On 9 November, Donald John Trump was elected as the 45th president of the United States after what has been dubbed as one of the most upsetting victories that shook the country. In the stunning turn of events where the explosive, polarizing and controversial President won Hillary Clinton, the question begs to be answered: Why was Trump elected as the President of the USA? The outcome was surprising because the late polls showed how Hillary Clinton was leading with a persistent edge despite it being meager in number. Unfortunately, much to the disappointment of skeptics, they watched as the majority of states elected Donald Trump as the President of United States.
Back to the reason why Trump was elected as the President of the USA, this was because the Presidential Election Process works differently from many countries. For one, Americans that head to the polls to cast their vote for President do not directly contribute to the election of a President. Instead, the Presidential elections use the Electoral College which then votes for a president and the candidate that receives the majority of electoral votes is then elected as President. This was what happened in the USA, as Hillary Clinton, despite being the popular vote, lost to Donald Trump ultimately because Trump won a total of 306 Electors compared to 232 for Hillary Clinton.
The key strategies that presidential candidates aim for are winning over of swing states in order to gather a larger number of electors. Swing states are states that have a history where two major political parties have similar levels of support amongst voters. Of which, there were six states that were crucial in this presidential election mainly: N.H, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Florida. Although Clinton won the popular vote by 400,000 votes, she only managed to win 2 of the six swing states. Now bear in mind, these swing states were all won by less than 2 percent of the votes so it was extremely close. It was really a pity that Clinton did not manage to flip the remaining 3 states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, if not her presidency would have then been sealed.
So how did Trump accomplish this incredible feat? Was the nation so unwise as to vote a leader that would only bring its economy down to its knees? Well no. In fact, it was because of Trump’s blistering campaign, the very one thing that made him unpopular which eventually lead to his victory. Starting out, Trump made shocking and absurd claims such as saying how Mexican immigrants were rapists and criminals and suggested remedies like a ban on Muslims entering the United States. But eventually, as he gained popularity, his strategy of making such controversial comments was dialed down hugely. You may have missed this, but in the final moments of the Presidential election, he appealed to the people of America to “come together as one united people”. This very act of cohesiveness and unity was the finishing touch to his act of grandeur, and notorious success, sealing his victory of his Presidency. This was what Clinton lacked, and despite her blame shifting to the FBI and the various persuasive tactics, she failed to excite the sea of voters that wanted nothing more than someone to vote for.