Through a series of maneuvers, coupled with the deaths of several key witnesses, Hillary once again stabilized the situation.
It must be said that having grown up in the US political environment, Hillary was—thoroughly dirty, ruthless, and vicious—absolutely deserving of the title "iron lady."
To pull Sanders' supporters under her banner, Hillary did not hesitate to abandon some of her own political stances and sacrifice a portion of Wall Street's interests.
During the weekend meeting where Democratic leaders formulated the party's campaign platform, Hillary accepted 80% of Sanders' proposals, making compromises to the more radical Sanders on issues like the minimum wage, social security, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Hillary's compromise was necessary. Sanders, born into a long-standing political family, had consistently attracted the lower-class populace by advocating for environmental protection and his political ideology, garnering a group of loyal followers.
After Sanders reversed his position and declared support for Hillary, many of his fans expressed "opposition," shouting "No way!" at rallies.
In on-the-spot interviews by CNN reporters, some agitated Sanders supporters stated they could never accept Hillary becoming president. Even if Sanders withdrew, they would still write in Sanders' name and vote for him when casting their ballots.
In response to this, Republican candidate Donald Trump tweeted about the Democratic alliance, calling it Sanders betraying his supporters. He stated he would "open his arms" to welcome Sanders' supporters and continue opposing "unfair trade agreements and global special interests."
...
On July 17th, Trump chose his running mate—Indiana Governor Mike Pence.
The shortlist for Trump's VP included many: former House Speaker, Republican establishment figure Newt Gingrich; New Jersey Governor Chris Christie; leader of his national security policy advisory team, Senator Jeff Sessions; Tennessee Senator Bob Corker; and Indiana Governor Mike Pence, among others.
The most favored were Newt Gingrich and Chris Christie. Most people didn't expect Trump to choose Mike Pence.
Actually, before making this choice, Trump had sought Martin opinion.
Martin asked in return: "Do you want to choose a deeply experienced establishment figure to make yourself a puppet, or do you want to choose a deputy with rich executive experience to assist you as Vice President?"
Trump had a sudden epiphany; this guy was pretty sharp.
Subsequently, Trump's team lead for public relations, Ivanka, told the media, "Mr. Trump has his own set of criteria for selecting a running mate. Because he himself has always been called an 'outsider,' he tends to prefer someone with rich experience and influence within the Washington political circle, or someone with close ties to the 'establishment' within the Republican Party, to complement his style. However, Mr. Trump also doesn't want a partner with too high a prestige overshadowing him, so Mr. Mike Pence is the most suitable person."
Trump later admitted: "Yes, I am a 'novice' in dealing with Congress. I need experienced help, but I also need to keep presidential power firmly in my hands to avoid being a figurehead and unable to implement the policies I truly want to promote."
Such a blunt expression of his desire for power was a first in a presidential election, on the contrary giving voter groups a refreshingly new feeling.
From this perspective, Mike Pence's rich experience and lack of intense power-hunger became particularly attractive to Trump.
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On July 19th, Hillary was interviewed by the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). When asked if she "planned to apologize to the nation," Hillary on the spot refused, stating, "It's all a conspiracy. I made no mistakes."
Previously, US media had unanimously predicted: "Hillary will not apologize for the email issue, because apologizing would mean admitting those things were done by her and her husband. Once admitted, she would not only immediately lose her qualification to run for president but would likely also pay the price of losing her political career."
Clearly, Hillary was prepared to tough it out to the end—As long as I don't admit it, as long as you have no solid evidence, then I didn't do these things.
What? You say the emails are evidence? Who can guarantee those emails aren't forged?
What? You say those witnesses died? Weren't they all due to illness, suicide, or accidents?
In the original timeline, although Hillary, who stubbornly held out to the end, did noget her wish become the US commander-in-chief, she still remained active on the US political stage.
However, at this moment, she was being pinned down by Trump's big mouth on her sore spots, constantly being hit where it hurt.
From the Whitewater controversy to the Monica Lewinsky affair, from Vince Foster's death to travel office firings, from the mysterious paid speeches to the private email server...
Trump tirelessly repeated the Clintons' scandals again and again to impress upon the American people, proving Hillary was untrustworthy and unfit to lead the US into the future in this era of upheaval.
An angry Hillary even said to her husband at home: "Can't we just deal with this nobody?"
But Clinton said with a serious face: "Heh, that's impossible. Trump isn't like those small fries. His family has significant influence in the business energy sector. Moreover, this guy is your direct competitor. If he dies, everyone would suspect us."
Then Clinton added: "Your mind is confused. Trump is just using language to smear you. You don't need to care at all. You must insist that those things weren't done by you. Rest assured, I will help you behind the scenes. What you need to do now is similarly grab that guy's sore spots and remind the public again and again."
Clinton had originally decided to reduce the resources invested in his wife's campaign. Unexpectedly, the "Email" incident suddenly erupted. If Hillary weren't his legal wife, if the two weren't so deeply intertwined that they couldn't be separated, he would have already abandoned her to save himself. Now, he had no choice but to increase investment in his wife again to help her through this hurdle.
"Damn it, if I find out who is behind this incident, I will definitely not let them off easy."
Clinton gritted his teeth.
He was furious too!
He still hadn't considered Trump himself, even though this guy was the direct beneficiary, because he didn't believe Trump had such capability and energy.
The storm stirred up by the "Email" leak was too great. Many media outlets participated in fueling it. Even using family connections couldn't suppress it. There was absolutely a huge force manipulating things behind the scenes—something the Trump family couldn't achieve.