Overby Center “What Now,” Panel Discussed Trump Victory

“What Now” panelists discussed the factors that played a role in Donald Trump’s victory in the general election and the future of our country moving forward.

The event was lead by Charles Overby, Chairman of the Overby Center, Marvin King, professor of political science and African-American Affairs, and Overby Fellow Curtis Wilkie, who covered eight presidential elections.

Overby opened the discussion by stating he had “never seen an election like this before.” Not only did Trump lose the popular vote, he won the presidency with fewer votes than Mitt Romney won in 2012. Interestingly, eight million fewer Americans voted in 2012. Furthermore, the Republican Party has lost the popular vote in six of the past seven elections, but still have won the presidency thanks to the Electoral College.

Wilkie is a strong critic of the Electoral College. He believes it doesn’t work and if “you win the popular vote, you should be president. Period.”

King chimed in to add the Electoral College is an “antiquated system that needs to be reformed.”

Overby replied by saying the Electoral College is helpful for making small states matter. If it was purely a popular vote, California and New York would essentially be deciding the election every four years.

Overby said, “States like Tennessee and Mississippi would never vote to change the system.”

An audience member asked, “Going forward, how do we filter false journalism and incorrect facts?”

The power of social media in 2016 was a key component in the race and most likely will be in every election going forward. King commented on the role social media and the press played in the election.

“The free media exposure Trump received was astounding. He should be thanking the press for elevating his candidacy,” King said.

Curtis Wilkie also mentioned how Trump’s accessibility to the press played a key role in his victory.

“Trump was totally accessible while Clinton was totally guarded,” Wilkie said. “As a result, the media flocked to Trump because they could always get a good story out of him.”

Another audience member asked about the future of the Democratic Party moving forward.

King said, “There will be a Battle Royale for the soul of the Democratic Party. Republicans have been doing better at the local levels. As a result, they have a deep bench of future candidates for national elections. Democrats need to find the one candidate who can relate to voters and drive voter turnout.”

Moving forward, the future is certainly unknown. King pointed out if anyone is “deluding themselves if they know what is going to happen.” Wilkie believes Trump will continue to walk back some of his proposals he made in the election due to the unrealistic nature of his plans. Overby concluded with the following thought, “People have completely underestimated Trump for the past two years. He will shoot for serious change.”

By John Touloupis, an intern for HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at jttouloupis@gmail.com.