10 Of The Strangest Conspiracy Theories About The 2016 US Election

This year’s race to become President of the United States is a bit of an odd one for many reasons.

Who could have predicted even last year that billionaire businessman and former Apprentice guru Donald Trump would be the official Republican candidate?

And who could have even predicted that some see him as the favourite to win - especially against former First lady Hillary Clinton?

But there are some even stranger things surrounding the 2016 elections - if you believe in conspiracy theories, that is.

Here are some of the most outlandish theories doing the rounds - do you believe any of them?

President Obama is going to cancel the election

Some people of a certain political persuasion believe that a possible Trump win will be thwarted by Barack Obama by cancelling the election entirely. The theory - continuously pushed by right-wing talk show host Alex Jones - goes that Obama will declare martial law as a result of a crisis (of his own making, natch), stopping the vote from going ahead. The more extreme version of this theory also states that the President will set up an Islamic caliphate in America, obviously.

Donald Trump is a plant to enable Hillary Clinton to win

Hillary Clinton is not the most popular Democratic candidate there has been but many believes she is a certainty to win over an extremely divisive Donald Trump. And this is all a little too convenient for some, the theory being that he has deliberately been planted in the Republican party to destroy their chances of winning and fundamentally ruining their credibility - either by dropping out or being deliberately provocative. Trump is of course well known for some highly controversial statements that have got even members of his own party coming out against him. Believers point to the Clintons being guests at his wedding. It must be true then.

Ted Cruz is Kim Kardashian’s dad

OK, this one is a little bizarre. Ted Cruz, who was vying to be the Republican candidate for President, is none other than Robert Kardashian - who happens to be the dad of Kim, Khloe et al. Kardashian, a former friend of OJ Simpson, actually died of cancer in 2003 but the theory goes that he simply faked his own death and became Ted Cruz. All because they look a bit alike. Why he’d want to do that is another story entirely…

Hillary Clinton is suffering health problems

This ongoing theory became so widespread that the Clinton campaign were forced to shoot it down themselves. After being hospitalised for a blood clot in 2012, some opposed to her presented what they believe to be evidence of her suffering brain damage and poor health, meaning she is not suitable for the top job. Several blogs have posted videos backing up the theory, some including a particular facial expression she pulled as evidence. Clinton campaign spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri described the allegations as “deranged conspiracy theories”.

Ted Cruz is the infamous Zodiac Killer

Ted Cruz again - and if he’s not Robert Kardashian then he is really the mysterious Zodiac Killer, who terrorised California in the 60s and 70s but whose identity was never discovered. This is perhaps slightly less believed than other theories as it started off as a joke that soon trended on Twitter and was beamed on a CBS ticker at a Republican debate. Of course, Cruz wasn’t actually born when the killings started but don’t let that tiny problem get in the way!

Hillary Clinton is a Rothschild stooge

The Rothschilds are an international banking family that are very, very rich and also the poster children for numerous conspiracy theories. Some believe Hillary Clinton is very cosy with them, pointing to a number of emails exposed on Wikileaks between her and several members of the family. This of course means the Rothschilds secretly run the world and Clinton becoming President would mean she takes her orders from them.

Hillary Clinton is a lizard

That’s right, if America elects Hillary Clinton as their first female President, they will find themselves at the mercy of a giant human lizard. This of course goes back to the (frankly bonkers) theory that mankind is secretly controlled by these lizard people and Hillary (along with husband/former President Bill Clinton) is just the latest to aim for the most powerful position in the world. If you want evidence then think about this - Hillary Clinton has a tongue. Lizards are known for their tongues. Coincidence?

The election is rigged in Hillary Clinton’s favour

Slightly more down to Earth, this one, with both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton’s one-time rival for the Democratic candidacy, Bernie Sanders, dropping hints that there is a bit of rigging the votes going on. Sanders’ supporters particularly are convinced of this, claiming that Clinton staffers took jobs in his team to ensure that he would not be the candidate. Trump himself outright said that if Clinton won it would only be because of “cheating”. Around a third of voters believe some vote rigging will go on, according to a Bloomberg poll.

Ted Cruz’s dad had something to do with the assassination of JFK

Donald Trump read an article in the National Enquirer that suggested that Rafael Cruz, the father of Ted Cruz (him again) knew Lee Harvey Oswald, the man who killed John F Kennedy in 1963. A photograph apparently showed Cruz Snr and Oswald standing together, which was enough to stoke the fires and some bad blood at Trump’s rival. Ted Cruz responded to the claims by admitting that his dad was also Elvis Presley. So we’re filing this as an “unlikely”.

Donald Trump has been put in place to bring about Armageddon

The Illuminati - yet another secret group who really control the world, alongside all the others - are out to destroy the world and Donald Trump is their man. Apparently (and we really do have to stress that word) he has been chosen so he can win, and use nuclear missiles to get his way, destroying the old world order and brining in the new. Let’s hope not.

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