Shock and awe as world reacts to Donald Trump's US election win
White nationalists cheer, markets plunge after Republican makes surprise win.
Political leaders, markets, and people around the world reacted with a mix of shock and awe to a win for Republican Donald Trump in the US election on Wednesday 9 November.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin was one of the first of the G20 leaders to throw his support behind Trump. Throughout the campaign Putin spoke highly of the Republican's talents.
Putin said in a statement that he hopes "to work together for removing Russian-American relations from their crisis state." He added he is confident in "building a constructive dialogue between Moscow and Washington that is based on principles of equality, mutual respect and a real accounting each other's positions."
UK Prime Minister Theresa May said the nations will remain "strong and close partners on trade, security and defence."
Controversial Philippino leader President Rodrigo Duterte, who has presided over a bloody drug war which has left thousands dead, also offered Trump "warm congratulations" and looked forward to enhanced relations with the US.
African nations were also among some of the first to voice their support for Trump after Hillary Clinton conceded defeat to the Republican in an early morning phone call.
"We look forward to a new chapter in US Zimbabwe relations," said Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU–PF party in a tweet. Burundi's authoritarian leader also congratulated Trump.
"A world is collapsing before our eyes," French ambassador to the US, Gérard Araud, also wrote on twitter before deleting the message.
In Europe French right-winger Marine Le Pen, leader of the Front National, was one of the first to congratulate Trump.
"Congratulations to the new President of the United States Donald Trump and the American people free!" Le Pen wrote online.
In the US white supremacists cheered Trump's win. "We have the moral high ground, 100%!" wrote former Imperial Wizard of the racist Ku Klux Klan movement, David Duke.
"Donald J. Trump now has the chance to become one of the greatest Americans to have ever lived," Duke said. "Make no mistake about it, our people have played a HUGE role in electing Trump!"
Markets reacted with shock to Trump's win. Investors predict a sustained market bloodbath throughout the day akin to the reaction to the UK's Brexit vote. European stock futures dropped as they heard news of a Trump win.
Others were less enthusiastic. "People I'm speaking to think it's absolutely catastrophic," said Richard Engle, NBC News chief foreign correspondent, "that it's catastrophic for the United States. That it's catastrophic for our position in the world. It emboldens our enemies. It makes our allies terrified that we're not going to be their allies anymore."
Engle predicted a focus on domestic affairs and that nations like Russia and China will seize the moment to gain power on the world stage.
Iran's foreign minister urged Trump to stick to international accords like one forged with the Obama administration early this year. This saw Iran scrap any nuclear weapons ambitions in exchange for the lifting economic sanctions.
In China US Ambassador Max Baucus said that the US-China relationship will not change, no matter who is in power in the US. Baucus called it "the world's most important relationship." He predicted that there will be no change to the already agreed issues like the Paris Climate agreement, which Donald Trump said he would tear up during his campaign.
Still, the Asian markets reacted with trepidation to the Trump's win. Japan's government and central bank are holding crisis talks after the market plunged Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 index was down 5.4% on closing. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 2.9%. Australia's ASX 200 fell 1.9% and the South Korean Kospi dropped 2.7%.
The Mexican peso dropped -11.68%. Trump had said in the run up to the election that he would renegotiate trade with the nation and build a wall between it and the US. The country's central bank and finance ministry will hold a press conference early Wednesday (9 November) to discuss the fallout, a Banco de Mexico spokesman has said.
London's FTSE 100 index opened down 1.61%. US indexes are are expected to fall when they open Wednesday morning.
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