a triumphant president-elect donald trump took to the stage shortly before 3 a.m. est wednesday, pledging to begin the <u+201c>urgent task of rebuilding our nation<u+201d> while also bringing americans together. mr. trump, speaking at his victory party in a new york hotel ballroom, said democratic rival hillary clinton called him to concede the race, after news organizations called the race for the republican nominee. <u+201c>i just received a call from secretary clinton,<u+201d> mr. trump said. <u+201c>she congratulated us<u+2014>this is about us<u+2014>on our victory, and i congratulated her and her family on a very, very hard-fought campaign.<u+201d> the clinton campaign confirmed mrs. clinton called mr. trump to concede. her campaign said earlier that she wouldn<u+2019>t be speaking tuesday night. mr. trump said of mrs. clinton, <u+201c>we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country.<u+201d> he called for the country to unite and heal the <u+201c>wounds of division.<u+201d> <u+2018> for those of you who have chosen not to support me in the past...i am reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so we can work together and unify our great country. <u+2019> echoing a line often used by mrs. clinton on the campaign trail, mr. trump said, <u+201c>i pledge to every citizen of our land that i will be president for all americans, and this is so important to me.<u+201d> mr. trump, who has in the past threatened to punish his critics, said he was seeking to appeal even to those who hadn<u+2019>t supported him. <u+201c>for those of you who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, i am reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so we can work together and unify our great country,<u+201d> he said. mr. trump called his campaign a <u+201c>movement<u+201d> and said he would start the <u+201c>urgent task of rebuilding our nation and renewing the american dream.<u+201d> he called for the u.s. to <u+201c>get along with all other nations willing to get along with us.<u+201d> <u+201c>america will no longer settle for anything less than the best,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>we must reclaim our country<u+2019>s destiny and dream big and bold and daring. we have to do that.<u+201d> mr. trump thanked his family, including his late parents, his wife melania and his children. <u+201c>i love you and i thank you and especially for putting up all those hours,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>this was tough.<u+201d> <u+201c>while the campaign is over, our work on this movement is now really<u+00a0>just beginning,<u+201d> mr. trump said as he concluded his remarks. <u+201c>i love<u+00a0>this country.<u+201d> write to rebecca ballhaus at rebecca.ballhaus@wsj.com
president-elect trump pledges to start <u+2018>urgent task of rebuilding our nation<u+2019>  - wsj
rebecca ballhaus