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by Matthew Rusling
WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump won big on Tuesday night, swept into victory on a wave of support by mostly white, working class voters.
The victory came at a time when millions of white, working class voters feel they have been left behind by a U.S. economy that has still not fully recovered from the 2007 economic nose dive.
"Trump shocked the experts by pulling off a major upset. His Midwestern strategy of appealing to workers displaced by trade deals proved to be successful," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua.
Trump got big turnouts from white, rural voters upset with their poor economic prospects. Most of them felt the country was headed in the wrong direction, West said.
"He raised doubts about (Clinton's) character and convinced voters she could not be trusted with the highest office in the land. His label of 'crooked Hillary' stuck with her," West said, referring to Trump's accusations that Clinton is dishonest.
In a shocking win that defied predictions that rival Clinton would win, the brash billionaire beat the predictions of experts and pollsters to clinch the White House. The victory underscored millions of working class Americans' sheer frustration with what they call the ruling class in Washington D.C., and highlighted the fact that Trump understood this crucial dynamic.
The win was a rejection of how U.S. President Barack Obama has run the country over the last eight years. The victory highlights what Trump supporters say is frustration about an economy in which vast swaths of the nation remain impoverished nearly a decade after the 2007-2008 economic nose dive.
Trump's win, analysts said, was because vast swaths of the country are suffering greatly under an economy that has been weak for nearly a decade. Those millions of voters, rightly or wrongly, felt ignored by both Democrat and Republican leaders. The New York mogul recognized this and was able to connect with those who felt they have been left behind, analysts said.
"They appear to have either come out in larger numbers for Trump than anyone expected, or to comprise a bigger segment of the electorate than anyone suspected. Possibly both," Christopher Galdieri, assistant professor at Saint Anselm College, told Xinhua, referring to white, working class voters.
Trump supporters have also complained about what they see as "an avalanche of regulations" that many believe have held back small businesses and prevented the world's largest and most dynamic economy from unleashing its power and bringing jobs back to the country.
Trump has throughout his campaign promised to roll back such regulations, to the applause of his supporters.
While the jobless rate is officially at around 5 percent, the number masks the reality that there remain millions of Americans who have given up looking for jobs on sheer frustration over their dim prospects.
Trump supporters were also motivated by real worries over the economic direction of the country, as many factory jobs have moved abroad. Millions of Americans are receiving food stamps and are mired in poverty, and there is now the lowest workplace participation rate since the 1970s. Trump was able to tap those concerns.
White working class voters have also seen drugs pouring into rural communities at a rapid clip in recent years. Across the nation, rural towns that used to have plentiful factory jobs are now impoverished, with some people -- even the elderly -- turning to selling drugs to make ends meet.
Seventy percent of Americans are not happy with direction of the country, polls have found, and much of the country wanted an agent of change and were not happy with Obama's direction for the country over the last eight years. Traditional Republicans were expected not to support him, but ended up casting their ballots for Trump fearing a Clinton victory for the White House.
HOW WILL TRUMP GOVERN?
The question now remains how will Trump govern, and what will his first 100 days look like.
Many analysts have noted that Trump has promised to repeal and replace Obama's controversial healthcare overhaul. Critics have noted that the cost of premiums under the health care law, known as Obamacare, have surged, and that the plan will cost taxpayers heavily in the years ahead.
Trump will have a tough time at the start of his presidency, experts said. The brash businessman has elicited strong negative emotions from his detractors, who will continue to oppose him going forward.
"It is hard to know what his presidency will be like because he has not been very substantive in describing his positions. He has promised to be tough on trade and immigration and deal strongly with terrorism. I would expect him to follow through on those issues," West said.
In one of the nastiest elections in decades, the brash billionaire has publicly called Clinton a "nasty woman." He referred to a former Miss Universe as "Miss Piggy," remarking that she has put on weight since winning the pageant, and has referred to illegal Mexican immigrants as "rapists" and criminals.
It remains unknown whether Trump will continue to behave this way and continue to hold grudges, or whether the bombastic businessman will act in a more presidential manner.
Analysts also said Trump's win represents a new, more populist direction of the United States and of the Republican Party. Such populism has not been seen historically since the political climate of the 1880s and the 1920s, analysts said.
