US election 2016: daily dig from campaign trail

With just 27 days to go until Americans go to the polls, here’s a daily election dig, including why Obama smelled his hand, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg leans out, and the undying loathing of the Hillary haters.

Donald Trump launched a war on two fronts, opening up a Twitter blitzkrieg on a “weak and effective” Republican grandee, amid an establishment revolt at his hostile takeover of their party, even while his left flank is harried by Hillary Clinton. His campaign released a 30-second ad, titled Dangerous, depicting his Democratic election opponent as too feeble to be president. At a rally in North Carolina, President Barack Obama said Trump was not even fit to get a job at 7-Eleven. The crowd lapped it up like one of the store’s Slurpees. Obama also sniffed his own hand to make fun of a radio host’s claim that he smells of sulphur. Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta said the FBI was investigating the hack of his emails, published by WikiLeaks.

The BBC examines how the politics of fear are being used more than ever by both sides in this US election to exploit the Xanax-popping anxieties of American voters.

Source: BBC