The Culture War in Politics - Check Your App Store

by Kim D.

There is no such thing as bad publicity. Donald Trump and the phenomenon that is his 2016 presidential campaign proves this hackneyed cliche ad nauseam. If rumors prove to be true that Bill Clinton called Trump early last year and encouraged him to get into the Republican race for the White House to rip apart the GOP, this may be the best political move made in my lifetime or in my parents' for that matter.

This would even "trump" the effort made by Ross Perot's third-party run in 1992. Perhaps Donald learned well from Perot's effort to thwart an election. Instead of running as an Independent (which has never worked), instead Trump may be taking the Alinsky route and changing a party by first infiltrating and infecting it. For every claim Trump touts to his credit, dozens surface to counteract and shed serious doubt that he "is" what he says he "is," yet for many fed-up Americans it doesn't matter.

Trump, with his reality show celebrity, YUGE name recognition, and anti political rhetoric, has fueled the power of the angered masses to give a one-fingered salute to what is considered establishment politics. When Trump, on the rare occasion, sounds presidential, touting his ideas on ending the problem of illegal immigration, his supporters and skeptics love him. When he trash talks and spews idiotic talking points, slinging a frillion jabs in the hopes that at least one or two punches land, his supporters still love him, even though it is a pinch to the arms of skeptics who remember why they originally believed they could never support such a candidacy. Trump, for better or worse, is on every tongue and every media outlet 24/7. There simply is no escape.

To prove this point, I went to the Apple store to see which candidates were the focus of political apps. Each candidate has his or her own app which connects supporters to campaign updates. But how many use each candidate as a central figure to promote an idea or a game? Three: Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump. No Jeb, Cruz, Rubio, or Kasich.

Hillary Clinton: Aside from her Clinton 2016 official campaign app, here are my top five picks:

• "Hillary Runs" is  described as Hillary meets Mario Brothers, as the candidate races across the country thwarting all obstacles to capturing the White House (each download provides $1 toward the Hillary campaign: cost $1.99 - 5 stars).
• "Avoid Hillary" is described as an arcade game in which the player must simply elude Clinton (this app is free and has a 5-star rating).
• "#ImWithHer" is basically a social app connecting harpy feminists (free app with zero ratings).
• "Laughing Box for Hillary" simply lets the user enjoy or be annoyed by the many laughs of the candidate (free, zero reviews).
• "Smack a Clinton" is exactly how it sounds - take out some aggression by seeing how many times you can whack Hillary in 30 seconds (cost is $1.99 - no ratings or reviews).

Bernie Sanders: It is increasingly becoming more believable that Feel the Bern may have a decent shot at thwarting the Hillary machine as there are so many Bernie apps, I had a difficult time with my top five picks:

• "Bernie Selfie" allows the user to take a selfie with senator's crazy hair and glasses (free - 4 1/2 star rating).
• "Berniemoji" lets supporters jazz up messages with a variety of Bernie facial expressions (free - 3 stars).
• "Feel the Bern" lets you burn the corporate rich guys and bring the country back to the little people (free - 4 stars).
• "Super Bernie" is the ultimate revolution allowing users to take out pollutants, bad trade deals, and inequality (free - no ratings or reviews).
• "Flappy Bern" substitutes the bird with Bernie as the user helps him get to DC to claim the White House (free - no ratings or reviews).

Donald Trump: Putting aside all the business (casino and golf) and serious campaign apps, a plethora of Trump choices make my top 5 rather difficult:

• "Trump Dump" is described as flappy birdish with Trump featured as a turd. The challenge is to beat the wall and dump on Trump (free - 4 1/2 star rating).
• "TRUMP Yo'Self! Make Your Hair Great Again" - take a selfie and add a Trump comb over or add one to any photo in your collection (free - 4 stars).
• "Funny Donald" - Trump friends by adding the hair and assigning one of his famous or infamous quotes (free - no rating).
• "You Got Trumped" promises to help the user regain mojo and get a job, featuring advice for negotiating, winning, arguing, etc (free - 5 stars).
• "Trump Trump" basically filters and blocks web information and pictures featuring Donald Trump for those sick of reading about the great toupeed one (free - no rating).