The recent inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45^th President of the United States has been a controversial topic, to say the least. However, I want to back it up all the way to the primaries and explore how he ascended to office. As an Australian living in the United States who is unable to vote I feel I do not have the vested interests that come with the ability to vote.

How Did Donald Trump receive the GOP nomination? Answer, he received enough votes. Why was that? His unorthodox tone and his ability to turn primary debates into an episode of reality television either says one of two things. America, has taken their obsession with reality television too far or people enjoyed the theatrics he brought to them and decided to cast their votes his way. The Republican primaries saw a number of candidates who were more qualified on paper, but I think his outspoken nature spoke to a number of people who previously never bothered to vote. I have outlined a few points of where I think the political pundits went wrong and why he managed to prove a number of them wrong.

• 1)He did everything someone seeking to hold elected office shouldn’t do! His supporters were people, growing tired of the politically correct modern world. To them, his ability to say the things they were thinking, but would never say at a dinner party captured their eye. A prime example of this is the cheers he received at every rally when something politically incorrect rolled off his tongue. His voters loved it. People are growing tired of their politicians and want to change things up. We are seeing this phenomena with the success of populist politicians all over the globe. They tell the people what they want to hear.
• 2)Hillary Clinton relied too heavily on people voting for her because she was NOT Donald Trump. This election saw the advent of the two least popular candidates in the history of U.S. elections (since these types of records were kept at least). Clinton did not do enough to gain the trust of the American public, to get those who did not vote for her to show up on Election Day (hindsight is a wonderful thing). While she did win the popular vote, she failed to gain enough traction in key swing states. If she was able to offer them something the cards might have come up her way.
• 3)Key issue voting: This links back to point number two. The American people were disappointed in both candidates, so key issue voting is the reason both candidates received a number of their votes. For the Republicans, their stance on issues such as gun control and abortion sent votes their way, from voters that viewed these to be the most important issues for them. Whereas the Democrats were able to rely upon their views on the same issues as well as healthcare and the possibility of having a female President, for a large proportion of their votes. Anecdotal evidence I collected suggested that the main reason people voted for the candidate they did was the candidate’s views on an issue they considered to be of paramount importance.
• 4)Levels of experience: Hillary Clinton was able to boast an extensive C.V. in public office. Unfortunately, I would argue this did not work in her favor, the way she hoped it would. She lost the trust of a number of voters over Benghazi and the e-mail scandal. Conversely, Donald J. Trump’s experience in public office prior to the 20^th of January was the same as mine, zero. His voters seemed to like this. They perceived him as a successful businessman who might help the economy and enjoyed the fact he was NOT a career politician. Unlike Clinton, the controversies surrounding Trump never really seemed to hurt him as much as the those surrounding Clinton.
• 5)The disenfranchisement of the American people with the current political establishment in America was a key factor in Donald J. Trump becoming the 45^th President of the United States. Even before he made his promises to “Drain the Swamp,” a number of people were going to vote for him as a protest vote. A way of flicking a middle finger to Washington, to vent their dissatisfaction with their politicians.
• 6)The debates: While all the experts and pundits agree that Hillary Clinton “won” the debates, she clearly did not do enough to swing undecided voters in key states (read my words carefully I know she won the popular vote). After every debate Donald Trump declared himself the winner. To play devil’s advocate here, he did win, in a way. He did what he needed to do, his purpose in these debates was to galvanize his support base and ensure they were still going to show up on Election Day and vote. If you were voting Democrat he wasn’t trying to appeal to you! He wanted to make sure that if you were going to vote Republican you would show up to vote for him. Hence, his demeanor attitude and comments throughout the debates. As for undecided voters he hoped if he could be as politically incorrect as possible and hit you with easy slogans, maybe at the very least he could draw some protest votes.
• 7)Campaign slogans: Hillary Clinton’s slogan “I’m with her” tried to unite people behind Hillary Clinton. From a branding point of view she wanted to get people to unite behind her and her ideas as well as what she represented, being potentially the first female President of the United States. This may not have been the best approach from her team, considering that she did not have the mainstream popularity to do this effectively. Moreover, undecided voters who did not trust her may have been turned away by the thought of supporting her rather than the Democratic cause or a cause for the greater good. Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again,” slogan was an idea that people could get behind. Something that appealed to a key demographic of his, those who have taken the hit from globalization in addition to those who did not agree with the policies of previous administrations. Finally, it helped him gain the support of older voters who remember the “good old days.” From this point of view the “Make America Great Again” slogan may have been the only part of his campaign that was not about him, he made it about America inviting, the public to become politically active in achieving this greater goal.

There are a number of other issues that led to his election, that I have not mentioned, but these are the issues I believed to be key. While some of the nation, and most of the world were shocked by the results. The writing was on the wall for a long time. One only has to look at history to see how fear can drive people to do almost anything. An argument can be made for both sides, fear of globalization and what it has done to American manufacturing drove people towards Donald Trump. Fear of the rise of The Islamic State drove them towards him. On the other hand fear of Donald Trump, his immigration policies, his views on women’s issued pushed voters towards Hillary Clinton. When one examines Donald Trump’s ability to speak to people, and with his words either alleviate their fears or ignite them two things become apparent. Firstly, why he did so well. Secondly, why he is one of the most divisive figures in the world today. Throughout the election he made a number of promises, but as we all know a politician promising things and then delivering on them, do not often go hand in hand. So right now America and the world will wait and see whether Donald Trump’s ability to throw years of political theory out the window was a masterstroke that will lead to a better America or one of the greatest hoodwinks in history leaving the country in tatters. Only time will tell.