On Tuesday, the American people spoke.

In an election where the voters overwhelmingly hated the cards they'd been dealt, Americans chose to make the best of the hand. Ultimately, they chose to play the Trump card.

But why?

Is it because America is overwhelmingly xenophobic, homophobic, Islamophobic, racist and sexist? Is it because of a "whitelash" of Trump voters turned out to elect a demagogue? Is it because America wasn't ready for the progress a woman president would've brought? What message did these people aim to send? Did they really think they were going to make America great again?

I think the answer to that is a mixed bag. Let's start with voter turnout- it was down big. Millions of voters decided the cards were so terrible, they'd rather not play. The result is that from 2008 to 2016, 10 million people did not turn out to vote. This number is the absolute value and in spite of record high voter registration and population increases. But we have an electoral college system. So the national vote doesn't matter, right? Well, not quite. 10 million votes could've solidified Hillary's win to more than a single percentage point. 10 million votes in strategic locations could've returned the three states Trump was not expected to flip: Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.

But why did the electorate choose Trump? The answer is two sided. It is Hillary Clinton's fault she lost. Not the fault of systemic sexism or some high glass ceiling. A problem Democrats had to cope with was Hillary Clinton's baggage. It is hard to convince a voter to cast a ballot for a woman who at any given time has at least 1, if not 2 or 3 or 5, separate investigations regarding illicit activities in her charities, emails, and international and domestic dealings. It is hard to convince people to elect someone who couldn't earn her party's nomination fairly. It is why 10 million voters from 2008, 5 million in 2012, did not turn out for her. It is hard to convince people to believe she'd ever do anything right when she had to cheat in debates where she had the advantage. The biggest problem Democrats faced this election cycle was Hillary Clinton; they had to try and ignore everything that was wrong with her, to persuade people that she might not screw things up this time around. She spent the last 30 years revealing the cards in her hand and the American electorate did not want to play her rigged game anymore.

But there is a part to this that is not Hillary Clinton's fault. In fact, it is the fault of the Democrats as a whole. Democrats and liberals who have aggravated a now-vocal "Silent Majority". For 8 years now, a new kind of stereotyping has been on the rise. One where your privilege can be garnered based on the color of your skin, your ethnicity and then used to shut you up when you disagree with policies or laws. This is problematic for several reasons not the least of which is its impact on voting patterns. Throughout the 1900's, the Democrats prided themselves as the party of the working class, the labor union party, the defender of the poor. But something changed. The left no longer defended all the little guys. Just the colorful ones. Instead, white working class voters, a key portion of the Democrats voting base, went red. They didn't answer surveys or polls. They weren't looking to start fights on Facebook. But they turned out to vote against a party that otherwise labeled them as deplorable. People get tired of being labeled. It's as simple as that. I think few could disagree.

Did Donald Trump energize only good, poor, rednecks to go out and vote for him? No. It would be a lie to pretend that there were not true racists and bigots amongst the millions that cast their vote for Donald Trump. The same is true for Hillary's voters. There are jokers in every deck of cards. They serve no beneficial purpose and in this case can be harmful. But it's wrong to classify over 60 million voters with labels that apply to a small minority. In reaction to the election results, I've seen several posts saying that if you voted for Trump you either are racist, sexist, and bigoted or you entirely stand by and condone it. The easy reaction to this would be to say, I guess all the Hillary fans wanted Chris Stevens to die at Benghazi and honestly think that black youths are superpredators. I don't believe that to be the case and, anyways, the correct reaction is different. It comes in the form of a saying regarding political candidates: you will never find a candidate that you agree 100% with, unless you, yourself, run. And even then, you may not agree with the things you have to say to be elected. That is the world of politics. It's not pretty. It's hardly ever honest. And, again, it's entirely unfair to judge a population on the actions of one.

The United States has decided that Trump will be the president come January 20th, 2016. Whether that was a good or bad decision remains to be seen. Inauguration day is still 2 months away but millions of Americans have signed petitions and protested the results. It is a nation in turmoil. Internationally, Trump's election is bringing resounding reactions. The American markets soared, with the DOW Jones reaching record highs. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached out and congratulated Trump on his victory and on the hope of refreshing the strength of American-Israeli relations. Vladimir Putin has talked of restoring Russian-American relations. Nigel Farage, the man behind Brexit, has met with Trump to celebrate the win. Trump certainly has opportunities in his hands. It is now up to him to show everyone, not just those who supported him, that he is capable of being president. He could very well squander the chances given to him and fail. But we must hope against this. His failures, as a person and as a policy-maker, are now our failures. If he folds, so do we.

This is the game we find ourselves playing now. Whether we like it or not, we have now been dealt into Trump's card game. This game could be a hit or miss. Trump hasn't revealed what he's got in his deck, at least not entirely. So we must hope. Have an open mind and give him a chance. Criticize him when he's wrong, praise him when he's right. We must now guide and support the man who leads us. It's a big job for the next 4 years, but we must have that faith. So, as always,

Good luck America.