On Tuesday, November 8th at 1:30 p.m. P.S.T., the Associated Press declared Republican party nominee Donald John Trump the winner of the 2016 presidential election. After a long, tumultuous campaign, Trump won contentious battleground states and previous blue states Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Florida, securing enough electoral college votes to beat out Democratic nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton. According to NPR, Trump won 47.5 percent of the popular vote, while Clinton secured  47.7 percent. Trump will take over from President Barack Obama on Friday Jan. 20, 2017.

This was Trump’s first time running for political office. Prior to his bid for the presidency, he was a well known New York businessman. After graduating from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 1968, Trump followed in his father’s footsteps and became a real estate developer. Trump currently runs The Trump Organization which includes Trump Golf, Trump Hotels, Trump Winery, Cooperate and Trump Golf.

In June of 2015, Trump declared his presidential candidacy, running with the slogan of “Make America Great Again.” Throughout his campaign he has expressed a desire to increase both America’s militaristic and economic strength. In June of 2016, he announced former Indiana Governor Mike Pence would be his running mate.

This election result came as a shock to many as the majority of polls claimed a probable Clinton win.

According to a survey conducted by the UltraViolet, only three percent of the student body said they would vote for Trump, given the opportunity, and many of the other members of the Marlborough community are concerned by the election’s outcome.

“Everything we stand for at Marlborough–equality, rights, everything–is directly contradictory to a Trump presidency,” Lila ’17 said.