If you listen really closely, you can almost hear the first few notes of “Hail to the Chief”. With the 2016 Presidential Election less than 24 hours away, WordsWorth is taking a look back at last year’s Mock Primary Election (MPE).
In the 2015 MFS Mock Primary, the school’s 15th, the MFS community elected Donald Trump, portrayed by then-junior Nick Tursi, as the Republican nominee, and Bernie Sanders, portrayed by then-junior John Barton, as the Democratic nominee. While the student body correctly predicted Donald Trump’s victory in the Republican primary, they did not anticipate Hillary Clinton’s victory over Sanders on the Democratic side. Senior Rachael Whitley, who portrayed Hillary Clinton during last year’s MPE sat down with WordsWorth to discuss the impending election.
Whitley stated that she would “watch the footage of how Clinton is responding to the WikiLeaks” when asked about how she would defend the claims made of sending and deleting emails. Whitley also informed WordsWorth that she supported Clinton regardless of the fact that she had portrayed her, but noted that the process of portraying her allower her to more precisely understand her views.
Just like in real life, Donald Trump won MFS’s Republican Primary, thanks in no small part to Nick Tursi’s bombastic, well-articulated portrayal. he won the MFS Nick Tursi, the senior who portrayed him. Tursi criticized much of Trump’s handling of the general election campaign, explaining how he would have done things if he had still been portraying the candidate. Specifically, Tursi explained that he would “criticize ‘Crooked Hillary’ more and keep sharing ways on how his campaign is better for the country and make sure everyone know they are electing not just the first woman but also the first criminal as their president.”
Tursi also described the experience of being Trump as a “blast [which] enabled him to expand his horizons on Trumps views and policies”. Tursi chose not to disclose who he is supporting in the upcoming election, but when asked which candidate he would choose to portray if he could go back and do it over, he said “Trump 100%” without hesitation.
In 2008, MFS correctly predicted the results of the general election, when Barack Obama, who had won the Democratic MPE, won the General Election. With the election so close, students will soon know whether Donald Trump will continue that streak, or whether Hillary Clinton will pull out the win. With partisanship around every corner, only one thing is sure: if either Whitley or Tursi ever decide to run for President themselves, they have WordsWorth’s endorsement.
