Trump wins last: final state produces election results; elected president ‘still has to sign’ ethical pledge needed for transition | American news

By means of David Blevinsforeign correspondent

Lake Worth Beach in Florida is 1,000 miles from Washington DC, but it feels like a million miles.

The sea is turquoise blue, the wind blows the waves and dozens of people bask in the sun.

There’s a whiff of coconut emanating from the beach bars, all wrapped up on a warm Saturday morning.

The earthquake in the American elections seems far away from their thoughts, but they are happy to talk about politics.

“Trump baby,” “Trump of course,” “Trump all day” is the most common answer when you ask.

That’s not surprising when the newly elected president’s adopted home, Mar-a-Lago, is just around the corner.

They are not naive about how he is perceived, but the word we heard often was ‘but’.

“He’s an asshole, I understand that,” a local resident told us, “but his policies are much better.”

“He’s a loose cannon,” said another sun worshiper, “but people love a wild card, world leaders don’t know what he’ll do next.”

“People said he would be a dictator, that he would throw Hillary Clinton in jail, but he didn’t,” added a woman sitting nearby.

The Sunshine State has turned deep red: Trump’s victory here is up 12% since 2016.

On these golden sands there is talk of a “Florida wave,” a political wave rolling toward Washington.

Floridians shaped Donald Trump’s election campaign and will likely shape his government as well.

But even here, at the center of his political circles, there is fear about what the next four years will bring.

When I asked two middle-aged women what concerned them most, they answered in unison: “women’s rights.”

In the bistros on the beach they don’t do small portions, every meal served is a mountain.

Their neighbor, the 47th President of the United States, has a mountain of expectations on his shoulders.

I wish I had a dollar for every person in this Trump town who told me he would “Make America Great Again.”

The Democrats talked a lot about “the soul of America,” but don’t seem to know what that is.

Maybe it’s the free spirit you find on these shores, far removed from the balance of power in Washington.