You didn't read the article. The author is from middle america and explaining to those who are not from there how wrong we are in our interpretation of what has happened. Read it, please, it's quite informative.
Again - the author is from Middle America; there is no 'they', it's 'we'. And here's just part of what is said:
"To pin this election on the coastal elite is a cop-out. It’s intellectually dishonest, and it’s beneath us.
We, as a culture, have to stop infantilizing and deifying rural and white working-class Americans. Their experience is not more of a real American experience than anyone else’s, but when we say that it is, we give people a pass from seeing and understanding more of their country. More Americans need to see more of the United States. They need to shake hands with a Muslim, or talk soccer with a middle aged lesbian, or attend a lecture by a female business executive.
We must start asking all Americans to be their better selves. We must all understand that America is a melting pot and that none of us has a more authentic American experience."
That's not better than "They are idiots" or "Racist sexists!"