PA Media A man with short grey hair looks off to the side of the camera. He is wearing glasses, a dark suit jacket, white shirt and blue and green stripe tie. The background is blurred, but shows the outline of red brick buildings. PA Media

DUP leader Gavin Robinson has congratulated Donald Trump on “achieving what has rightly been described as the greatest political comeback of all time”.

Trump has won the US election and will return to the White House as America’s 47th president.

In a statement, Robinson said the “divisive” election has come to a “decisive” conclusion with the American people giving “a strong mandate”.

During Trump’s last term, “many regarded his presidency as one of balance and fairness regarding our own local political divisions”, Robinson added.

“I trust he adopts the same approach to the 47th presidency as he did the 45th, and the ties between the US and Northern Ireland remain strong. I wish him well.”

SDLP leader Claire Hanna said it is “disheartening” to see that Trump’s “divisive brand of politics has been so widely endorsed”.

“Many people will be feeling low today, and I hope they will take care,” she said.

“The best response to this is to organise, and to think about the ways that we can help protect community cohesion, security, and the planet.”

Shared commitment

Meanwhile, Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Simon Harris has pledged to work to “deepen and strengthen the historic and unbreakable bonds” between Ireland and the US.

He echoed comments from the DUP leader, saying “the people of the United States have spoken”.

“Ireland and the United States have deep and historical bonds of people, and we will work to make these even stronger in the years ahead,” he added.

“The world faces many challenges and needs leadership to meet them.

“With the US and Ireland’s shared commitment to democracy and international law, we can, and will, tackle these challenges.”

PA Simon Harris in grey suit jacket, blue shirt and gold tie, stood in front of a USA and Ireland flags, speaking into microphones at press eventPA

Tánaiste (Irish Deputy Prime Minister) Micheál Martin has also congratulated Trump, adding that he is looking forward to working with the new administration “in a constructive manner”.

He said regular high-level political engagement with the new US administration and on both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill will be a high priority for the Irish government.

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Analysis: Gareth Gordon, BBC News NI political correspondent

In this most unpredictable of elections, one thing is safe to say: as he contemplates his achievement, Donald Trump is not consumed with thoughts of what it means for Northern Ireland.

So far, going by the muted reaction here, Northern Ireland and he are in agreement on that.

Unlike last time, when there was overt support for Trump from senior DUP figures like Sammy wilson and Ian Paisley, the DUP was relatively silent in the lead up to the election.

Last time there was no presidential visit, but then Stormont was suspended for most of his tenure.

However, near the end of April 2022, he did finally appoint a Special Envoy, Mick Mulvaney, though he resigned the following January in protest at the Capitol riots.

Will the outgoing envoy Joe Kennedy be replaced is question number one.

And so, along with the rest of the world, we wait to see what’s coming.

But make no mistake, we are well down any queue.