Trump wins Electoral College vote to officially become US President
Donald Trump has gained the necessary 270 Electoral College votes to officially become US President.
The President-elect received 304 electoral votes, compared to Hillary Clinton’s 227.
The news comes despite efforts to encourage Electoral College voters to switch their votes to Clinton, who won the popular vote by more than 2 percentage points.
Clinton won the popular vote by around 3 million ballots, making Trump the worst-performing winner of the popular vote since 1876.
The Electoral College votes will be officially certified by a joint session of Congress on 6 January.
Trump said in a statement: “This election represents a movement that millions of hard working men and women all across the country stood behind and made possible. With this historic step we can look forward to the bright future ahead. I will work hard to unite our country and be the president of all Americans. Together, we will make America great again.”
He claimed the win was a “historic electoral landslide victory in our nation’s democracy.”
Vice President-elect Mike Pence congratulated his running mate, tweeting: “Congratulations to @RealDonaldTrump; officially elected President of the United States today by the Electoral College!”
Pence, who beat Trump to be voted the ‘homophobe of the year’ by a global campaign group, added: “I’m honored & humbled to be officially elected today as the next Vice President of the United States of America by the Electoral College.”
Votes from Texas pushed Trump over the 270 votes needed to become President, with 36 out of the state’s 38 votes going to Trump.
Two of the Texas votes ignored the Election Day results, voting for Ohio Governor John Kasich and Texas Representative Ron Paul, respectively.
Former US President Bill Clinton tweeted that he had cast his ballot for his wife, writing: “As an elector from my home state of New York, I’ve never been more proud to cast a vote than my vote today for @HillaryClinton.”
