ABSTRACT
Donald Trump's success was impressive in political terms, achieved even in the face of the voters' rising approval of retiring incumbent President Barack Obama, and even without a majority of the popular vote. Trump will have an immediate impact on the nation and the world because of the distinctive and often contradictory policies he has pledged and the distinctive and often threatening character he has revealed. The obscure 538 members of the Electoral College officially chose Donald Trump as the next President, meeting in the separate states in December. The total turnout set a new record for American electoral participation. Demographic groups voted quite differently from one another, but there were similar changes in all groups compared to the previous election. Trump's candidacy for president was hardly an exercise of reasonable deliberation. The significance of the election comes from the decisions made in millions of hearts and minds. In 2016, the electoral message was certainly negative, but also inarticulate.
