The story
On November 8, 2016, Republican Donald Trump, a New York real estate developer and reality television star, defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, senator and first lady. Trump won 304 electoral votes to Clinton's 227, while Clinton won the popular vote by about 2.9 million, 48.2 percent to 46.1 percent. Seven faithless electors voted for other people, a modern record. It was the fifth time a candidate won the presidency while losing the popular vote. Clinton was the first woman nominated for president by a major party.
Trump beat 16 rivals for the Republican nomination with promises to build a wall on the Mexican border, restrict immigration, rewrite trade deals and 'Make America Great Again,' using rallies and Twitter to dominate coverage. Clinton survived a strong primary challenge from Senator Bernie Sanders. Her campaign was dogged by her use of a private email server as secretary of state. On October 7 a recording surfaced of Trump boasting crudely about women, and on October 28 FBI Director James Comey told Congress the bureau was reviewing newly found emails. U.S. intelligence agencies later concluded that Russia had interfered with hacking and social media operations to help Trump; the special counsel found the interference was real but did not establish a criminal conspiracy with the campaign.
The decisive states were Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, long-Democratic 'blue wall' states Trump won by a combined 77,744 votes, with large gains among white working-class voters in industrial and rural areas. Polls had generally shown Clinton ahead, and the result surprised most forecasters.
Why it mattered
- Trump's three Supreme Court appointments produced the conservative majority that overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs in 2022.
- His administration's tariffs began a trade war with China and a broad turn away from free trade.
- Investigations into Russian interference shaped politics for years, and Trump's term ended with the 2020 election and the January 6 Capitol attack.
- The split between the popular and electoral vote renewed debate over the Electoral College.
Sources
- United States Presidential Election of 2016 Britannica
- Clinton wins US popular vote by widest margin of any losing presidential candidate Christian Science Monitor
Drafted by AI (Claude) from the sources above and checked against them by AI; no historian has reviewed this page. Spot a mistake? Suggest a correction. How pages are made
Community notes
Loading notes…