Why Did Donald Win?

The past few weeks following the 2016 election have been filled with many startling news stories. From President Elect Trump’s successful carrier deal to his anticipated appointment of former Exxon CEO, Rex Tillerson, as Secretary of State, 2016 has certainly been an interesting year for politics. Analyzing such a complex election cycle can prove difficult, and I believe there are a myriad of reasons why Donald Trump is going to be the 45th President of the United States. But, here’s a few reasons I believe are essential to consider moving forward in the next four years.

It’d be easy to chalk up the entirety of the election to one major factor: The Electoral College. Hillary’s overwhelming popular vote lead brings back flashbacks from 2000, forcing people to question why this system exists. Online petitions arguing to outlaw the Electoral College are circling through my Facebook feed. With recount efforts led by Jill Stein of the Green Party, it’s clear many people don’t consider a Trump Presidency finalized. There’s also the rust belt to consider when looking at numbers. How did so many states that we were sure would be Blue suddenly turn Red? Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, even my home state of Florida were predicted as a light shade of blue. According to Michael Moore, Trump’s focus on these states led to his sweeping victory. His campaign’s focus on the economic issues plaguing the Rust Belt succeeded in swaying on-the-fence voters to vote in his favor. Furthermore, these states have held Republican governors since 2010, despite their national appearance as Blue states. Not to mention Trump criticizing Hillary Clinton for her husband’s NAFTA agreement and her supposed support of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, both of which arguably had a negative effect on job security in the Great Lakes region.

Setting aside our unique system of democracy and Trump’s rust-belt victory, there are a myriad of factors to analyze in this election cycle. The first of which is fear. Fear was present from day one in Donald Trump’s rhetoric, and arguably in the Right-wing rhetoric for years. Trump led a campaign based on fear, and it worked. Many Americans are scared, and are feeling left behind by their country. People are looking for someone to blame. In a speech on illegal immigration, Trump said “The crime will stop. They’re going to be gone. It will be over. They’re going out. They’re going out fast.” This campaign of fear is one that, if we’re being honest, was always going to work. This was a smart campaign strategy for Donald Trump, and succeeded in ensuring that scared Americans would believe his grandiose statements.

The media portrayed Donald Trump as a fear-mongering demagogue. When we look at the Republican primary, it’s evident that the media focused the majority of their attention on Donald Trump. The media decided he was newsworthy and would help their ratings, and subsequently, they would make money. The media, in some ways, created Donald Trump. Any given day in 2016 would contain at least one story about him. You couldn’t turn on the TV without seeing a headline with his name. The liberal media may have thought “This is ridiculous. We have to show people how ridiculous this is.” In reality, the mere-exposure of Donald Trump succeeded in solidifying his place as the Republican Party’s nominee.

We must look inwards at this election, too. I’m looking at you, liberals (myself included). The left-wing attitude of moral superiority and politically correct culture have both contributed to Trump’s success. When we label all Trump supporters as “deplorables”, how do we expect change? Arguably, white men have been disenfranchised by the democratic party in the last few years, with an overwhelming mentality of “You’re a straight white man, you can’t say anything.” Let me be clear, this isn’t an “all lives matter” claim, because those are, in my opinion, ridiculous. I am in no way claiming to be the champion for white men’s rights, because they have no reason to fear a Trump presidency. The same cannot be said for people of color, the LGBTQ community, and many others. However, when 53% of white women and an overwhelming majority of white men voted for Trump, it’s clear that something went wrong with the democratic party’s attitude toward white voters. It’s important to address the fact that a culture of political correctness has been putting labels on what is “appropriate” free speech. The liberal agenda has adhered to this and has, in turn, created a culture where someone like Donald Trump, who “says it how it is”, can rise to power. Liberal righteousness seemed to regard the entire Republican Party as immoral, and Donald Trump’s rhetoric only solidified this left-superiority. Some argue that white people deserve to be disenfranchised after a long, horrific history of white elites governing the entire world. This begs the question: How can we move forward as a diverse nation that promotes equality when we cannot have an inclusive, open discussion about race?

While we’re looking inwards, it’s time to look at the infamous Wellesley alumna Hillary Clinton herself. After a primary season with widespread Bernie support and claims of corruption within the Democratic National Convention, her campaign was never off to a fantastic start. A poll by Washington Post found that almost 50% of voters believed Donald Trump was more trustworthy than Hillary Clinton. The emails, Benghazi, and her Jekyll and Hyde public-private persona all combined to create an atmosphere of mistrust following her candidacy. Donald Trump’s shocking comments about sexual assault could have been the end of his campaign. It seemed that Clinton could have easily capitalized on these comments, but because of her husband’s past accusations regarding sexual assault and the infamous blue dress scandal, Trump managed to manipulate the situation to shift the focus on Bill Clinton’s past. Although these bear no relationship to Hillary’s character and governing abilities, she would look hypocritical defending her husband while relegating Donald Trump. Another criticism of Hillary Clinton’s campaign was her platform. A staggering majority of Americans consider the economy to be the most important issue facing our country. While Donald Trump focused the majority of his campaign on economic policies, Clinton focused many speeches on the importance of acceptance, unification, and love trumping hate. The middle-class farmer in Iowa with 5 children cares more for his job security and the future of the economy for his children than he does about love and acceptance. His priorities, as well as those of many Americans, don’t align with a campaign based on morality, but rather with a campaign based on reality.

Now we are forced to confront this reality as we move forward as a nation. Truthfully, I could speculate for days on how we reached this point in American politics. Regardless of the many reasons why Donald Trump won the Presidency, the reality is that he is our president. As we try to understand how our political culture has created this atmosphere, we must always strive to understand the other side. As author Orson Scott Card once said “In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him”. Perhaps it is an old cliche to love thy enemy, but if you consider Donald Trump the enemy, or if you consider the liberal media the enemy, it is essential to try to understand the other side. You might find out you have a lot more in common than you think. After all, we are all fighting for one thing: A prosperous future for America.

Note: This article was written before the release of information regarding Russian hacks into the U.S. 2016 Election; therefore, that factor was not considered or analyzed in the preceding writing.