Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said the campaign’s upset victory shows that the “forgotten” citizens can still show the “corrupt” establishment “who is boss” through their votes.
“I think that Donald Trump proved too that even amidst a corrupt and rigged system where people are forgotten and don’t feel like they can get a fair shot, they can rise up on election day and express their voice,” said Conway on MSNBC Wednesday morning after the Republican swept up the necessary electoral votes to declare victory even though current results show rival Hillary Clinton winning the popular vote.
Conway said Trump’s message resonated with voters who felt left behind by the political elites and they’ve finally gotten their wish after showing up to the polls to help ensure an outsider like themselves represent them in the White House.
“I think that people for years have thirsted for somebody outside of politics to shake up politics and they finally got their wish,” said Conway. “That’s really the best way to beat the establishment. Best way to beat the elites is to come out in this equalizing fashion, show them who is boss.”
Conway said Trump’s success is the result of his tapping into the frustrations of a forgotten and ignored electorate, arguing that the enthusiastic rallies turned into a historic victory.
“The forgotten man and forgotten woman. They would come out tens of thousands of them at rallies. People would say rallies don’t matter. They came out by the millions to the polls,” she said.
Punching back at the pundits and experts who predicted that Trump would lose the election for doubting her eternal optimism about the candidate’s chances, Conway said the one lesson from this is election season is that the elites must remember that they are in the minority.
“I have to tell you something for those of us on TV or in politics or all of the above, there are just a lot more of them than us. And if I could take one thing away from this and one small piece of unsolicited advice for all of us, for everyone, [you’ve] got to listen to the people,” she said.
