The news of Donald Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton came as a surprise to many. And for a sizeable number of Hillary Clinton’s voters, the reality of a Donald Trump presidency is just sinking in. That said, one question puzzles most American citizens on both sides of the divide – how did Donald Trump win? Well, a combination of factors is said to have helped him achieve this.

That smile. A photo posted by Hillary Clinton (@hillaryclinton) on Nov 6, 2016 at 9:13pm PST

The Hillary Clinton email scandal is believed to be one of them. According to a recent statement Clinton offered while speaking to donors, the FBI Director James Comey greatly contributed to her loss when he sent a letter to Congress on October 28, highlighting that he would be reopening the investigation into her emails, in light of new evidence. The announcement is said to have lowered people’s trust in her, especially the silent majority, and nine days later when he absolved her of any wrongdoing, the decision appeared suspicious.

It seemed to confirm what many thought – the government was attempting to help Hillary in a cover-up, further depressing her lead over Donald Trump.

According to CNN,” She [Hillary Clinton] said the FBI development was too much to ‘overcome,’ but she acknowledged there were other headwinds facing her campaign that they didn’t adequately combat”.

A really happy night on the trail with @Pharrell. hillaryclinton.com/locate A photo posted by Hillary Clinton (@hillaryclinton) on Nov 7, 2016 at 7:01am PST

That said, another powerful element is now being highlighted as one of the main contributors to Hillary Clinton’s loss, and that is the media. There have been numerous online debates as to whether Hillary Clinton was doing better at the polls before the elections primarily because mainstream media was backing her. She was largely lauded by new networks to be the better candidate. On the other hand, Donald Trump received significant airtime, but this was while the media attempted to throw shade at him.

The result was Donald Trump and his supporters versus mainstream media. His war against the media is said to have appealed to many Americans, who viewed it as a propaganda machine controlled by the elite, motivating them to join his “revolution.” According to research undertaken by the American Press Institute, a candidate that is largely supported by the media (in this case Hillary) is likely to lose trust among the population. The following is an excerpt of the report indicating this.

This team has so much to be proud of. Whatever happens tonight, thank you for everything. A photo posted by Hillary Clinton (@hillaryclinton) on Nov 8, 2016 at 5:42pm PST

“Over the last two decades, research shows the public has grown increasingly skeptical of the news industry. Designed for today’s saturated media environment, this new study from The Media Insight Project, a collaboration of the American Press Institute and the Associated Press‑NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, helps establish that trust is an important differentiator for building an audience.”

“If there is no trust, there is no relationship,” said Brandon, a lifestyle news consumer, during a focus group in the Philadelphia area. “Why put energy into something I can’t trust when there are other resources that I can trust?”

???? A photo posted by Hillary Clinton (@hillaryclinton) on Oct 27, 2016 at 7:55pm PDT

As such, Donald Trump may have had an edge over Hillary thanks to the media supporting her. It also didn’t help when Wikileaks leaked Hillary Clinton’s emails, revealing collaboration between some media houses and her team, sometimes supplying her with debate questions in advance. Considering the fact that Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in the election, some of her supporters are currently taking steps to try and convince members of the Electoral College, who number 538, to change their stance on their decision to vote Trump come December 19.

This is when they officially cast their votes. A minimum of 270 electoral votes are needed to win the presidency and Donald Trump got 290. A series of petition drives have been launched towards this by Hillary Clinton supporters including on Change.org.

[Featured Image by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]