The voters in the United States have selected Donald Trump as their next president.
He starts his new job on Friday, Jan. 20, 2017 at noon. That’s when he will take over from current president Barack Obama. The new vice-president will be Mike Pence.
This election has been unlike any other in American history. Usually, the two main people trying to become president have experience as a politician. Trump, a businessman and reality TV star, has no military or political experience–he has never been elected to a position in government before. Many Trump supporters say that is one of the reasons they like him–they wanted a non-politician as their president. Many Trump supporters said they wanted “change.”
Trump has been very outspoken throughout the lengthy campaign leading up to the Nov. 8 election. Many people have been concerned about the negative way he talked about certain types of people, like women and Muslims. Many of the things he said during the campaign could be considered bullying. The people who voted for Trump don’t necessarily also hold all of his beliefs. Many people likely voted for him for other reasons, such as wanting a non-politician in charge.
Interestingly, more people actually voted for Hillary Clinton, Trump’s opponent. But in the U.S., they vote in regions (known as “electoral colleges”) and whoever gets more than 50% of the votes in at least 270 of those regions, wins the election. (For instance, there are 29 “electoral votes” in Florida.) It’s a bit complicated, but in the end Trump won 274 electoral votes (at the time this article was posted), so he won the election.
The United States is Canada’s largest trading partner. That means Canada does more business with the U.S. than any other country. For now, Canada will remain largely unaffected by the American election–not much will likely change for the average Canadian (or American, for that matter) in the near future.
On Thursday, Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, said he in tends to continue to have excellent, friendly relations with the United States.
In a statement, Trudeau said:
“The relationship between our two countries serves as a model for the world. Our shared values, deep cultural ties, and strong integrated economies will continue to provide the basis for advancing our strong and prosperous partnership.”
The election was also historic because it was the first time a woman has come so close to becoming a U.S. president. Throughout the campaign, many people praised Hillary Clinton for staying positive, working hard and never giving up.
Related links
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama gave inspiring, hopeful speeches after the election. They are worth listening to.
Clinton’s concession speech.
Barack Obama‘s speech (transcript via the Toronto Star).
(Curriculum Connections to come.)
Teachers and home-school parents: For more information on talking to kids about the U.S. election, please visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/teachkidsnews/.
