In the final weeks of the United States of America's 2016 Presidential Election, many issues of character and safety have surfaced. From inexcusable words and actions of Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton's crisis, this election has been a mess. This presidential race has, however, been consistent: it has continued to prove the unthinkable from Donald Trump's extreme statements to the rigging of the Democratic National Convention and Hillary's fraudulent ticket to the presidency. Nevertheless, the first surprise of October occurred on October 7, 2016.
A lewd recording from 2005, of Billy Bush and Donald Trump surfaced dealing a seemingly lethal blow to the candidate's campaign. Trump, making a guest appearance on Days of Our Lives, an NBC program, stepped off his tour bus to meet with Billy Bush. Their microphones were live and Trump was recorded making sexually harassing comments, even glorifying them. In regards to Nancy O'Dell, Billy Bush's co-host at the time, Trump stated:
I moved on her, and I failed. I'll admit it. I did try and fuck her. She was married. And I moved on her very heavily. In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said, "I'll show you where they have some nice furniture." I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn't get there. And she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her, she's now got the big phony tits and everything. She's totally changed her look.
And in regard to Arianne Zucker, the star of the show that Trump and Bush were waiting for, Trump said:
"I've got to use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her. You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful—I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait. And when you're a star, they let you do it, you can do anything... Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything."
Both were direct quotes from a man who is currently involved in a tight-knit race for the presidency. These words, though spoken eleven years ago, are absolutely inexcusable. There is no way anyone can justify these words as "He's just speaking as one of the guys" or anything. Trump's direct response was:
"This was locker room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago. Bill Clinton has said far worse to me on the golf course - not even close. I apologize if anyone was offended."
Misogyny is no joking matter, not on any occasion. Misogyny is a very realistic problem in the United States and it would be absolutely unacceptable for a president to have this ingrained belief influence his thoughts. Following this incident, many women came out with allegations saying they had also been sexually harassed by the presidential hopeful. An updated list with the allegations can be found here. Trump's case as this was just "locker room talk" is beyond ridiculous. Many sports athletes responded by agreeing that this is NOT mere locker room talk. In addition, the incident did not occur in a locker room. It occurred behind the scenes of a television show while preparing for an interview. According to Trump in his statement, there is a time and place for everything; however, preparing for an interview is not the time or place. There is no way to justify these statements.
However, just as everything was falling apart around the Donald Trump campaign, October 28th brought new information.
The FBI had investigated Hillary Clinton's missing emails. Clinton's private email server containing government (top secret) information was hacked, followed by the release of thousands upon thousands of emails. Luckily for the Clinton campaign, the investigation was rather short, but this caused for much speculation. How could the leak of Former Secretary of State's over 30,000 missing emails be such a quick open-close case? Many believe that these investigations were slanted because they were not thorough; comparable to the Clinton campaign's presidential ticket, the system was rigged. When these emails were off the public's minds, just eleven days before the presidential election, the FBI re-opened this case. Though the FBI has released very little information on the rehashings of this case, new reports have surfaced involving former New York Congressmen, Anthony Weiner.Comey felt he had no choice but to tell Congress now or risk being accused of hiding relevant information before the election, law enforcement officials said in explaining the timing. The letter was "carefully worded," one of the officials said.
Clinton has suggested she has no idea what is going on in this newly opened investigation saying that she is getting the same information that the public is. Trump quickly pounced on this saying:
"Hillary Clinton's corruption is on a scale we've never seen before," Trump said at a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire. "We must not let her take her criminal scheme into the Oval Office."
Currently, there is no way to see the outcome of these recent discoveries on the campaign, but the unacceptable corruption that the Clinton campaign has built itself on is absolutely disgusting. This is dangerously close to the election, though, and may spell trouble for the campaign.
Yet another event has caused the Clinton campaign to retreat on October 28th. A major point of the Clinton campaign was that the Trump supporters were animalistic savages that would draw blood at any chance. This point was turned on it's head, however, because an African-American homeless woman protested the destruction of Trump's Hollywood star on the Walk of Fame. Previously, some brutish Clinton supporters vandalized Trump's star with a sledgehammer. Not only is this act of vandalism illegal, but it will also cost Hollywood between $3,000 and $10,000 to repair, according to Leron Gubler the President and CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
The more alarming part of this incident, however, is that a homeless African-American woman peacefully protested the destruction of this star and got brutally mauled by Clinton supporters. While protesting near the star, this woman held a sign saying, "20 million illegals and Americans sleep on the streets in tents. Vote Trump." This was totally peaceful, but it quickly became violent. This violence is ridiculous and not getting nearly enough media coverage.
Before the attack:
After the attacks:
Donald Trump had his attorney attempt to reach out to the homeless women because he had a surprise for her and her efforts. After the attacks, his attorney increased the search and tweeted things such as:
@aGirlisN0one @DiamondandSilk @realDonaldTrump Someone please help me find this woman. No person should ever be treated this way!!!
.@IamBruceRussell @natashalarebel she will ultimately have the last laugh
Trump does seem to have a reward for this woman, but only time will tell what that reward could be. Overall, these acts of violence are inexcusable and should have some backlash to the Clinton campaign, especially if not discussed by the campaign. This news does not seem to have a major impact in the media, but should certainly be looked into. Previously, the violent Trump supporters point was part of the Clinton campaign's foundation, and at this point in time, it would seem this point is hypocrisy now as all supporters have proven violent tendencies.
Overall, these two candidates are absolutely disgraceful to the highest position of this land. They are despicable people that do not truly seem like they are prepared to take on the presidency. All that is left is to do is continue being an educated voter, go vote, and watch the results.