Republican US presidential nominee Donald Trump shakes hands with Democratic US presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at the conclusion of their first presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, US, September 26, 2016. Photo: Reuters
Hillary Clinton’s and Donald Trump’s campaigns are pulling out the big guns with just a day left for the election. In a last-ditch effort to gain voters with election day just hours away, Clinton was joined by influential celebrities such as Beyoncé and Jay-Z in Cleveland last Friday as she continues to appeal to young people while Trump attacked her, calling her an unfit military leader using the information the FBI disclosed about her email. However, the latest from the FBI clearing her of any wrongdoing with the emails, her prospects look brighter. On Sunday, FBI Director James Comey informed Congress that his agency did not find any reasons for charges against the democratic presidential nominee for her use of a private email server.
Meanwhile, Democratic and Republican volunteers are still going door to door, traveling from state to state, asking Americans to cast their candidates name in the ballot box on November 8. In a cramped phone shop at Jackson Heights, Shah Chisty, a Bangladeshi business owner and Democrat turned Republican, campaigns by talking to the customers that walk into his shop. “When people here are coming in, I explain to them the reason I am going to vote for Trump. I say Trump is a nice guy, even though he knows nothing about politics, he has a good idea by creating more industries and jobs, which is something we need,” Chisty says with enthusiasm.
The 30-year-old continues to talk about his change in political views while fiddling with a phone handed to him by a customer, “Hillary is a nice lady, but a man and woman are totally different. Trump has a manly aura, his presence is commanding, and this is very important.“Hillary looks like a mother or grandmother and in America’s current situation I think Trump is better.”Another business owner shows his support for Hillary Clinton. The 54-year-old Badsha emphatically states, “I personally campaign and sometimes I go to rallies. There was a big rally in Jamaica and sometimes in the Bronx. Hillary supports Asia and I like her personality and my family likes her too.”
People from all walks of life participate in campaigning for their favourite candidates. Reza, a Bangladeshi taxi driver in his 30s, shows support for Hillary, he explains, by attending “a rally for her. He even raised funds for her campaign, he says.“In Jackson Heights, we gave a big donation to Hillary. Around Friday night or the weekend, a lot of people come here usually to shop, and then we talk to them about Hillary.”With his arms crossed, Reza recounts his experience at the rally for Clinton, “It was good, I actually liked it. Our big brothers and uncles were with us so we got together to work for our candidate. There were around 40 to 50 Bangladeshis and they might switch their vote.
Collected from--The Daily Star
