Why Trump has won

[Minimalist]

He won because he was chosen by God.

Then Fuck God.

[Neo-Scholastic]

Another problem with the view with Trump being anti-establishment is the fact that he's the president of the establishment now and the fact that many people think the establishment fucks things up doesn't mean that having the worst possible person in power to 'shake things up' isn't really going to 'shake' things up but is in fact going to fuck things up far worse than any other president ever has and far worse than the establishment normally fucks things up.

Hopefully not, right? Trump is first and foremost a negotiator. He has also shown throughout his campaign that he doesn't hold grudges (e.g. Cruz). Congressional Republican support is tepid at best so Trump will need minority Democrat support to get anything done. It is at least possible that he could broker bi-partisan deals that otherwise would not have been possible.

[henryp]

An interesting turning point, was at the conventions when Trump went super bleak. And to counter that, the Democrats went full Newsroom and declared America the Greatest Country On Earth!!!!

Concurrently, black lives matter people were holding protests over more unarmed people being shot. I wonder how that affected their turnout. By going super positive, america is super duper, and then shoving BLM under the rug and never talking about it again, it can't have mobilized that voter group.

[Edwardo Piet]

He won because he was chosen by God.

Then Fuck God.

No thanks. I'd rather cut off my penis with a rusty bread knife than take Jesus' chode in my rear.

[ApeNotKillApe]

Hillary Clinton lost a popularity contest to a rapist. That is fantastic.

[Aroura]

Ok, here is what all arguments boil down to, I think. This is what we get for not teaching critical thinking skills. Most people believe what they are told, even when it is patently false. People are taught to "believe" against all evidence, and it will all work out. This is the ultimate culmination of that kind of thinking.

[dyresand]

Ok, here is what all arguments boil down to, I think.  This is what we get for not teaching critical thinking skills.  Most people believe what they are told, even when it is patently false.  People are taught to "believe" against all evidence, and it will all work out.  This is the ultimate culmination of that kind of thinking.

That and if anyone who has a strong enough progressive voice they will get snuffed out because if something resonates with the people strong enough 
towards change it's got to go because politics as usual.

[ApeNotKillApe]

Hillary Clinton lost a popularity contest to a rapist.

I guess now she knows how Bob Dole felt.

[Regina]

Bigots were already there. There's been bigotry in America, there's never been a time when there was not bigotry in America in some form. There were always bigots who were going to vote for Trump whatever political climate we live in.

What I think has swayed it, and I think this is why we're seeing the rise of this horrible alt-right movement across The West, is that we have a Left-wing who are alienating and failing people who would support them by abandoning their traditional principles.

The elephant in the room here, imo at least, is The Left. When you have this SJW culture who are on a crusade of "this is my opinion. You're going to agree and agree 100% or you're a bigot who belongs with Trump", you shrink the space for people who are caught between that and the Trump-like far-right. You have certain groups and individuals who would normally vote left, but they feel so alienated by this screaming radical Left that Trump honestly looks more appealing.

I know right now that me just pointing that out will get some of this lots' backs up, who will read what I've just wrote as me being "alt-right", even though I've consistently made posts on this forum expressing firmly leftist views.

I think Trump like so many other people on the alt-right, by appropriating traditionally leftist language of "rights" and "freedoms", appeals to people who are very concerned about encroaching Islamism post-Orlando and Paris. Why is "gays for Trump" a thing? Because what I saw with my own eyes as a gay man post-Orlando was a pathetic weak Left, who were scared to name the problem of anti-gay bigotry within Islam. They really drop the ball on this, and allow people like Trump to come into that space and, instead of critiquing religion in a nuanced and liberal way, to just say they want to ban all Muslims from America. While that is totally illiberal and deplorable, it sounds good to scared people who the Left are failing. It's an "at least they're saying something" mentality.

[The Grand Nudger]

Similarly, it sounds good to rural america just to hear a candidates voice.