By Carlos Micames
I think itâs fair to say that the 2016 Presidential election has been the most logic-defying, mind-blowing and basically the strangest event weâve had in years. After over a year of seeing the candidates hurl insults at each other and roll through their respective primaries, the final moment is near and reality has begun to slowly sink in, like those tequila shots you thought wouldnât do anything, but were soon left to wonder, âWhat on Earth happened?â  While this election has been full of memorable moments and spiraling ups and downs, letâs take a look at some of the main highlights:
1. Fact-checking:
Illustration via NPR
Itâs difficult to recall any previous election when fact-checking was done so frequently on both candidates. While fact-checking has been done for many years and unraveled Mitt Romneyâs run following his false â47 percent of Americans donât pay income taxâ comment, itâs hard to keep track of all the false statements that have been thrown around this election. While Secretary Clinton has undoubtedly switched stances on many positions such as the Iraq War, the TPP and NAFTA trade deals, and marriage equality, Trump has changed positions more than once in a single day on topics such as abortion, immigration, and the second amendment, all while criticizing his opponent on those same topics. All the false statements by the candidates makes it all the more difficult to use them as leverage, because there are so many. Interestingly enough, the amount of comments classified as âfalseâ by Politifact and other fact checkers basically mirror the disapproval rates of each candidate (the only two statistics where Trump is in the lead).The concept of fact-checking during the debates has never been so closely scrutinized previously and is one of the first things that makes this election so memorable.
2. Be aware of emails
Itâs difficult not to pay attention to Hillaryâs email scandal given all the coverage it has received and deservingly. At the time of Bernie Sandersâs memorable, âIâm sick and tired of hearing about these damn emails!â the situation was still in its developing stages. Thousands of emails later, the scandal is being placed into the spotlight once again. Clintonâs use of a private email server during her time as Secretary of State has been the main argument used by her opponents as the reason for why she is unfit to be President and up until now, it has worked efficiently. Every Republican candidate had a winning record over her nationally except for (remarkably), the partyâs nominee. Even Sen. Bernie Sanders tried to use it against her later in the race when the FBI continued to release them. Emails are a daily source of communication for everyday people and few have ever gotten in such major trouble for such mismanagement. However, few people represent the government as Secretary of State. The message here is clear: itâs cool to chat with your friends and professors using a private email server, but not cool for chatting with the President and other members of Congress.
3. The new political strategy: Miss Universe?
Donald Trumpâs topics of conversation are consistently called into question. Whether it was bragging about the size of his genitals during the debates, bringing up insane conspiracy theories to discredit his opponents, or grabbing women and sexually harassing them, the list never ceases to impress. Itâs like reading Keith Richardâs medical records and wondering, âhow the hell are you still alive?â Well, Trump finds a way. Whether by classifying it as a joke, absolute denial of the statement, or just by blaming someone else, Donald Trump was still in this race up until Hillary Clinton pulled out her biggest weapon to date. Alicia Machado, also known by the Republican nominee as âMiss Piggy.â  The 1996 Miss Universe was victimized by Trump for her weight immediately after winning the competition. Nonetheless, she still got off better than other Miss Universe competitors, some of which have accused Trump of sexual harassment (women who Trump has dismissed not being his “first choice,â as if that made it any better). After Machado publicly endorsed HIllary and continued to rally for her and to share her story, she became the poster-child for Donald Trump’s mistreatment of women.Â
The confessions of these women have stained Trumpâs image as a family man and severely damaged his chances with female voters, with all the female congressional Republicans cutting their support for the nominee. Trump has responded by bringing the subject of Bill Clintonâs affair with intern Monica Lewinsky back into the debate. So, instead of the last debates revolving around proposals and economic development plans, itâs been mostly discussion on which sex scandal is worst. Given how much this election resembles another television reality show, it seems fitting that it will most likely be decided by the brave words of these Miss Universe.