We have The Bachelor.  We have Survivors.  We have Keeping Up With the Kardashians.   But we have just finished the greatest and most important reality TV show of 2016, our presidential election.  Yes, I know that this was an election, and it wasn’t intended to be a dramatic reality TV show, but it sure felt like I was watching one heck of an addictive program.  We had two candidates who were always getting themselves into trouble.  We had some live and heated presidential debates and speeches, giving viewers an inside look into the candidates’ behaviors and emotions.  And most importantly, we had an unscripted plot, which had every viewer riveted.  Doesn’t this already sound like the best show on television?

Now, in a reality TV show, you need interesting characters, and the 2016 presidential election seemed to have some great ones.  At first, we had lots of personalities, such as Marco, Ted, Jeb, Bernie, Gary, Jill, Donald, and Hillary.  But, after a couple of months, the election narrowed in on two candidates for president, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.  America became divided over which of these two characters would lead our country; it seemed that half of America hated Trump, while the other half hated Clinton.  Many Americans were against Trump’s ideas to change our country, and the way he spoke about certain races and religions.  But, many Americans also hated Hillary Clinton, because they disliked her link to the current White House, and labeled her as a criminal because of her email scandals.  It almost seemed that the presidential election would be about who America hated less rather than who America liked more.

There’s also a transparency in the presidential election that is similar to that of a reality TV show.  Like a show, much of the presidential campaigns were not scripted.  Sure, Trump’s and Hillary’s presidential speeches were written.  But, all of their reactions and retorts to each other’s comments appeared to be genuine.  And in the world of live TV, there aren’t redos or retakes.  This allowed us to have an unfiltered look into both of the candidate’s emotions, and their responses to each other’s remarks.  The presidential debates and campaigns are live, and their actions can’t be changed.  There’s no doubt that if they could, both candidates would take back some of the things they’d said.

And most importantly, we had the plot, which directly affected every American.  Everyone was voting for their potential president, and asking “Who will lead our country?”  Would it be Hillary Clinton, who would become the first woman president, or would it be Donald Trump, the billionaire businessman?  It was decided on Tuesday, November 8th, when the millions of ballots were counted to decide who would lead our country.  The popular vote went to Hillary Clinton.  But wait, there’s a twist.  Donald Trump won the electoral college, and the presidential election.  From the get-go, pollsters and media told America that Donald Trump didn’t have a chance, and Hillary Clinton would be our next president.  But, like a good reality TV show, there were many twists that led to a shocking ending.  And the reality show continues.  Outcries on social media and on the streets of America called out for Hillary Clinton to replace Donald Trump, but ultimately, they’re powerless.  America has decided that Donald Trump would be a better candidate to lead America.  And all of the controversy, campaigning, and debates among Americans made this election the greatest reality TV show in history.  As a viewer of this program, I’m sure there’s a lot more to come, and I can’t wait to see what comes next.