The Note: The Trump Era Begins

— -- NOTABLES

--TRUMP BECOMES PRESIDENT ELECT AFTER CLINTON CONCEDES IN HISTORIC AND BITTER CONTEST: Hillary Clinton conceded the hard-fought presidential contest to her Republican rival Donald Trump early Wednesday morning after the real estate mogul, a political novice, achieved victory in a number of key battleground states and even managed to turn formerly blue states red, ABC’s MEGHAN KENEALLY notes. Clinton campaign chair John Podesta told supporters at the Javits Center who had amassed for a victory party to go home, saying that every vote should be counted. But Clinton later called Trump to concede, Trump said. http://abcn.ws/2fAMcvL

--HAPPENING TODAY -- CLINTON SPEAKS: Hillary Clinton is expected to offer remarks in New York City this morning at 10:30AM at the New Yorker hotel. According to ABC’s LIZ KREUTZ her speech is being seen, in part, as a goodbye speech to her staff and aides -- some of whom began working on her campaign two years ago.

--PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP ADDRESSES CROWD: 'IT IS TIME FOR AMERICA TO BIND THE WOUNDS OF DIVISION’: President-elect Donald Trump took the stage at the Hilton Midtown in Manhattan just before 3 a.m. Wednesday to celebrate his victory, telling his supporters that Hillary Clinton had called to congratulate him. "I congratulated her and her family on a very, very hard-fought campaign. I mean, she fought very hard," he said, ABC’s EMILY SHAPIRO notes. "We owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country. I mean that very sincerely." "Now it is time for America to bind the wounds of division," Trump added. "I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all of Americans, and this is so important to me." He told the cheering crowd, "Working together, we will begin the urgent task of rebuilding our nation and renewing the American dream." http://abcn.ws/2ek80vM

--ELECTION 2016 NATIONAL EXIT POLL RESULTS AND ANALYSIS. Get a glimpse of who turned out at the polls and what motivated their votes, courtesy of the ABC’s NEWS ANALYSIS DESK, ERIN DOOLEY and PAUL BLAKE. Battleground state results: http://abcn.ws/2eSVDDk National results: http://abcn.ws/2eSP3fY

ANALYSIS: TRUMP SHAKES NATION WITH CHALLENGE TO ITS FOUNDATION. The nation is awake now. And it’s about to face one of its biggest tests in decades, with a president-elect who channeled a movement that’s shaken the country to its core, writes ABC’s RICK KLEIN. The warning signs morphed into alarm bells, and they now constitute a ringing in Americans’ collective ears – of joy, and of fear about a president-elect unlike any that we’ve seen. Everybody has no choice but to listen now. Donald Trump’s first comments to the American people after he received a concession call from Hillary Clinton were about unity. His tone was remarkable for its absence of just about anything said throughout the campaign. “Now it’s time for Americans to bind the wounds of division,” Trump said. “It is time for us to come together as one united people.” http://abcn.ws/2ff997j

--THE TRUMP WAVE THAT MATERIALIZED TUESDAY NIGHT was not predicted beforehand, but it was no accident. It grew over 18 unlikely months, and over decades of frustration with a political system that’s resulted in economic frustrations and foreign-policy confusions. Trump won by appealing to many of the basest, even nastiest, elements of American society. With his border wall and Muslim ban, and his coded language around racial and ethnic divisions, he revealed things about the nation that have been hidden from polite conversation in recent decades. http://abcn.ws/2ff997j

TODAY ON ‘GMA’ -- TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER DESCRIBES 'VERY GRACIOUS EXCHANGE' BETWEEN CLINTON AND PRESIDENT-ELECT. President-elect Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton had a “very gracious exchange” early this morning after election results showed the Republican with enough electoral votes to win the presidency, Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said today. Conway said she received a call from Clinton aide Huma Abedin around the time Trump and his entourage arrived at their election night party at a New York City Hilton. Conway then handed the phone to Trump. “They had a very gracious exchange,” Conway said today on “Good Morning America.” “As I understand it, Secretary Clinton commended Donald Trump on a hard-fought race and congratulated him for his victory and he told Secretary Clinton she’s very smart, very tough, had waged a tremendous campaign. More from ABC’s KATIE KINDELAN: http://abcn.ws/2fDo8oe

ELECTION DAY IN REVIEW with ABC’s ADAM KELSEY and VERONICA STRACQUALURSI

REPUBLICANS MAINTAIN CONTROL OF US SENATE. In a turn of events that reflects the election's unpredictable results up and down the ticket, Republicans held onto control of the U.S. Senate despite predictions that they would at least narrowly lose their majority in the upper chamber of Congress, notes ABC’s ALI ROGIN. With ABC News' projection of the Pennsylvania Senate race going to incumbent Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, the party achieved at least a 51-seat majority, removing any chance Democrats had to capture enough seats to split the senate 50-50, a scenario that many political observers had expected. Around 3 a.m., ABC News projected incumbent Republican Sen. Roy Blunt the winner of the Missouri Senate race, bringing the Republicans' total to 52. http://abcn.ws/2fBFpOA

DEMS POST MODEST GAINS IN HOUSE RACES, BUT GOP PROJECTED TO KEEP CONTROL. Republicans are projected to hold on to control of the House of Representatives, but Democrats are projected to gain five to nine seats, chipping away at the GOP's 247-seat majority, the party's largest since 1928. But even with the Democrats picking up a handful of seats, Republicans maintained a strong firewall, even in districts where they feared moderate voters would oust GOP candidates. ABC’s ALI ROGIN has more: http://abcn.ws/2fBI6jd

FOR HISTORY -- RE-LIVE ELECTION DAY courtesy of ABC’s JULIA JACOBO, ADAM KELSEY and VERONICA STRACQUALURSI: http://abcn.ws/2eIH2fX

'DISUNITED STATES': HOW WORLD MEDIA IS REACTING TO ELECTION NIGHT. News outlets across the globe are reacting after Donald Trump pulled off a stunning victory over rival Hillary Clinton. Here's what the headlines are saying as the world wakes up to a new American president-elect. Many portrayed the U.S. as a divided country. British newspaper The Daily Telegraph called the election “America’s Brexit” – referring to the UK’s narrow vote in June to leave the European Union, which contradicted most polls, reports ABC’s LENA MASRI. http://abcn.ws/2eTuaRS

4 STATES APPEAR SET TO INCREASE MINIMUM WAGES. Voters in Arizona, Colorado, Maine and Washington approved ballot measures to increase their state's minimum wage, ABC News has projected based on vote analysis. Arizona, Colorado and Maine will incrementally increase their state minimum wages to $12, while Washington will reach an eventual floor of $13.50, writes ABC’s AVIANNE TAN. http://abcn.ws/2fxwRtt

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DONALD TRUMP'S WHITE HOUSE TRANSITION. It has been 111 days since Donald Trump stood on a stage in Cleveland and proudly proclaimed, "I alone can fix it." But amid the celebration of his shock electoral victory, Trump will likely want to keep his friends close as he works to confront the massive task of a smooth and peaceful transition of power, ABC’s KATHERINE FAULDERS and ALEXANDER MALLIN write. While Trump and Hillary Clinton were trading barbs on the campaign trail, behind the scenes their transition teams and the Obama administration were mobilizing for a 71-day sprint to Inauguration Day. ABC News has been tracking the effort over the past several months, with transition and campaign officials offering an inside look at what to expect before the president-elect embarks on his "first 100 days." http://abcn.ws/2feF5IP

WHO’S TWEETING?

@realDonaldTrump: Such a beautiful and important evening! The forgotten man and woman will never be forgotten again. We will all come together as never before

@MittRomney: Best wishes for our duly elected president: May his victory speech be his guide and preserving the Republic his aim.

@GOPLeader: Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans will lead. Now is the time for our country to unite and build a better future for all Americans.

@KenBurns: The divisions evident in this political season can be healed. Let's find what Lincoln said were, "the better angels of our nature."

@RNicholasBurns: "You can fool all the people some of the time+some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." Lincoln