Neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump received a majority of the popular vote. The majority of voters voted for somebody other than Donald Trump just as they voted for somebody other than Hillary Clinton.
IMO more than anything else this election was a rejectionist one. I have no idea of what that means going forward.
Its understandable for Democrats to hold on to the popular vote as the shred of positive news this cycle, but it generally obscures the reality that the Republicans now control all branches of the federal government, including presumably in time the SCOTUS. And I think the reality is that the Republicans will be expected to governor without excuses. Which story are the Democrats more likely be crafting: (a) the American people gave the Republicans complete control and they failed; it’s our turn, or (b) the Republicans should have governed with the modesty befitting the underlying numbers?
If recent developments have been any gauge it will be “to the barricades, mes amis!”
The Republicans were utterly unable or unwilling to make story (a) stick.
My point in this post was that this was a “pox on both your houses” election. Both the RNC and the DNC were rejected by the voters. If I were in Trump’s shoes, I’d be putting together a national unity government that cuts both of them out. I doubt he will. I don’t think it’s consistent with his temperament.
I agree with you, though I think there is the problem, though I think if you look at states that were important swing states AND had Senate elections, it does not look good for Democrats. Trump won Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida, but other than in Pennsylvania, the Republican Senator won with more votes than Trump.
This is not a situation where Trump brought out voters that carried Senate seats with him; it looks like a bunch of people who liked the Republican Senator candidate, mostly voted for Trump, but also voted for Clinton, third-parties are left the spot blank.