For some people, November 8, 2016 is one of the greatest days in American history. Others may very well see it as a day that will live in political infamy. The 2016 presidential election is over, and Donald John Trump has been elected as the 45th president of the United States of America.
If people are being honest with themselves most people save for a few like Michael Moore who had predicted the real possibility of Trump winning the presidential election more than a year ago did not see this coming. The American political establishment, large swaths of the American public and the entire world were shocked and stunned by Trump’s triumph. While Hillary Clinton did win the popular vote, Trump carried the electoral college that ultimately determines who wins the presidency.
When it became clear that battleground and bellwether states were consistently dropping into the GOP column, what was once seen as intense enthusiasm rapidly dissipated in many liberal circles and unhinged delirium in conservative quarters. When the initial shock settled, many individuals, both inside and outside the media, engaged in fierce Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning, afternoon and evening quarterbacking. Various scenarios and theories were bandied about as to how such an outcome could have possibly occurred. While the truth is that there are likely many reasons as to why so many people, specifically White people, voted for Donald Trump, I would argue that some of the more rational ones are:
Economic populism
Through various periods in our nation’s history, charismatic politicians espousing a populist message have sporadically emerged onto the political scene garnering the support of those citizens who feel disenfranchised or left behind. Both Trump and Bernie Sanders tapped into the intense populist tsunami that was raging throughout the nation. Both men fervently discussed economic marginalization, were critical of outsourcing jobs, Wall Street, unchecked globalization, neo-liberalism and other factors they saw as contributing to the demise of many working class people. The major difference was that Trump tinged his message with a dangerously high level of jingoism and nationalism.
Racial, cultural and gender resentment
When W.E.B. Du Bois stated in his classic book The Souls of Black Folk that race would be the definitive issue of the 20th century he was spot on in his analysis. His prophetic message still rings true today in the early 21th century.
