One event can be seen in many different ways — especially when it comes to politics. CNN put this theory to the test during a visit to the College of Charleston in South Carolina.
Students who stopped by the CNN-Facebook #campaigncamper were shown five of the most notable moments from the 2016 election cycle involving Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Jeb Bush and President Obama. They were asked to watch the clips and react. What followed were myriad responses ranging from shock and laughter to plenty of eye rolls.
The students included Democrats, Republicans, independents and the politically unaffiliated. Sometimes they saw eye-to-eye with candidates from different parties.
After watching Republican candidate Carson defend his remarks to a reporter that Joseph from the Bible built the pyramids, Jazmine Gladden, a Democrat, said she respected his response.
“I like Carson. I mean, he stands for his religious beliefs. I know I’m religious too. So that gives us, this nation, a little something to go back to: ‘One nation under god,'” said Gladden.
South Carolina is an early primary state. The students at the College of Charleston say they have seen many candidates come to town and have heard their share of campaign ads.
“For college students to get involved now is important,” said Dustin Hacker, a Democrat, who has seen all three Democratic presidential candidates speak. “It’s the first primary in the south and it’s the third primary that goes, so it’s definitely an important state.”
A moment during marathon congressional questioning of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the Benghazi terror attacks split the crowd along party lines.
“I think she seems pretty entitled,” said Mary Margaret Artman, a Republican.
Hacker, the Democrat, said, “They should be talking about the real issues.”
Some students, like Erin Dempsey, who is unaffiliated, thought many of the remarks in the clips just added to the “reality show circus nature” of the election.
“There’s a side of me that thinks it’s great that candidates and political leaders seem so human, but then there’s a side of me that’s kind of frustrated,” said Dempsey. “It can be kind of frustrating and kind of funny at the same time.”
