Donald Trump shocked pundits (and many political experts) Wednesday by winning the presidency. But his followers weren’t shocked at all.

They understood from the start the power of Trump’s message, and the anger of middle class Americans.

Americans suffering from stagnant wages and lost jobs, who were the last to benefit from the liberal agenda of Barack Obama.

Americans fed up with the self-serving Washington political establishment, the crony capitalism and the insufferable political correctness stifling our workplaces and our universities.

Americans tired of the intellectual elites who look down on flag waving and old-fashioned patriotism and consider themselves morally superior.

Deplorables to Clinton: take that!

A clear majority wanted to set the country on a new direction, and Donald Trump promised to do just that. He promised to Make America Great Again, and they believed him.

Even as the returns flowed in, the results appeared to shock the mainstream media commentators reporting on the vote. They didn’t expect blue collar workers in Ohio to flow to Trump; they couldn’t believe that union voters, such predictable backers of Democrats historically, would line up in the red column.

Where have these people been? This has been the bedrock of Trump’s support. People didn’t flood those huge Trump rallies because of rock stars like Jay Z or Lady Gaga; they turned out because Trump was saying what they longed to hear.

They cheered when Trump said he would revamp our trade policies to protect U.S. workers. They liked that he promised to close our borders and reestablish the rule of law. They especially applauded his pledge to take on the corrupt elites in Washington and to push for term limits.

The pundits expected Hispanics to hand several swing states to Clinton; while turnout was only modestly higher with the Latino community, Trump appears to have done about as well as Romney did with that community. That was unexpected.

Maybe next time Democrats should try to speak to the whole country, and stop slicing and dicing the electorate. Stronger together indeed!

Here’s what else happened in the 2016 election: voters decided to put the Clintons and their greedy corruption out to pasture. Clinton had everything going for her: a compliant media, a popular president in her corner, over a billion dollars in campaign fund and a well-organized party apparatus.

At the end, none of it mattered. Clinton had no message and no vision. She wandered as a candidate, portraying herself alternately as a benevolent grandma, a firebrand progressive and a champion of women and children.

In the closing weeks of the campaign she was the angry, shrill prude offended by Donald Trump’s lewd remarks about women, while at the same time lauding Jay Z’s foul lyrics. There is noting genuine about Mrs. Clinton. She is a hypocrite and she is dishonest, and the voters know it.

Clinton apologists will blame FBI Director James Comey for the loss, they will blame Vladimir Putin; they will say she lost because she is a woman. None of it is true. Hillary was a terrible candidate.

There will be enormous handwringing in both parties over the incredible success of Donald Trump. Pundits will dredge up any number of abstruse rationales for how Trump overcame long odds and humiliated both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

It’s not that complicated. Average Americans, the men and women who work hard and play by the rules, decided to make their voices heard.

Now comes the hard part. Trump will have to flesh out a thoroughly undernourished organization and quickly find the people who can carry out his agenda. The media will be gunning for him; impatient voters who took a chance on an untested leader may not have much patience.

Trump promised to quickly convene a special session of Congress and demand that they repeal and remodel ObamaCare. It is a brilliant idea. Imagine how excited the country would be to see actual progress. Maybe this will be the next shocker; Donald Trump might turn out to be a good president.