"Has America lost its mind?" asks Stephen Colbert, rounding off the Election Night edition of his show Showtime.

"The answer is, back off buddy, we have three hundred million guns."

Why do both sides hate the other, he asks, still bemused at the result that saw Donald Trump score an upset over Hillary Clinton after a campaign that plumbed new lows in animosity, hostility and bad behaviour. "We drank too much of the poison," declared Colbert ruefully.

His response to the unprecedented levels of hatred that supporters of the two parties showered on one another, following the note set by Trump, is understandable. Emotionally, it must have been exhausting for everyone.

Says Colbert, wrapping up the bruising battles: "We can get back to life." Indeed.