The Most Bizarre Political Moments Of 2015

There's no question about it: 2015 has been a strange, strange year in politics. Despite the fact that the president is a lame duck, Congress can't agree on anything, and the presidential election has only just started, the news has been filled with headlines that make me question my sanity. It's hard to single out the most bizarre political moments of 2015, since there were so many of them, but I'm going to try.

Let's get the obvious out of the way first. Donald Trump's insane presidential campaign probably amounts to at least half of why this year was such a weird time for politics. Everything about Trump's campaign — including both what he's said and done as well as the fact that he's been so successful doing it — has been positively surreal, and there's no question that he's made the 2016 Republican primary one that will be remembered for many decades to come.

But it's not just Trump. The Republican race itself has been a circus — as evidenced by the fact that they need two debate stages to hold all of the candidates — and the Democratic primary has had its share of strange, strange moments as well. Even Congress, which hasn't been doing much for the last few years, gave us at least one incredibly weird moment. Let's take a look at this last year of absurd politics.

Donald Trump Runs For President

Trump's entire 2016 political campaign — literally, all of it — has been a collection of bizarre moments. There's the time he mimed stabbing someone at a campaign rally, the absurd letter of recommendation that his doctor released, he implied Megyn Kelly was menstruating when she moderated the first GOP debate, he made clear he "wouldn't kill" journalists (it's better out of context), the fact that he rode an escalator to the podium during his announcement speech, and so, so many more.

Jim Webb Brags About Killing A Man

During the first Democratic presidential debate, the candidates were asked which enemy they'd made who they were "most proud of." With a mischievous smile on his face, Jim Webb casually referenced the time he killed an enemy soldier during the Vietnam War, and said that this was his greatest enemy. OK, then.

Lincoln Chafee Endorses Metric System

Lincoln Chafee also mounted a brief run for the presidency, and his vocal support for adopting the metric system is one of many reasons he wasn't successful. In a country that faces threats like ISIS, climate change, and gun violence, the metric system is not an issue on which the fate of the republic hangs.

Marco Rubio Sends Weird Cat Tweet

Marco Rubio sent out this tweet, which asks supporters to sign a petition if they know that "human life won't become a donkey or a cat." He was making a point about why abortion is bad, and while I think I know what he was trying to say, this was not the clearest way to say it.

Ben Carson Compares Brain Surgery To Bombing Children

During a presidential debate, Carson was asked whether he'd be willing to launch airstrikes on ISIS strongholds even if that meant killing children. He responded by saying that the children on whom he operated as a surgeon didn't like what he was doing at the time, but came to thank him later on. Therefore... what? Is he saying children he'd bomb as president would thank him later, too?

Ted Cruz Does Simpsons Impressions

In an embarrassing attempt at pandering, Ted Cruz released a video of himself doing impressions of characters from The Simpsons. The less said about this, the better. You probably shouldn't even watch that video.

GOP Gives Sincere Advice To Iran's Supreme Leader

In a last-ditch effort to scuttle the Iran nuclear deal, Republican senators wrote a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader, advising him not to sign the deal and warning that Congress might back out of it if he does. To put it differently, after spending years denouncing Iran's leader as the U.S.'s sworn enemy, a group of Republicans wrote to him warning that the U.S. was untrustworthy. This happened months ago, but I still haven't finished processing the fact that it actually happened.

Ben Carson Comes Out Against Selfies

Shortly before announcing his presidential campaign, Carson wrote a column for The Washington Post in which he denounced selfies, calling it an "absurd innovation" that promotes "obvious narcissism." A week later, Carson sent a selfie to a reporter.

Lindsey Graham Destroys A Cell Phone

After Trump read Lindsey Graham's phone number out loud at a campaign rally — another bizarre moment in 2015 — Graham responded by destroying his cell phone and releasing the video of it. The absurdity of this is a nice microcosm of the 2016 race itself.