US Elections: Rhetoric Along the Way

It's down to the wire as the United States decides its future for the next four years. Hillary Clinton vs Donald Trump. All those who have been following the news would note how bizarre these last few months have been, especially when it comes to the statements flying around. Accusations, shaming, barbs, misogyny, some racism -- the rhetoric seemed to hit a new low this election. The two candidates were in a no-holds barred match -- with Trump vowing to arrest Hillary over the email scandal, if he wins, Trump being called a bully and racist, and much more.

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In a recent statement, H R Shah, the CEO of TV Asia, a South Asian TV network in America, said that the United States is more backward than India when it comes to women leaders. A Hillary Clinton supporter, while addressing a conference held in the US by Indian Americans for Democrats and Friends of Hillary for President, he said that in a short span of 70 years of Independence, India has had a female Prime Minister (Indira Gandhi) who served in the office for 15 years, while US has had no such record in their 240-year-long free America.

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Though this was being seen as a historic moment for the US, with a woman one step away from the White House, it's not as if all women supported Hillary.

Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon made the strong statement on live TV, "I don't vote with my vagina", adding that she thinks the US has been voting the lesser of two evils for too long.

A couple of interesting pointers about the Presidential Candidates:

- Hillary Clinton has been a spokesperson for women's rights ever since she started out in her career. In one of her speeches at the United Nations, she said, "“If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, it is that human rights are women’s rights … and women’s rights are human rights. Let us not forget that among those rights are the right to speak freely, and the right to be heard."

- She was not always a Democrat. Hillary started out by supporting the Republican Party but switched her allegiance soon enough in 1968

- When Donald Trump was just 13 years old, he was sent off New York Military Academy to learn discipline.

- In 2004, Trump featured in his NBC TV show The Apprentice where he schooled ambitious young people. The show was also later renamed to The Celebrity Apprentice. Trump has also been featured in many advertisements and TV shows.

Feature Image courtesy: Dhaka Tribune

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