How would you have reacted if you saw the 2016 electoral map in November 2008?

[Chips]

It's the day after Obama won the 2008 election and you had a future version of yourself give you insight about the 2016 election, They revealed this to be the map.



How would you have reacted? Also, the future you tells you that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were the Democratic and Republican nominees respectively.

As for me, I would've found it strange that Trump of all people won but I would've came up with some theories as to how he got to that point.

I would've assumed Obama won re-election but had a disaster of a second term, Similar to Bush. Hillary Clinton is nominated as a rather safe choice after two terms of Obama and Donald Trump runs in the Republican primaries as an outsider against Jeb Bush. Americans, who were sick of Bushes nominated Trump.

In the general, Trump runs on protectionist messages and a recession that was looming in 2016 disproportionally affects the Upper Midwest/Rust Belt which would've explained Wisconsin, Michigan Ohio and Pennsylvania. Trump is also able to appeal to evangelicals which I assume helped in Iowa, North Carolina and Florida. Hillary for her part was still able to win Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and Virginia just thanks to how those states were trending. I would've assumed Minnesota and New Hampshire were extremely close but Clinton was just barely able to win those. I would've just assumed Maine's 2nd was drawn much more favorably for the GOP after the 2010 census which would've explained Trump winning that.

That's how I believed Trump's election would've happened if I had known Trump was going to win the 2016 election eight years ahead of time.

[TheElectoralBoobyPrize]

I would've assumed Trump won the popular vote.

[Beet]

I would think Obama lost circa Herbert Hoover in 2012 after failing to solve the economic implosion, and Trump was elected in a landslide, then re-elected comfortably in 2016 as most other American presidents are.

[Vice President Christian Man]

Virginia and New Mexico wouldn't have been surprising, but Nevada and Colorado switching places with MI+WI+PA and ME-2 would've been. Probably would've assumed someone like Pawlenty ran.

[TransfemmeGoreVidal]

I would have thought that the GOP nominated someone far-right in 2012 who lost in a landslide and then decided to turn to Trump who ran as a moderate pro-choice Giuliani style Republican and managed to defeat Hillary because of her unpopularity but that Democrats still controlled both houses.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Trump gets elected Governor of New York in response to the scandals engulfing the state GOP party in 2010 and governs as sort of this Northeastern Populist Republican which then wouldnt really make that map surprising even than barring the fact NH is Dem.

VA id assume Trump loses due to the fact that he wouldnt be able to get the turnout needed from social conservatives to win that state, and CO/NV id assume that Demographic trends just made them Dem states.