A Seismic Election – Trump Wins!

This past week, Donald Trump won the 2016 election, much to the surprise of most of the country. In fact, the result was so unexpected that most television, radio and print media reporters described it as a shock, a tsunami, an earthquake or a seismic election. It is not surprising that elections are described in terms of natural disasters. I have written about some of these examples in a previous post. This time, the usage is a bit different.

When one candidate wins the election by a large margin, we sometimes say that he or she won in a landslide, as if the election results came down a mountain after a heavy rain. However, in the most recent election, the margin of victory was very slim. In fact, it seems that Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but Donald Trump won the electoral vote – a slim margin indeed. Since everyone was surprised that Donald Trump won the election, there were other examples of natural disasters to describe the unexpected results. Here are a few examples (italics are mine). The source of each quotation is provided below each example.


A tsunami is a huge ocean wave that devastates coastal communities as happened in Indonesia in 2004 and in Japan in 2011. Metaphorically, the word tsunami is used similarly to the term flood indicating a large amount of something happening quickly.

Example: Headline: The Pollster Who Foretold the Trump Tsunami : Robert Cahaly, derided by Nate Silver as a C-rate pollster, gets the last laugh on 2016 (http://www.lifezette.com/polizette/pollster-foretold-trump-tsunami/)



Earthquakes are caused by shifts in the earth’s crust or continental plates. Tremors are smaller quakes that happen before or after a major earthquake. Metaphorically, earthquakes and tremors can describe important events that happen in an organization that change the normal course of activities.

Example: Headline: ‘A complete earthquake’: Joe Scarborough reacts to Trump winning the presidency (http://www.businessinsider.com/joe-scarborough-donald-trump-2016-11) 


The word shock has several different meanings. One can experience shock from an electrical outlet or a violent impact in a collision. There can also be shocks or aftershocks after an earthquake. There were many people who were shocked by the Trump victory this week.

Example: Headline: Donald Trump’s Victory Is Met With Shock Across a Wide Political Divide (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/10/us/politics/donald-trump-election-reaction.html?_r=0)



The word seismic describes the level of movement in the earth’s crust during an earthquake. Metaphorically, any event that has deep and widespread effects on people or organizations may also be described as seismic. 

Example: Headline: Trump maps out a new administration to bring a seismic shift to Washington (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-maps-out-a-new-administration-to-bring-a-seismic-shift-to-washington/2016/11/09/8bb6629e-a6a6-11e6-8fc0-7be8f848c492_story.html)


When a volcano explodes, this is called an eruption. In common terms, anything that happens quickly without notice may be called an eruption.

Example: The eruption of shock, outrage, and action post-election is yet another parallel to Brexit. (https://thinkprogress.org/anti-trump-protests-sweep-the-nation-65b7b836457c#.thzsvjy9e)


When a river overflows its banks, the surrounding countryside, towns, and cities can be flooded with water. As a metaphor, the concept of flooding is used to describe a large amount of something that covers a wide area.

Example: Headline: Thousands of outraged protesters flood streets across America to oppose President-elect Donald Trump (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/angry-protesters-flood-nyc-streets-oppose-trump-election-win-article-1.2866671)


In some areas, rivers are dammed up and the water is held back with gates. When the water reaches a high level, the floodgates may be opened to release the pressure. Metaphorically, opening the floodgates means that a large amount of information or many actions are suddenly released.

Example: The predatory practices of the Washington elite were actively supported by congressional carpetbaggers who approved legislation that opened the floodgates to every imaginable form of financial manipulation. (http://www.atimes.com/trump-undermines-americas-already-tattered-authority/)


Once again, we can see how our experience with nature, or in this case, natural disasters creates metaphors that we can use to describe political events. Sadly, New Zealand just suffered a 7.8 earthquake early this morning, with possible tsunami waves striking the coast. Fortunately, only two people were killed based on current news reports. The use of such violent metaphors of natural disasters indicate how traumatic the Trump victory has been to many Americans. Stay tuned for more interesting metaphors used to describe the Trump presidency.