NBC News’ Chuck Todd described Donald Trump’s surprise victory — which none of the polls or political experts correctly predicted — as rural America “screaming at us, saying, ‘stop overlooking us!’”
Exit polls bore this out. While Clinton hit her targets in cities, Trump outperformed Mitt Romney in rural and ex-urban districts. He won among non-college educated white voters by larger margins than Romney did in 2012; Trump was winning this group by 34 percent while Romney won by 26 percent.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who could become Trump’s attorney general, agreed, saying the vote was an expression of resentment against the “eastern arrogant establishment.”
