My first thought is that it’s not surprising in the slightest. We expected the same protests from the other side should Clinton win – and violent ones. There were large protests when George W Bush was inaugurated in January 2001; he too lost the popular vote. It’s not unusual in the American context.

‘However, it plays into Trump’s narrative. He’s already claimed the protesters were “incited by the media,” and the protests contribute to the vague sense of “disorder” that has so upset his mostly white voters.’

Dr Ben Margulies, Department of Politics and International Studies

11th November 2016