Now that we have had a couple of months to digest the election of Donald Trump as our 45th President, how it happened seems to be rather clear. Here is my take on what happened:
1. Donald Trump was not suppose to win, and did not run with the expectation of winning. For him, it was a challenge that may never come along again in his lifetime. He loved to fight and this was a fight he coveted. Plus, he thought it could be good for his businesses. This is why setting up his Administration has been so difficult--he had made no plans to do so. Candidly, Trump and his Administration have gotten off to such a terrible start, that he now denies that before starting many interviews. It is obvious that it hurts him deeply; so he is determined to prove his critics wrong.
2. The details of the Russian connection with the Trump Campaign are still not confirmed, but it appears that Trump gave Putin a commitment on lifting sanctions if he did get elected in exchange for Putin's forwarding almost daily cyber stolen data on the Clinton campaign through Wiki Leaks. Putin also did not expect Trump to win, but he felt this trade would only help weaken the candidate that was likely to win, Secretary Hillary Clinton. Putin genuinely enjoyed sticking it to the United States. It appears Dr. Carter Page, Paul Manafort, and General Michael Flynn were the Trump connections on the Agreement. My guess is that there were probably some other financial relationships between Trump, Russians, and members of the Russian Mafia, because that is always the first denial out of his mouth when Trump is asked about it.
3. The final narrow difference in the election was not the result of anything pro-Trump, it was the deep and passionate hate of Clinton winning again. Clinton has never acknowledged publicly the depth and breadth of the public hatred of her and her husband. Many Americans find both Clinton's (as well as Trump's) faux smile blood curdling. Her response about lying,, "I may have short circuited," was an insulting blow off. But, if Putin had not passed on daily embarrassing Wiki Leak campaign information on Clinton/Podesta, and Trump was not so good at "poking the stick in her eye," it would not have worked mathematically. This was the election difference in those final key swing states.
4. Since Trump only knows his way of conducting business, he is determined to run his Administration on his terms, even at the cost of violating law. I personally believe that the constant attacks from the media have convinced him that if his choice is changing or leaving office, he would probably leave. But, I believe he would craft such a departure as a martyrdom this country has never seen before.