It’s been ten years since the infamous 2016 Presidential Election, and it is still widely regarded as one of the most controversial elections of all time. The election featured candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, and the tension between the two candidates was very apparent to say the least. From fiery presidential debates where the two threw character-assassinating allegations at one another to the biased coverage of the campaign by the media, the entire election was doomed from the very beginning. The reputation of both Trump and Clinton were completely destroyed after a series of damning and incriminating accusations, and the political landscape of the U.S. had never been more divided.
It truly felt like the 2016 Election was a loss for everyone—literally. I mean, both candidates got their names absolutely dragged through the mud, half of the country was completely dissatisfied with the result, and the Russian influence on the election served as a testament to the lack of internal security within our country.
One of the biggest buzzwords of the election, however, was the Pizzagate allegation—I know right, what could be so bad about pizza? Pizzagate was a conspiracy theory that took place during the campaign, and alleged that a pizza restaurant was the site of a child sex trafficking ring. The theory began through a series of leaked and reportedly hacked emails that were sent from the Democratic party. The rumor was quickly written off as fake news and misinformation intended to get Americans to vote in favor of the Republican Party. The leaked emails seemingly got the job done for the Republican party as they played a contributing role in the result of the election. In the end, Donald Trump conquered triumph and won the election to become the new U.S. president.
Besides the damaging allegations that were thrown out, the media coverage also played a major factor in the election. The news outlets served as a tale of two different propagandas as CNN covered news that was in favor of the Democratic Party while FOX news covered media that showed support for the Republican Party. The news sources even condemned one another, further cementing the division between the two parties and creating even greater complications for the viewers at home. The polarities in the coverage of these networks forced people to pick a side and shaped the perceptions of the presidential candidates quite significantly.
Some found the chaos that this election displayed to be entertaining…and I will admit—in some ways, it was. However, it marked an evident separation within our country and showed how desperate different outlets were willing to be to influence the decisions of the people. It remains to be one of the most talked about elections in American history, and many of the allegations that were revealed during the time are being revived in the current political climate.
