I don't think it's elitism, it's people simply living in a different world.

If you have been left-leaning, you have been living in a world where Trump's policies are scary, racist stuff that belongs way in the past.

If you have been right-leaning, you have been living in a world where white people have been under attack for the last x years, and Trump is offering respite.

The left just didn't realise the extent of people that believed that lie. It's not elitist, it's just huge surprise - people are saying things and supporting things we thought were sorted years ago.

If a candidate came out and supported reintroducing slavery, and they got half of the vote, people would be understandably surprised. This is the light version of that.