What led to Trump's win?

The stunning win of Donald Trump on last Tuesday’s election has led to a mixture of shock and seismic aftermath.  Reports of violence and vandalism in several US cities are pouring in. The protests saw an effigy of Trump being set alight and also anti-Trump graffiti appearing on walls at several places in the US. The graffiti sent a message of hate, intolerance and racism. In Durham, N. C., a message stated, “Black lives don’t matter and neither does your votes.”

However, the fact remains that Donald Trump will be the next president of the United Sates. Acts of vandalism and violence cannot change the course of history. He won the election through the process of democracy in a fair manner and through a political culture and system that have been in existence in the US for around 200 years.

The most potent catalyst for the change was the overwhelming support of the white segments of the US citizens who form around 74% of the total US population. Mr. Trump’s various slogans during his election campaign which appear on the face as racial and ethnic, appealed to the white communities as they live in a world of their own. These white Americans maintain a distance from other ethnic communities such as Hispanics and blacks. Then there were his anti-Muslim sentiments and slogans. As such, the win is also being described as a “white-lash.”

Hillary, on the other hand was eulogizing Muslims for a variety of good things even mentioning Khizar Khan whose son laid down his life for the US. This was aimed at winning Muslims votes. It enticed Muslims towards her but detracted the anti-Muslim lobbies against her and brought them closer to Donald Trump. Also, the election result may be a reaction to Obama who was perceived to be a pro-Muslim president.

This time the US presidential election was a game of demographics.

The citizens of the US had seen two terms of a Democrat president in the White House. The people may have felt a sense of fatigue with an 8-year term of the Democrats. During his second term, Obama faced backlash from his detractors over his various decisions including Obamacare. Obama’s policy on Iran was distasteful to the hardliners who perceived such decisions were being made at the cost of US interests. Possibly, the US citizens now wanted a change at the helm.

Finally, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) role in reigniting the email probe just ten days before the election could be considered as a well-studied tactic to discredit Hillary. The one move proved to be a stunning and destructive ploy to stop Hillary’s surge. It had the desired effect. A sudden downturn was noticed in Hillary voting. It dimmed the strong chances of Hillary winning.

The release valve of pent up frustrations will soon give way allowing peace to prevail. Trump must bind the divisions among the people as a first step. Only time will tell if he will be able to balance the conflicting interests of voters.

Let us wait and watch now how the US shapes itself under a Republican president.