Why Donald Trump won

There are two main reasons that Trump won: The duplicitous GOP that spent decades playing conservatives like fools, and the unparalleled haughtiness, intolerance and hubris of the Left.  Hillary lost because she ran a tortoise and the hare campaign.  Assured by all the major liberal institutions in the nation  that she would win, she didn't even bother thinking about a concession speech, much less waste time campaigning in areas the press insisted were guaranteed.

Still, it's not been an easy year.  The left pulled out all the stops and spent every day attacking Trump, ignoring victories, doubling down on accusations, and praying that something illegal can be found that will explain 2016.  Also, ugly elements on the Right appear emboldened and have been openly clashing with equally ugly elements on the Left. 

It being a midterm this year, and midterms historically going against a sitting president, there will be much made about Trump's inevitable doom after this coming November.  Perhaps he will fail.  So far, however, his failures seem more personality based, and his successes impressive.  Personality failures will do less harm to the nation than policy ones.

Not all of it is him, of course.  Others deserve credit and blame.  Nonetheless, expectations are crucial.  I remember when Reagan was supposed to destroy the economy and nuke the world.  Having done neither, he ended up looking rather good.   Obama, on the other hand, could never have lived up to the god-worship that was laid at his feet.  Already a sub-par president at best, with little real accomplishments to his presidency, Obama could have ended death and aligned the planets and it wouldn't live up to the hype.

There's still a sizable number of Americans who are of the Show-Me attitude.  Republicans bet the farm on opposing Trump and siding with the Democrats, and began to pay the price.  Possibly because of that, Trump was able to get the significant tax bill passed with their reluctant support.  If companies do allow the benefits to trickle down, if salaries increase and jobs are created and companies don't turn around and up the prices to balance it out (negating the benefits for the average worker), it will help Trump in the upcoming elections.

In terms of foreign policy, Trump's successes are many, but the press has done a fine job neutering the impact by largely ignoring the results.  There are still many I've talked to who are unaware that ISIS has been all but eliminated in several of its strongholds, when only a couple years ago ISIS was spoken of as the new normal.  China is becoming more directly involved in North Korea, and that has been the key to resolving that decades long mess.  Trump showed the laughable cowardice of the West by creating outrage when he called Israel's capital Jerusalem Israel's capital.  And he has stopped the 20 year long tendency of allowing America to get sand kicked in its face, much to the chagrin of the Left that loves seeing America get sand kicked in its face.

So we'll see.  Nonetheless, here are some reminders about why we have a man like Trump in the White House to begin with (much of it being from the Left, expect plenty of language and vulgarities - you know, from the side that called Trump offensive and vulgar):

HT: Donald McClarey