As uncomplimentary facts and myths abound about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, many U.S. voters have found it difficult to throw their support behind either of the major-party candidates, each of whom, they say, is just as bad as the other. But there's a glaring problem with comparing Trump and Clinton, as Pathfinder co-creator James L. Sutter's viral Lord Of The Rings election tweet points out.
The only fault attackers can find with Clinton is the same one Bernie Sanders said everyone was "sick and tired of hearing about": her damn emails. That was more than a year ago, by the way, when Senator Sanders was still in the race to become the Democratic Party's presidential nominee.
Yet we're still talking about her emails, despite the fact that investigations cleared the former Secretary of State of any wrongdoing in her use of a private server, not to mention the myriad fruitless Benghazi hearings. Ten days before Election Day, FBI Director James Comey broke U.S. Department of Justice policy to announce that the Bureau would be looking at emails found on Anthony Weiner's computer. Weiner was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1999 to 2011 for New York's 9th congressional district, and is the estranged husband of Huma Abedin, the Clinton campaign's vice chairwoman.
Donald Trump, on the other hand:
- has been accused of sexual assault and sexual harassment by more than 20 different women
- has bragged about committing sexual assault
- will stand trial for allegedgly raping a 13-year-old girl
- fueled the "birther" movement against President Obama, then lied about it
- mocked a reporter with disabilities
- called Mexicans drug dealers, criminals, and racists
- said Muslims should be banned from entering the U.S. because of their religion
- launched an unrelenting attack on the parents of a fallen soldier
- claimed John McCain was "not a war hero" because he was a POW
- said he'd force the U.S. military to carry out illegal orders
- encouraged his supporters to intimidate non-white voters at the polls
- has been endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party
Seriously, folks, there is no comparison between Trump and Clinton, and Sutter isn't the only one to expose that fact. Chrissy Teigen slammed Clinton opponents who tried to compare Trump's child-rape charges to anything on the former Secretary of State's record. On Wednesday, Seth Meyers launched into a chronological list of the GOP nominee's racist, sexist, ableist, and xenophobic moments during his Late Night segment, "A Closer Look."
American politics have been nearly insufferable for a while now, but much of what has happened in this election cycle is unprecedented. Trump has been unclear about his willingness to concede the presidency to Clinton if he loses on Nov. 8, and has suggested repeatedly that the election is rigged in his opponent's favor, a claim that has led to actual voter fraud in addition to the intimidation tactics mentioned above. Not only have the fruits of Trump's rhetoric brought a lawsuit down on the GOP, but they've also sowed very real fears of a "total war," regardless of the Election Day outcome.
Sutter offered a reality check to help ease the pain felt by those who aren't enthused about voting for Clinton, and expounded on the effects of his LOTR election tweet, as well as what Trump supporters' reactions say about them.
The LOTR election tweet was such a success that Red State Dems memeified it, and no less than George Takei tweeted the image.
The 2016 general election takes place on Nov. 8. Find out if you're registered and where you should vote by clicking here.
Image: New Line Cinema
