At the debate last week, Donald Trump begrudgingly said the thing he most admired about his opponent Hillary Clinton was that she never gives up, that she has stamina – that she is a real fighter and doesn’t quit. Now seemingly realising that this is an incredibly important trait for voters considering their choice in the November vote, and that the American Dream is best pursued with the same qualities, he is now scrambling to throw shade on this perceived compliment. “I think she’s actually getting pumped up, if you want to know the truth”, said Trump in a campaign rally. “I think we should take a drug test prior to the debate”, he went on to say. The video can be viewed here:

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He then suggested that at the beginning of the last debate Clinton was energised and ready to go, but toward the end she was running out of steam. With the meteoric rise of prescription drugs like Adderall in the USA – which many every day people use to boost their performance in exams, stressful careers or in any environment that requires heightened concentration – this cheeky assertion, despite no evidence to support it, is a clever move. It’s surely not out of the realm of possibility in voters’ minds, but does it matter to them?

Sexism, yet again By suggesting that Hillary is either unwell, or is requiring a medical boost to get through this campaign, Trump is attempting to tap into a latent misogyny that has existed in American society – the idea that women are not physiologically cut out to handle such pressure. Bookmakers have 25/1 odds for Hillary Clinton failing the drug test that Trump is demanding they both take. Of course, some of this diversion might be due to the fact that many eyebrows have been raised over his constant sniffing, through both debates.