(This is an Editorial)

In one of the most shocking results of any Presidential Election, Hillary Clinton, the odds-on favorite, was narrowly defeated by Donald Trump. On second thought, were the results of this election all that surprising? Peeling back the underlying layers, we can see Hillary Clinton lost her latest bid for the Presidency of the United States because of one main reason.

According to a US intelligence report, Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized cyber-hacking of the 2016 Presidential Election in an alleged effort to assist Donald Trump. However, The Donald has consistently denied being helped by the Soviet Union. And, although they do not blame the cyber-hacking for Hillary Clinton losing the election, the Democratic Party insists the effects were clearly evident.

John Weaver, the ex-Chief Strategist for Ohio Governor John Kasich, stated, "We know it {the cyber-hacking} put Clinton's campaign on the defensive. We know that it distracted that campaign and we know, anecdotally, that it impacted voters."

Hillary Clinton aides chalk her losing the election up to:

1 - the Russian hacks added fuel to the fire of American voters' concerns about Clinton's use of a personal email account as the Secretary of State, and,

2 - what's this? The American voting public's distrust of Hillary Clinton

One of the courses the Russians allegedly followed in their hacking was to post the YouTube video known as "Trump Will Not Be Permitted To Win," that featured the fugitive WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange, and garnered 2.2 million views.

Located outside St. Petersburg, Florida, US intelligence officials claim the Internet Research Agency, that is led by a Putin ally, flooded social media. This organization is highly regarded by US intelligence sources as nothing more than "professional trolls".

After Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida was forced out of her position as the Chairwoman for the Democratic National Committee, an act that occurred following several emails being provided to WikiLeaks, proving the supposedly neutral Committee backed Clinton over Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in the primaries, Donald Trump received the ammunition to detail the case that the electoral system was rigged in Clinton's favor.

Another undesirable situation arose when Donna Brazile, an ex-CNN Commentator, briefed the Clinton team before a televised candidates' forum and debate. This incident led to the American public's idea that Clinton was a Washington insider and reinforced their notion Clinton was untrustworthy. Now, why would they believe such a thing?

So, although the Russians, no doubt, hacked the 2016 Presidential Election, as they did in 2008 and 2012, their efforts were not the cause of Hillary Clinton losing the Presidency. Nor was it any of the excuses the Democrats have listed above that cost Clinton the election. It was the simple fact that she proved to be untrustworthy that ended her White House aspirations.