Today we look back at some of the biggest news stories of 2016. With stories of conflict, tension and peace, it was a “complicated” year. First on many people’s list was the result of the U.S. presidential election. On Election Day, the New York Times reported that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton had an 85 percent chance of winning the presidency. But it was Republican Donald Trump who won. It was one of the biggest political upsets in United States history. Trump will become America’s 45th president on January 20. The billionaire businessman and television star was not even expected to win the Republican Party nomination. At the beginning of the year, political experts expected one of his many Republican opponents to become the party’s nominee. But Trump won the most Republican primaries. Then, on November 8, Trump won four important industrial states: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin. Those key victories helped him win the presidential election. Trump has promised to bring back factory jobs lost to other nations. During his campaign, he promised to “make America great again.” Here is how Trump explained his victory over Clinton: “As I’ve said from the beginning, ours was not a campaign, but rather an incredible and great movement made up of millions of hard-working men and women who love their country and want a better, brighter future for themselves and for their families.” The presidential campaign was divisive. Trump called his opponent “crooked Hillary.” Clinton described Trump as being “temperamentally unfit and totally unqualified to be President.” Clinton won the national popular vote by more than 2 million votes. But she lost several industrial states that Barack Obama, also a Democrat, won in 2008 and in 2012. Those losses hurt her; she was not able to receive enough electoral votes in the Electoral College. Members of the Electoral College base their votes on the winner in each of America’s 50 states and the District of Columbia. Trump gained more than the 270 electoral votes needed to be the winner. President Barack Obama campaigned for Clinton. After the election, he told National Public Radio (NPR) that the Democratic Party failed “to give people in rural areas” a sense “day-to-day that we’re fighting for them.” Another political surprise took place with Britain’s referendum on whether the nation would remain in the European Union. The movement was known as “Brexit.” London, Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain in the European Union. But, other parts of Britain voted in favor of Brexit. Many supporters of Brexit were shocked -- as were opponents of the move -- when they won the vote on June 23.
