Profiles * Political Thought * Colonial Government * Revolution * Constitution * Birth of Party Politics * War of 1812 * James Monroe: "Era of Good Feeling" and Monroe Doctrine * Jacksonian Democracy * Regional Conflict and Compromise * 1860 Election of Abraham Lincoln * Civil War 1861-62 * Civil War 1863-65 * Reconstruction and Impeachment of President Johnson * Gilded Age and Progressive Era * 1912 Election of Woodrow Wilson * 1916 Election and World War I * Women's Suffrage * Depression and 1932 Election of Franklin D. Roosevelt * Prelude to World War II * Pearl Harbor and Mobilization * World War II: European Theater * World War II: Pacific Theater * Atomic Bomb and End of World War II * 1948 Truman-Dewey Election * 1960 Kennedy-Nixon Election * 1964 Johnson-Goldwater Election * Civil Rights Movement * Vietnam: Evolution of the American Role * Vietnam: Kennedy Administration and Intervention * Vietnam: Johnson Administration and Escalation * Vietnam: Nixon, Ford and Fall of South Vietnam * 1968 Humphrey-Nixon Election * Watergate Scandal and Resignation of President Nixon * 1976 Carter-Ford Election * 1980 & 1984 Reagan Elections * Clinton Impeachment * 2000 Bush-Gore Election * War in Iraq * 2008 Obama-McCain Election * 2012 Obama-Romney Election * 2016 Election |
2016 Presidential Election
|
|
On November 8, 2016, Donald Trump was elected President in what was described as a "historic" and "stunning" upset of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Trump's victory came despite the consensus of nearly all pre-election polls that Clinton held a comfortable lead among national voters, as well as being ahead in key swing states. On the night of his election, Trump stated that he would seek to unify the nation in the face of perhaps the most divisive and bitter campaign in the nation's history. In the transition period from his election to his Inauguration on January 20, 2017, however, he continued to issue provocative statements and "tweets" challenging his critics.
|
-- General Election
The 2016 presidential general election campaign began with a slowly building consensus among the Democrats to support the Clinton campaign, but continuing holdouts among the Republicans to endorse the Trump candidacy. Among Trump's primary opponents, Governor Kasich, Senator Cruz and former Governor Bush initially declined to endorse Trump. Major GOP contributors and fundraisers, including the Koch Brothers, Sheldon Adelson and others, withheld their backing or indicated they would target funds to candidates running below Trump on the ballot. Most post-convention polls also reported a bump for the Democrats, widely attributed to their better-organized convention and the negative response to Trump's criticism of the appearance at the convention of Mr. and Mrs. Khan, the parents of the Muslim soldier killed in Afghanistan. Trump also continued with a series of new or repeated statements from the primary campaign which provoked controversy. These included his declaration to build a wall on the Mexican border and that Mexicans crossing the border were "rapists" bringing drugs and crime and his proposed ban on Muslims being allowed to come to the country. Trump also received criticism for remarks seen as sexist, particularly his comment about Fox News debate moderator Megyn Kelly that "You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her ... wherever." |
Clinton's early lead, however, was undercut by continuing questions over her honesty. These concerns were exacerbated by a press conference held in July by FBI Director James Comey, who announced that the Bureau was not recommending criminal action against Mrs. Clinton, but that she was “extremely careless” in using a private email address and server while Secretary of State; raised questions about her judgment; and contradicted statements she had made about her email practices. Mrs. Clinton's response to the Comey statement, in which she implied she was exonerated by the investigation, also was attacked as indicating a failure to fully admit her mistakes.
|
In mid-September, national polls had shown a tightening of the race, along with Trump either leading or improving his position in key swing states. Trump also initiated appearances at African American organizations and churches, a step viewed as an attempt to improve his extremely low support among minorities, as well as suggest tolerance that might strengthen his poor standing with college-educated women, a key demographic for any GOP victory. On September 23, Senator Cruz endorsed Trump, noting that he had done so after "careful consideration, of prayer and searching my own conscience."
|
In the first presidential debate held on September 26, Clinton was widely seen to have bested Trump, with many analysts citing his interruptions and demeaning attitude as reinforcing Democratic claims that he lacked the temperament to serve as president. Doubts over his temperament persisted in the days following the debate as Trump engaged in an exchange with a former Miss Universe, who claimed he humiliated her in criticizing her weight gain when he owned the pageant, an incident which Clinton had brought up in the debate. Trump also declared that he had withheld during the debate, using President Clinton's sexual history, and Mrs. Clinton's attacks on women who claimed to have been involved with him, but was considering raising it in the future.
Post-debate polls generally showed a gain for Mrs. Clinton; nevertheless, in critical states like Ohio Trump remained ahead and within a few points of Clinton in Florida and North Carolina. As in prior surveys, Trump's core support was from white males without college educations, but he trailed badly among minorities and college-educated women. Clinton's campaign still reflected her difficulty with millennials, a group that had enthusiastically backed the candidacy of Senator Sanders. Democratic insiders also were concerned that Clinton's poor favorability ratings could result in lower than needed turnouts among key constituencies needed for her election. The Libertarian Party candidacy of former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson and former Massachusetts Governor William Weld also was a potential problem for the Democrats, with the ticket attracting around ten percent support in national polls, votes that most analysts believed otherwise largely would go for the Democratic ticket.
|
|
|
|
|
|