Clinton, Trump ready for final showdown

Once more history is being scripted in the US election. Eight years ago, an African American young Senator, Barrack Obama, cruised to the Oval House. Now Hillary Clinton claimed victory on Tuesday over rival Bernie Sanders in the Democratic White House nomination race.
If she defeats Donald Trump in November, Clinton will become the first female president of America. While basking in her victory, she sets her eye on Senator Bernie Sanders in an attempt to unite the party ahead of the convention.
After the Tuesday results, Senator Sanders is under increasing pressure from his colleagues in the Senate to stand down and give up any notion of fighting further. Yet, this is done in a cool manner to avoid alienating the supporters he has galvanised.
President Obama sent a clear signal that the Democratic race is over. He congratulated Clinton for securing the number of delegates needed for the nomination and agreed to meet challenger Sanders on Thursday to advise him to concede.
“I want to congratulate Senator Sanders for an extraordinary campaign,” Clinton said. “Let there be no mistake, Senator Sanders, his campaign, and the vigorous debate that we’ve had about how to raise income, reduce inequality, increase upward mobility, have been very good for the Democratic Party and for America.”
Given her experience, Clinton would run a solid and competent campaign against Trump. The US in particular and the world in general would watch exciting campaigns that could degenerate into personal scathing attacks. For Clinton “Donald Trump is temperamentally unfit to be president and commander in chief”.
Surprisingly, most of Senator Sanders voters are feminists. As the first woman candidate, Clinton is keen to play on this card — earlier the better. She also wants to reach out to independents and weak Republicans who are put off by Trump’s bullying tone — many of whom are women. Moreover, 80 per cent of the democrat liberals who supported Obama back Sanders. Therefore, even out of the race, his support for Clinton is crucial.
Leaving aside the Republican Party divisions over their nominee, Trump seeks to exploit differences among Democrats, telling voters who had supported Sanders but were now “left out in the cold by a rigged system” in the Democratic race to consider backing his campaign.
“To all of those Bernie Sanders voters who have been left out in the cold by a rigged system of super delegates, we welcome you with open arms,” Trump said, referring to the party bigwigs and elected Democratic officials who can vote for any candidate at the convention.
The billionaire real estate tycoon has been under extreme pressure from fellow Republicans for a series of attacks he has made against a Mexican-American federal judge. Leaders of Trump’s own Republican Party, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, described that as textbook racism.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell urged the presumptive Republican nominee to “quit attacking… various minority groups in the country and get on message. The party leaders are worried about Trump’s rhetoric that could scare away voters.
In one of his fierce attacks, Trump said the last thing we need is Hillary Clinton in the White House – an extension of the Obama disaster.” The campaign trail will be very interesting. Trump will use whatever means to smear Clinton, who will fight back with tenacity.