How it happened

Publicado en Economist

Donald Trump won fewer votes than Mitt Romney in 2012. But Hillary Clinton did much worse than Barack Obama.

DONALD TRUMP’S road to the White House, which he completed with his stunning victory over Hillary Clinton on November 8th, began on an escalator at Trump Tower in Manhattan 17 months ago. Descending at a stately pace to the foyer, where a crowd of bemused journalists awaited him, the reality-television star was lampooned as a false prophet on a conveyor belt. What followed struck many pundits as even more ridiculous. “Our country is in serious trouble,” he said. “We used to have victories, but we don’t have them. When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let’s say, China in a trade deal? They kill us. I beat China all the time.”

It seemed like a bad joke. Mr Trump was a billionaire property developer who surveyed the world from the 26th floor of a Manhattan skyscraper he built: America hadn’t done him too badly. Moreover, his zero-sum view of diplomacy and protectionism were, at best, marginal positions in the party whose nomination he sought. Many also noted that Mr Trump, a political gadfly who is on his third party, had until recently espoused different views, including on immigration, which he announced as the cornerstone of his campaign.

Lea completo el reportaje en economist.com