The 2016 presidential election is finally behind us, and it was one of the most nerve-wracking, life-changing and entertaining elections in U.S. history. Through fashion, music, social media and comedy, this race to the White House was one for the history books.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has always been known for her signature pantsuits, but during this election, her wardrobe took on a new meaning for American women.
Historically, the woman’s pantsuit expresses the aspiration to defy gender norms and represents a strong woman whose place is beside a man, not behind him.
Searches for women’s pantsuits have risen 460 percent since the beginning of the year, according to lyst.com. Clinton’s die-hard supporters showed up to the polls in pantsuits to demonstrate respect for their preferred candidate.
Even Beyoncé and her backup dancers rocked the outfit during the singer’s performance at Clinton’s “Get Out the Vote” concert in Cleveland, Ohio.
Aside from Beyoncé’s amazing – and censored – performance of her hit song “Formation” at the concert, various other celebrities, especially musicians, publicly expressed their support or opposition of the candidates.
Rappers Jay Z, J. Cole, Chance the Rapper and Big Sean also performed for one of Clinton’s rallies, as did Jennifer Lopez and Katy Perry.
Perry and Lady Gaga have been two of the most vocal Clinton supporters throughout the campaign.
Though Clinton had most of Hollywood in her corner, Trump had his fair share of celebrity endorsements, including Kid Rock, Azealia Banks and Ted Nugent, who performed at one of Trump’s rallies.
Rappers YG and Nipsey Hussle expressed their disdain for Trump in their 2016 song, “FDT (F*** Donald Trump).”
Social media played possibly one of the most significant roles in the election, allowing countless citizens to weigh in on the candidates and electoral college results.
From Oct. 13 to Nov. 12, three trending Twitter hashtags made it into the top 10 of the global Top 30 Hashtags list, according to hashtagify.me. #ElectionDay was No. 10, with #ElectionNight at No. 7 and #Trump at No. 5.
Pictures of citizens wearing “I Voted” stickers also flooded social media last week, with more than 500,000 public Instagram posts and 100,000 Facebook posts featuring the “I Voted” hashtag.
For the past 18 months, comedians have had a field day with the election.
Late night comedy show hosts probably benefitted the most. Comedians like Stephen Colbert, James Corden, Jon Stewart, Samantha Bee and Trevor Noah took on the topic in multiple episodes of their respective shows.
The day after the election, Noah started off “The Daily Show” with: “If this morning you finally woke up from a coma, well, you might want to go back.”
“It’s pretty clear who ruined America: white people. I guess ruining Brooklyn was just a dry run,” Bee said on her show “Full Frontal.”
Endless election memes combined social media and comedy. Memes of Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama skyrocketed in popularity, becoming one of the top Twitter moments of the day.
There were even memes connecting Clinton’s pantsuits with pandering to the black community.
One meme, picturing Clinton in her white, black and red pantsuits next to pictures of former Death Row Records rappers Tupac, Snoop Dogg and Suge Knight in similar pantsuits, read, “We gone sit here and act like Hillary Clinton ain’t been representing Death Row Records at all three debates?”
Though the election is over and some of us are either celebrating making America great again or preparing for its impending destruction, we can all come together in enjoying the entertainment the election — and likely, Trump’s presidency — will bring.
The week after: How entertainment played a role in the presidential election
November 13, 2016
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