaign, pledging to "hit the ground running" and work with Trump on conservative legislation.
But Ryan also called for healing, saying the bitterly contested race must now be followed by a period "of redemption, not a time of recrimination."
Like Ryan, Trump called for national reconciliation after Clinton conceded defeat in a result that virtually no poll had dreamed of predicting.
"Now it is time for America to bind the wounds of division," Trump told a crowd of jubilant supporters early Wednesday in New York, pledging to work with Democrats in office.
During a bitter two-year campaign that tugged at America's democratic fabric, the 70-year-old tycoon pledged to deport illegal immigrants, ban Muslims from the country and tear up free trade deals.
Trump's campaign message was embraced by a large section of America's white majority, grown increasingly disgruntled by the scope of social and economic change under Obama, their first black president.
WATCH: Donald Trump's victory speech
Western partners
There was no disguising the concern of Washington's partners that Trump's victory might destroy the Western alliance they still regard as a touchstone for stability and the rule of law.
Some of the most enthusiastic support for Trump came from far-right and nationalist politicians in Europe such as French opposition figure Marine Le Pen, Matteo Salvini of Italy's Northern League and British euroskeptic Nigel Farage.
Russia's autocratic leader Vladimir Putin said he wanted to rebuild "full-fledged relations" with the United States, as he warmly congratulated the president-elect.
EU leaders Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker, seeking reassurances about transatlantic ties, invited Trump to an EU-US summit at his "earliest convenience."
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the world body was counting on Trump's administration to help combat climate change and advance human rights worldwide.
And NATO head Jens Stoltenberg warned Trump, who spoke during the campaign of making US allies bear a bigger share of the Western security burden, that "US leadership is more important than ever."
The results prompted a global market sell-off, with stocks plunging across Asia and Europe, while the Mexican peso plunged 7.64 percent to a record low against the dollar.
But the British market briefly after Trump's conciliatory victory speech and the Dow Jones Industrial Index opened higher.
WATCH: world congratulates Trump after stunning upset
