How Donald Trump exploited the rickety foundation of the Obama coalition

It's the economy, stupid

Donald Trump used President Obama's shortcomings to his own advantage.
(Image credit: Ikon Images / Alamy Stock Photo)

How weak was Donald Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton? He lost the popular vote and even turned out Republican voters in lower numbers than Mitt Romney and John McCain. But Trump won the presidency with a blitzkrieg: He broke the Obama coalition by targeting its weakest point, and hitting it full force.

That coalition was supposed to be a mishmash of well-educated urban whites, Latinos, African-Americans, women, and young people. It drove Obama to victory in 2008 and again in 2012. And Hillary Clinton put it together again this year, winning all those categories by big, and sometimes massive, margins. It was supposed to ensure Democrats' domination at the national level as demographics continued to turn their way.

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Jeff Spross

Jeff Spross was the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He was previously a reporter at ThinkProgress.