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Why Has The 2016 Presidential Campaign Been So Dirty?

Why Has The 2016 Presidential Campaign Been So Dirty?

It's going to be bloodbath until the end.

Hamish Kilburn

Hamish Kilburn

Featured image credit: Getty/Justin Sullivan/Joe Mahoney

If this year's presidential race were to become any more dramatic, each side of the table would be walking into the ring in blue and red silk dressing gowns before the bare knuckles would be exposed. What is it about this campaign that is making the race even more offensive than previous ones?

Well, if you want my opinion, which I am sure will divide opinions, I believe it's because neither one of the candidates up for the post are right for the job and Barack Obama is living up to be a tough act to follow.


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The story so far

Obama has served his two terms of his four years as president and is now sporting a few grey hairs from his experience. Now there's an empty chair up for grabs.

Cue the stream of celebrities and other recognisable figures selecting their team to support. It's the Democrats verses the Republicans. In a frenzy of trying to win the hearts of all 50 states and the federal district of Washington D.C., both teams have been fighting for months. Think the UK general election but on steroids and you'll get the picture.

It's not uncommon for each side to have a pop at each other, and with the amount of ammunition available on both sides in this race: Clinton's historic interviews exposing a list of contradictions and just about anything that comes out of Trump's mouth, it's not so surprising that the digs have been personal.

Dirty tricks were first reported earlier this year, when each party revealed that both are fed up with the way the country is at the moment and both vowing to put in place fundamental changes.

But leaking emails, photos and other dirty trickery means it's beginning to feel more like a brutal obstacle race, complete with an extra-long rusty barbed-wire crawl and an extra-tall vertical wall to climb, rather than a clean and fair 100 metre sprint to the White House.

Behind the bare-knuckled campaigners

First and foremost, Trump is a businessman. He is popular among his supporters for his no nonsense approach and his very radical policies that will lead to drastic change.

His supporters believe that he is the very definition of the American success story from his triumph in the business world. But his lack of governmental experience may have landed him in a bit of a sticky situation.

If he were to become the president, he would need "an experienced person to do the part of the job that he doesn't want to do," said the chairman of Trump's presidential campaign, Paul Manafort.

With regard to Clinton, in 2001, she made it into the history books for being the first American first lady to win a seat in public office. She then went on to become Obama's Secretary of State after losing the race to gain the votes in the 2008 Democratic primaries.

Most recently, she became the first woman in U.S. history to become the presidential nominee of a major political party.

Now the battle for the empty seat is between the two head-strong characters. The ante had been raised and each party is out to expose the others' little secrets along the way to overshadow its opponents.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on weeknights at 11:35pm/10:35c on CBS. Video credit:Youtube/The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Conspiracy theories...

Some even believe that Trump is in fact a false flag with the aim to help Clinton become president. Justin Raimondo claims that Trump couldn't possibly be a Republican once you account for his political beliefs, reports blog Black Bag.

This theory was contrived as Trump was seen to have 'close ties' to both the Clintons and has, in the past, donated to her and other Democrats' campaigns.

"He also lacks the wherewithal and/or long-term funding to mount a legitimate presidential campaign," says the theorist.

Email leaks

On March 16, Wikileaks launched a searchable archive for 30,322 emails and email attachments sent to and from Clinton's private email service while she was the secretary of state.

The results uncovered emails sent to and from the DNC that the party favoured presumptive presidential nominee Hillary Clinton from the start. "He [Bernie Sanders] made a deal with the devil," Trump said after the rat race for heading up the Democrat's charge was over. Trump threw the first punch.

However, owner of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, has allegedly claimed that he is nowhere near done releasing damning information on Clinton and claims to even have proof that she inadvertently armed ISIS during her time as the secretary of state.

Nude images leaked

If you're running for president, it would be wise to not have any nude photos of your wife available to the hands of others that have the potential to cause even more controversy to your campaign.

The entirely naked collection from a photoshoot of Malania Trump, that was taken in 1995, has been leaked to the New York Post.

Well, more theories have been heard. This time, Brendan O'Connor, a writer on Gawker, told GQ Magazine that the leak came from Trump's office. Could that have been a deliberate attempt to distract the USA - and the rest of the world - from the arse whipping he received from the father of fallen Muslim soldier, Khizr Khan, as the Metro speculates?

If so, then it would also explain his recent post capturing himself eating a KFC bucket with silverware on board his private jet. It's nothing but a crass attempt to connect with the U.S's youth and lower classes.

We still have months to go before America decides upon its next president. Expect more cheap blows as all publicity is good publicity, right?

Words: Hamish Kilburn

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: President, Trump