Well, it has been a wild ride this US presidential election. The world has watched on in awe of a campaign period fraught with scandals, big claims, hilarious banter and pure ridiculousness.
In fact, it’s been so eventful that we bet the good people at Saturday Night Live have been cheering each step of the way at having all of their material written for them.
Here are just some of the most memorable moments that defined this fascinating US election…
1. The ‘pussy-grabbing’ scandal.
Despite all of the many times Trump has shown the world how little he respects women, it took an actual video of him literally saying he grabs women ‘by the pussy’ if he wants to for people to pay attention. This could have been the pivotal moment that derailed his campaign for many voters, and it will be something they remember when they hit the booths.
2. Hillary Clinton’s emails
This may have been one of the most flogged arguments used against Hillary throughout the campaign period. “Where are the 33,000 emails that you deleted?” we heard Trump, and the world, ask. Though the FBI cleared her name in July, and cleared it again in the past week after the investigation was reopened, she is still facing scrutiny about it.
Even her competitor Bernie Sanders expressed his frustration about how much attention she’d got for it in 2015: “The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails.”
3. Melania Trump stealing quotes from other people’s speeches
Back in July Melania Trump created a media storm when she gave a speech that was eerily similar to one that First Lady Michelle Obama gave in 2008. But just last week she did it again! She has also faced criticism for suggesting we fight against cyber bullying, when Donald Trump’s tweets are very targeted and aggressive.
4. SNL’s brutal political satire of both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton
One of the most enjoyable parts of watching the US presidential debates was seeing Alec Baldwin’s perfect portrayal of Donald Trump’s sexist, racist and just plain ridiculous antics the next weekend. Kate Mckinnon also delivered a fascinating portrayal of Hillary Clinton as calculated, smug and stiff.
5. The time Hillary Clinton called Trump supporters ‘deplorables’
At a fundraiser in September, Hillary Clinton said Trump supporters could be lumped in to a ‘basket of deplorables’, meaning people who were “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic”. This resulted in a lot of backlash – particularly from Trump supporters, understandably!
6. When Trump said he would ‘build a wall’ between the US and Mexico… and get Mexico to pay for it
Trump lost a lot of Latino votes early on in the campaign trail when he compared Mexican and South American immigrants to ‘criminals’ and ‘rapists’. But things got even more ridiculous when he started going on about ‘the wall’ he was going to build. So ridiculous in fact, that comedian John Oliver felt the need to break down why it was a terrible (and impractical) idea in a 20-minute segment on Last Week Tonight.
7. When Michelle Obama gave Hillary a powerful presidential endorsement that will go down in history
While it is unusual for the current presidential family to make an endorsement of an upcoming candidate in the US, Michelle Obama pointed out that this is no ordinary election. She said that there was only one candidate that she believes has the capability to leave something better for her children and be a proper role model, and that was Hillary Clinton. The speech left many people wondering: “So… when is Michelle Obama running for president?”
8. When Trump called Hillary Clinton a ‘nasty woman’
At the third presidential debate, Trump jibed that Hillary was “such a nasty woman”. It’s an insult a lot of women related to – one that is often used when women speak out, act assertively and hold people accountable for their actions. But women weren’t deterred by it – in fact they claimed it for themselves, and now there are t-shirts!
9. The look of sheer joy on Bill Clinton’s face when balloons fell at the DNC
It has been rather refreshing to see a husband by the side of his wife in the race for the presidential election, and we hope that his look of joy at these balloons will be echoed if Hillary wins tomorrow!
We will know the results of the election by lunchtime at the earliest November 9 Australia time, or nighttime at the latest.
