Why Trump won is a mystery to some, but not to those who support him. They are not, as many in the media and party have branded them, backward racists or low-information voters. They are, by and large, the soul of America. They are the farmers and the teachers, the steelworkers and the coal miners, the carpenters and electricians, the blue-collar workers that keep the engine of our prosperity running.

They are also the people who have been hurt the most by the economic slide of the last decade. They’ve seen their wages decline and their opportunities dry up. For them, the recession never ended. They are tired, and they are angry, and they feel like they have no voice.

They are tired of politicians who always want their vote but forget them as soon as the polls close. They are angry at a government that is steamrolled by China, can do nothing to secure the border and seems helpless against the threat of radical Islam. They don’t want a politician or a policy wonk. They want a leader who listens to them. And because of Trump, for the first time in a long time, they are fully engaged in the political process.