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Trump August 19 , 2015 ( cropped ). Hillary Clinton by Gage Skidmore ( Creative Commons )
“ On Election Day it was finally time to end this dreadful campaign season by selecting the next
U . S . President .”
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Giovan Soares ‘ 19
Wikimedia Common Fair Use
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Giovan Soares ‘ 19 Copy Editor
The 2016 election season started off as expected with Hillary Clinton , the former secretary of state , senator and first lady returning to run for the Democratic Party ' s nominee for president , while former Florida Governor Jeb Bush seemed like the most likely front-runner among numerous candidates on the Republican side . Instead , Senator Bernie Sanders did really well against Clinton throughout the primaries ; and Bush , and all the others , were completely annihilated by Donald J . Trump .
The Republicans held their convention first ( Cleveland ), and it was not without controversy . Highlights included Melania Trump ’ s obvious theft of portions of Michelle Obama ' s 2012 convention speech . Then , former candidate Senator Ted Cruz did not endorse Mr . Trump , which resulted in his getting booed off the stage and Trump Tweeting that he knew what was in Cruz ' s speech , but didn ' t care . And , although , the Black Lives Matter vs All Lives Matter issue was in the forefront and the " Never Trump " movement tried to be heard , they failed to make a significant impact . Opponents mocked the convention at every level .
The Democratic Convention ( Philadelphia ), it seemed , only had to be more restrained than its republican predecessor . However , on its first day , emails were released that showed Democratic National Committee , chairwoman Debby Wasserman- Schultz never considered Sanders a threat , and as the primaries went on , there was some internal discussion as to how to stop Sanders ’ momentum . These included , but were not limited to targeting his religion , calling him a liar and saying that he had no understanding of the workings of the Democratic Party . This called the entire primary season into question and sparked protests among Sanders ’ supporters . The situation calmed down towards the end of the convention , but
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the earlier controversy was not lost or forgotten by Sanders supporters even after Sanders held firm in his endorsement of Clinton .
For the duration of the election , polls showed Clinton ahead of all of her opponents , and nothing seemed to diminish that except for the persistent controversy over her emails when she was secretary of state . No matter what Clinton did , they were a consistent point of discussion , and they never went away . Not even her comments about Trump ’ s supporters being in what she called a “ basket of deplorables ” hurt her as much . However , if there was one thing that could be said about the emails , it was that WikiLeaks made them much worse for Clinton than they would have been otherwise . Every time they released new emails , Clinton dipped regardless of what was in them .
Then there were the DNC emails , the John Podesta emails , Clinton ’ s own emails , and the last nail in the coffin , Anthony Wiener emails . It is important to remember that the contents of these emails did not seem to have anything important in them . The DNC emails talked of ways they wanted to take down Sanders , but none of those things were used against him . The Podesta emails revealed his secret pasta recipe , and the worst thing in Clinton ’ s emails concerned the Clinton Foundation and their potential abuse of government power , but nothing illegal . Finally , Wiener ’ s emails had nothing important in them .
Trump was also subject of controversy with claims that he said that all Mexicans were rapists ( which he did not ) and that he was going to ban all Muslims from entering the country ( something that he also did not say ). However , despite his plans to build a wall , the refusal to release his tax returns , the insulting of Rosie O ’ Donnell , his plans to limit journalism that insulted him , the fraudulent activities of his failed Trump University , and his nefarious statement that he was going to put Mrs . Clinton , in jail ; the biggest fallout came from something he didn ’ t even say during the campaign . It came from a conversation he had with Billy Bush on an Access Hollywood tour bus
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in 2005 , where he made sexually devious comments alluding to sexually assaulting women he comes in contact with . After the recording came out Trump dipped in the polls and was basically abandoned by his party . Also with the release of the tape several women came out and accused Trump of sexually assaulting them , which he vehemently denies .
On Election Day it was finally time to end this dreadful campaign season by selecting the next U . S . president . It was a day full of both certainty and uncertainty . Clinton supporters were certain that she would win ; Trump supporters were certain that he would win . But , the rest of the world was uncertain . Whoever won would have to work with world leaders to combat global problems .
When the day ended , and despite all predictions , Trump was ahead . Democrats were ready to count their chickens when , suddenly , Trump won Florida . They were somewhat reassured when Clinton won some western states including Nevada , but then Trump won South Carolina , Oklahoma , Arizona , North Dakota , Texas , South Dakota and Michigan ; pulling him far ahead of Clinton . But , the final nail in the coffin when Pennsylvania fell to Trump , assuring Trumps victory .
Following the election results riots and protests sprang up around the country with Clinton supporters , in a very hypocritical turn , refusing to accept Trump as president . Previously , they criticized him for avoiding saying whether or not he would accept the results of the election .
No one knows where the country or the rest of the world will go from here , but we can all be certain that Donald J . Trump is president , and unless something unforeseen happens , that is how it will be for at least the next four years . So , hopefully the country can reunite . And , whether it accepts President Trump or not , it can face the future with its head held high .
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