PD Editorial: Anatomy of Donald Trump's astounding victory

If it’s true that denial is the first stage of grief, then for many Americans the distress over Tuesday’s presidential contest probably began long ago - maybe as far back as when Donald Trump first entered the race in June 2015.

Few believed he would last long. But he did.

Give the man his due. Trump confounded pundits, pollsters and party leaders by winning the Republican nomination in July. Casting himself as the ultimate outsider, and riding a wave of economic insecurity and discontent with politicians, the celebrity businessman then defied the odds again Tuesday with an upset victory over Hillary Clinton.

He did it by appealing to an undercurrent of anger and fear that wove through the Rust Belt states, fueling a Brexit-like referendum not just on Clinton but the entire political infrastructure of Washington.

While many were turned off by Trump’s bombastic rhetoric and unapologetic attacks on those who challenged him, he appealed to many Americans, particularly white, middle-income Midwesterners, in a way Clinton could not. And in the end, it appears, voters didn’t turn out for the former secretary of state as they did for President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, which may have been her undoing.

It was a stunning disappointment for areas such as Sonoma County, where roughly seven out of every 10 voters supported Clinton and more than 14,000 others, according to early returns, supported third-party or write-in candidates.

All the same, we congratulate Trump on his victory and commend him for the grace of his victory speech in which he promised to “reach out” to those who didn’t support him. “I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans,” he said.

Praise also goes to Clinton for her appeal on Wednesday to her supporters to accept Trump as their new commander in chief. “We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead,” she said. As she noted, the peaceful transition of power - no matter the circumstances - is the hallmark of our democracy.

Still many challenges await the president-elect. In the coming weeks, Trump must choose a cabinet and fill hundreds of executive branch jobs, form working relationships with GOP congressional leaders and, as the first president without any prior government experience, learn the inside game of turning campaign proposals into public policy and federal law.

Trump made some truly audacious promises – building an impregnable wall along the length of the U.S.-Mexico border, forcing allies in Europe and Asia to pay more for protection under the U.S. defense umbrella, imposing stiff penalties on American companies that move jobs overseas, luring manufacturers back from low-wage countries, defeating ISIS and Islamic terrorists, and simultaneously building up the U.S. military and reducing the American footprint around the globe. While Trump may now want to temper some of those ideas, doing so could provoke a backlash from his most fervent supporters.

As he begins his term, Trump will enjoy one political advantage over Obama: an end to divided government in Washington for at least two years. Republicans retained control of the House and Senate, though their majorities are smaller. Democrats in Congress surely will be tempted to obstruct Trump’s agenda just as Republicans have done for the past eight years, beginning with Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell’s vow in 2009 to make Obama a one-term president. We trust congressional Democrats will follow a more responsible path, standing for principle but seeking common ground and opportunities for compromise.

Meanwhile Trump and fellow Republicans would be wise to remember that Trump, most likely, will end up finishing second in the popular vote nationwide and, according to exit polls, is viewed unfavorably by 61 percent of the voters. Both parties have work to do, and the sooner they can get past the anger and depression phases of this post-election process and get on with it, the better.