Just over a week has passed and many people are still struggling to come to terms with Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election. Nowhere is this more true than in the staunchly Democrat-voting state of California. 61.5 per cent of Californians voted for Clinton against 32.3 per cent for Trump with anger still highly palpable. Protesters took to the streets in California like they did elsewhere across America, though they poured extra fuel on the fire of frustration via social media. #Calexit (a play on Brexit) is still trending on Twitter.
Though the vast majority of people aren’t really treating a Californian bid to leave the United States in protest too seriously, 2016 has shown that the most unexpected events can really happen. Though it might just be a case of “California Dreamin”, the Golden State would be able to boast some serious economic clout on the world stage if it was made independent.
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, California is the 6th largest economy in the world. In 2015, its economic output reached $2.46 trillion, surpassing France. Only the United States, China, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom are able to boast a higher GDP than the Golden State.
One group called YesCalifornia have even laid out the hypothetical legal framework for “Calexit”, calling for an independence referendum in 2019. Despite all of 2016′s unlikely happenings, most observers agree that an independent California at some point in the future probably won’t join the list of crazy occurrences. The last time a state seceded was in the 1860s, resulting in the civil war.
You will find more statistics at Statista
