Donald Trump winning Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, thus handing him the presidency. According to this hypothesis, Democrats need to win back these whites to stand a chance in 2018 and 2020. Trump has kept the white working class loudly in the center of the political conversation ever since his election, but a closer look at what really happened in 2016 suggests this conventional wisdom is critically wrong.

First things first: The white working class didn’t lose its identification with the Democratic Party in 2016. From 1992 to 2008, as the party nominated candidates as different as Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, and Barack Obama, party identification bumped up and down but essentially held fairly steady. It was only a few years after Obama was first elected that whitePope Francis made a valiant attempt to fall playfully into America's hearts on Friday, tripping down some stairs while greeting a cardinal at the Vatican.

However, while the endearing "klutzy stumble" was charming when performed by actress Jennifer Lawrence on Oscar night, the 76-year-old pope's rendition was mostly nerve-wracking and scary. He recovered his balance quickly and is fine.