The 2016 Presidential Elections in the United States is scheduled on November 8. This will be the 28th quadrennial polls in the US. Primaries are being held between February 1st and June among the 50 American States, US territories and the District of Columbia. The process of nomination is an indirect election. Voters cast their ballots for a line-up of delegates to the convention which in turn elects the presidential nominee of the party. It has become standard for major candidates from the Republican and Democratic parties to engage in public debates. Topics include the most contentious issues happening in the USA and globally. The debate is not a constitutional mandate but a de facto process in the elections. Said discussions are staged late during the election cycle after the nomination of respective political aspirants. These are frequently held in large halls such as universities and televised to help the electorate make their decisions.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump

The two main protagonists are Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Trump is the controversial billionaire who is the most prominent among Republican candidates. Hillary Clinton is the wife of former President Bill Clinton. She also served as Senator and President Barack Obama’s Secretary of State. Clinton was runner-up in the 2008 primaries of the Democratic Party. Both politicians are the leaders in their respective parties’ nomination for President. Hillary supported President Obama’s decision to use force versus Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. She later admitted that it was a flawed decision after public opinion ruled against the military occupation. On the contrary, Donald Trump was a candid critic of the war in Iraq. Hillary was against the Constitutional Right for gay people until last year. Trump has been pressing the US Congress since February of 2000 to revise the Civil Rights Act and give more protection to gays. The Republican stalwart calls the Trans-Pacific Partnership (trade accord) which his adversary helped negotiate as a disastrous deal. Clinton lauded the concord before assuming an unclear perspective after claiming that announcing that she was not amenable to the TPP in October of 2015.

Trump’s Interracial Remarks

Public opinion ruled that Donald Trump committed a serious mistake by attacking the dignity of Mexican immigrants. As a result, many private enterprises severed their relationships with the business mogul. In his speech, he compared immigrants from Mexico to rapists, Afterward; he included migrants from Latin and South American countries. Trump also maintained that the government of Mexico sends their convicts to the United States on purpose. He stood firm that Latino immigrants raped their victims even after CNN host Don Lemon clarified that around 80% of girls and women were molested by gangs, human smugglers and government authorities. The outspoken billionaire also made another hate speech by saying that one of his policies is to prohibit all Muslims from going into the United States for an indefinite period. This was his reaction to the shooting incident in San Bernardino, California where 14 innocent people were killed. The Federal Bureau of Investigation called this a brazen act of terrorism and the two perpetrators were agitated by the ISIS. Trump stuck to his claims and even declared his desire for American Muslims to turn bad. As a consequence President Obama decided to make a visit to a Muslim mosque (Islamic Society of Baltimore) and reproached uncalled-for political expression against American Muslims. The President lamented the fact that these innocent people are often condemned for the bad acts of a handful of Islamic supporters. He said that American citizens possess the right to rebuff discrimination just as Muslims worldwide have assailed ideologies of extremists.

What happens to these candidates?

The primaries are forthcoming and the foremost aspirants are those who have earned the nod of voters will likely fight for the US presidency. Donald trump dominates the Republicans but left-wing Senator Bernie Sanders is pulling abreast of Hillary Clinton regarding issues of firearms and inequity of income. Senator Ted Cruz is next to Trump in the Republican field. However, Senators Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio still have to gain some headway. It is a toss-up among the central characters and the one who will make an impact will be the successor to President Obama.