Chelsea Clinton's Baby Could Change The Election

The 2016 presidential election has been a dramatic mess. With sexist comments from Donald Trump, a Twitter war pitting Trump's wife against Ted Cruz's wife, and an alleged sex scandal involving Cruz and some of his campaign aides (which never came to fruition), the current election hasn't exactly been family-friendly. But if you've been following the Democrats, you've likely seen Hillary Clinton's pregnant daughter, Chelsea, stumping for her on the campaign trail. Chelsea Clinton's due date could help Clinton's campaign because the baby should arrive this summer right before the general election.

Although the exact due date hasn't been released, Chelsea's baby will arrive in time to see if Clinton is elected president. Chelsea tweeted her baby announcement in December, which means her second child should be born sometime between May and August. "Next summer, Charlotte is going to be a big sister! Feeling very blessed & grateful this holiday season," Chelsea wrote in the tweet.

I've never liked when people focused on things like family, relationships, appearances, and pregnancies when it comes to women politicians. However, the birth of Chelsea's second child could help Clinton's campaign because it might make voters view her as more approachable, friendly, and understanding of the average person — all criticisms Clinton has received that question her personality.

Chelsea's pregnancy could boost Clinton's perception among critics and supporters alike. Clinton has been criticized for being shrill and her campaign has strategized to make her more likable. Douglas Brinkley, a history professor at Rice University, told the Wall Street Journal, “She needs to try to humanize herself, because in some ways she’s kind of become a cardboard cutout figure." Well, last time I (and Clinton, probably) checked, cardboard cutouts couldn't be loving grandmothers! And that's where Chelsea's second child, who just might be the key to his or her grandmother's presidential success, will come in. Eventually.

Jay Newtown-Small, Time's Washington correspondent and an author, told E! News that Chelsea's baby and pregnancy might help solve the issues Clinton has had with positive perception. "For Hillary, her big challenge has been to seem like somebody of the people, to seem approachable, to seem like a normal person, frankly," Newton-Small said.

Clinton can presumably improve her image just by talking about being a grandmother and being open about her family while giving stump speeches on the campaign trail. Because Clinton has been in the political spotlight for decades and has been followed around by Secret Service for more than 20 years, Newton-Small told E! News that simply projecting this image of being a grandmother would be beneficial for Clinton:

Having her granddaughter around, talking about her daughter being pregnant and being a grandmother, that certainly makes her approachable, makes her relatable to a lot of women. So that can be quite helpful to her.

In fact, the first three descriptors on Clinton's Twitter bio are: "wife, mom, grandma," which is another way the presidential hopeful has advocated her more personable side. Clinton has used her Twitter to share messages about being a grandmother, which have been successful in garnering thousands of likes and retweets.

The arrival of Chelsea's second child this summer could help improve Clinton's perception among voters. If the newest Clinton baby is born in August, that would leave only three months (or less!) until the Nov. 8 general election; Chelsea would undoubtedly be busy taking care of her newborn in those months, so perhaps if Clinton uses that time to talk about her family values and what it's like being a grandmother to Chelsea's second child, then voters and critics would get a glimpse of her human side and view her as less of a politician.