President Donald John Trump

On Tuesday November 8^th, 2016 the United States of America cast their ballot deciding who would be the 45^th President succeeding Barack Obama. The Republican Party’s nominee was businessman Donald Trump, who beat 16 other candidates for the nomination. The Democrat Party’s nominee was former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who beat 2 other candidates for the nomination. Toward the end of the long election season the perception was that Donald Trump was behind. At a debate he claimed wages were too high and then denied saying it, claimed he knew more about ISIS than the Generals, mocked a reporter with a disability, and proposed banning people of Muslim faith. A video had emerged of him boasting about the benefits of his celebrity gave him the ability to sexually assault women without consequence and also he attacked Alicia Machado, a previous Miss Universe Pageant winner of 1996. On his Twitter page September 30^th at 2:30am Donald Trump encouraged his followers to check out the sex tape and past of Alicia Machado. Hillary Clinton was polling strong and performed well during the debates but the FBI in the last days of October decided to reopen investigation into her lingering email controversy whether she improperly handled classified information. She was cleared of any wrongdoing the day before the election. Both candidates had record high unfavorability but Hillary Clinton held her lead in the polls heading into the election with The Huffington Post estimating her chances at victory 98%. Many in the news media predicted a Clinton Presidency along with a Senate majority for the Democrat Party but to the surprise of many, Donald Trump won.   

The 2016 Battleground Map of swing states included few surprises this year. The list of competitive states included the usual Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Colorado, Virginia, and Nevada but also included Arizona and Georgia. Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida who all voted for President Barack Obama twice suddenly became red. Pennsylvania and Michigan had not voted republican in a presidential year since 1988 and Wisconsin since 1984. Many counties throughout the country switched past allegiances with increased turnout in rural regions. Donald Trump won 30 states along with Maine’s 2^nd congressional district and Hillary Clinton won 20 states plus the District of Columbia The sea of red drastically increased but Hillary Clinton won the popular vote. As of Tuesday December 6, 2016 the Cook Political Report has Hillary Clinton leading President Elect Donald Trump by nearly 2.7 million votes. With such a high number of votes between candidates there has been a call for restructuring of the Electoral College. Prior to the 2016 election the 2000 election was also won by the candidate that lost the popular vote but won the Electoral College.

Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin were three states where the margin of victory for President Elect Donald Trump was the thinnest. As of December 7, 2016 Pennsylvania was won by nearly 45 thousand, Michigan over 10 thousand, and Wisconsin over 22 thousand votes according to the New York Times. These three states decided the election. Green Party Candidate Jill Stein who courted progressively minded voters that than lean Democrat received over 30 thousand votes in Wisconsin, more than 50 thousand in Michigan, and nearly 50 thousand in Pennsylvania. Days following the election a group of computer scientists, and election lawyers encouraged Hillary Clinton to call for a recount in these critical three states because it was believed the results may have been hacked and/or manipulated. The day before Thanksgiving Green Party Nominee Jill Stein demanded a recount in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin launched a fundraising campaign to cover the expenses. Efforts have been made to stop the recounts and President Elect Donald Trump has called the recounts a scam. Nevada is also conducting a recount initiated by Roque De La Fuente who ran for President in the state receiving less than 1% of the vote. In Florida a lawsuit was filed on behalf of three voters requesting a hand recount of ballots citing hacking, malfunctioning voting machines, and other issues. The recounts must all be completed before the federal deadline of December 13, 2016.

The 2016 Presidential Election was a shock to many and returned full control of the Federal Government back to the Republican Party. Top priorities for President Elect Donald Trump include preventing jobs from leaving the country, repealing the Affordable Care Act, reviving the coal industry, rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, building a wall at the United States Mexico border, appointing a pro second amendment and pro-life Supreme Court Judge, cutting taxes and regulations seen as unnecessary hinders to job creation, and ending DACA among others. Time Magazine recently selected Donald Trump as its 2016 Person of the Year. There has also been a documented rise in hate crimes since the election of Donald Trump. To the delight and fear of many, President Elect Donald John Trump through his vision is preparing to Make America Great Again.     

Angel Guzman