As we hit the one-year mark of the second presidential election featuring a woman candidate and a second Donald Trump presidency, the question of whether a woman can lead the United States demands answers. Despite two exquisitely qualified women candidates whose credentials and performance in public service outshined their opponent, neither was elected. A deeper dive into the 2016 presidential election is a good starting place to examine these confusing outcomes.
The United States has a poor track record when it comes to women in leadership roles. Only 10.4% of Fortune 500 companies had women CEOs in 2024. (Women Business Collaborative, 2024) The current United States Congress is made up of 26% women in the Senate and 29% women in the House of Representatives. (Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), 2025) Twenty six percent of governors in the U.S. are women. (Navarre & Kronenberg, 2025) In US cities with a population over 30,000 residents, 26.8% of mayors were women in 2024. (CAWP, 2024) Only one woman has ever been elected vice president of the United States and we have yet to elect a woman president. Among United Nations countries, 78 have had women serving as head of state or government. (Warnes, 2024) In fact, many of these female leaders have had long tenures: Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh, 20 years (two separate terms); Indira Gandhi, India, 15 years (two separate terms); Angela Merkel, Germany, 16 years; Vigdis Finnbogadottir, Iceland, 16 years; Eugenia Charles, Dominica, 15 years; Mary McAleese, Ireland, 14 years; Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia, 12 years; Tarja Halonen, Finland, 12 years; Margaret Thatcher, United Kingdom, 11 years; and Chandrika Kumaratunga, Sri Lanka, 11 years. Why do women continue to be under-represented in leadership positions in this country despite no evidence to suggest they lack the intellect, skills, or motivation to excel and succeed? It is a difficult question to answer, with multiple layers of sociocultural and political factors to evaluate.
Qualifications
A good place to start examining the 2016 election is with the candidates’ qualifications to lead this country. Hillary Clinton graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Wellesley College then earned a law degree from Yale. She spent 12 years as the First Lady of Arkansas, advocating for children and families, and practicing law. In 1984 she was named Arkansas Woman of the Year. She became First Lady of the United States in 1993 and focused on health care reform while continuing her support for children and families. (National Archives, n.d.) She traveled to over 80 countries, advocating for civil society, democracy, and human rights. She served as a senator for New York from 2000-2008 and was the first woman elected to state office in New York.
Senator Clinton was the first woman to win a presidential primary in 2007. She served as Secretary of State for four years under President Barack Obama. She visited 112 countries, was instrumental in the groundwork for restraining Iran’s nuclear program and negotiating a ceasefire deal in the Middle East. In 2016 she became the first US woman nominated for President by a major political party. (The Office of Hillary Rodham Clinton, n.d.) Hillary Clinton’s net worth at the time of the election was estimated at $32 million, most from speaking engagements and book royalties. (Karni & Taft, 2015)
Donald Trump attended the New York Military Academy in high school then earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania. He became a real estate developer, businessman, author, and reality television personality starring in The Apprentice. (National Archives, n.d.) At the time of the election Trump’s net worth was estimated at $3.7 billion. (Cillizza, 2020) During the campaign, Trump and his opponents discussed his company bankruptcies. Early on Hillary Clinton declared he had four and Trump himself seemed confused stating different numbers during different debates, claiming that among hundreds of business deals his companies filed for bankruptcy three or four times. The actual number was six. Trump claimed these filings were a legitimate business strategy that helped him add to his personal wealth. It has been suggested that although this is common in the corporate world, Trump had many bond holders who were individuals that invested their retirement savings in these corporations and lost it all. (Winter, 2016)
In a Washington Post article published in the summer of 2016, claims were made that Donald Trump’s first public company, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts, lost money every year under his leadership. (Harwell, 2016) Trump served as chairman from 1995 to 2009 and chief executive from 2000 to 2005. During his tenure in charge: the company lost approximately $1 billion dollars; stock prices dropped from $35 dollars a share to a low of 17 cents; he received a $5 million dollar bonus in a year the stock dropped 70 percent; he made approximately $44 million dollars in salary plus millions more in perks and special deals; and stockholders, including employees, lost millions. This information about his business leadership skills was known prior to the election.
Allegations, Lawsuits, and Scandals
As long-time politicians Bill and Hillary Clinton were no strangers to scandal prior to the 2016 election. Many of these improprieties were detailed in a National Public Radio (NPR) article published in the summer of 2016. (Johnson, 2016) In 1992 the Clintons contributed financially to the Whitewater Development Corporation. Although a justice department investigation did not lead to prosecution of the Clintons, their partners were convicted of fraud. In the first year of Bill Clinton’s presidency, seven workers from the travel office were fired. This was alleged to be the result of purging to make room for those loyal to the Clintons. There were multiple investigations with no charges ever filed. That same year Vince Foster, a White House lawyer, was found dead in a Virginia park. Some suggested he was murdered for his role in ethics investigations against the Clintons although family members and investigators stated he struggled with depression. Multiple investigations concluded he died by suicide. In 1994 Bill Clinton was accused of having sexual relationships with several women including Monica Lewinsky. He settled one lawsuit brought by Paula Jones and after initially denying the relationship with Lewinsky made a public apology for having an inappropriate relationship with her. The House of Representatives voted to impeach him. In 1999 the Senate acquitted him of obstruction of justice and perjury related to these offenses. In 1996 accusations were made against the Clintons related to the discovery of hundreds of FBI files on former White House workers including Republicans in Congress. An investigation was unable to link the Clintons to these files.
In 2012 four Americans were killed by extremists at the US diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. Hillary Clinton was accused by members of Congress of failing to protect Americans and lack of accurate information about the attack. (Johnson, 2016) In 2015 some Republicans and watchdog groups alleged The Clinton Foundation had conflicts of interest during her tenure as Secretary of State. Investigations were ongoing at the time of the election. That same year the FBI and the Justice Department began investigating Clinton’s use of a private email server that may have comprised the security of classified government information. The investigations were ongoing during the election.
What other information was known about Donald Trump prior to the November 2016 election? An NBC news article published in October 2016 detailed numerous allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment against Trump. (Carmon, 2016) The allegations included four reports of unwanted kissing, 5 reports of groping, 7 reports of sexual assault, multiple reports from the Miss Teen USA pageant, which he owned at the time, of Trump walking in on contestants while they were dressing, and reports of a hostile work environment on The Apprentice due to Trump’s lewd comments about women. Trump and his representatives vehemently denied all claims even though there were two audio recordings circulating at that time of Trump bragging about these behaviors. The first was from an Access Hollywood interview in 2005 where Trump stated “I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait,” and “as a star you can do anything,” including “grab them by the pussy.” The second was from an interview with Howard Stern, also from 2005 in which he told the radio host: “I’ll tell you the funniest is that I’ll go backstage before a show and everyone’s getting dressed,” Trump told Stern. “No men are anywhere, and I’m allowed to go in, because I’m the owner of the pageant and therefore I’m inspecting it. … ‘Is everyone OK’? You know, they’re standing there with no clothes. ‘Is everybody OK?’ And you see these incredible looking women, and so I sort of get away with things like that.”
While all of these behaviors were unwanted, inappropriate, and fit the definition of sexual harassment at a minimum, several allegations were made during court filings that were more violent. During divorce proceedings from his first wife Ivana in 1990, she made a statement during a deposition that her husband had raped her in 1989. When the story was revived in the media in 2015, Trump attorney Michael Cohen minimized the claim by stating she was talking about an emotional feeling rather than a physical act and “Understand that by the very definition, you can’t rape your spouse.” This statement was in fact untrue since rape of a spouse was illegal in New York at the time of the alleged event. After being asked by Trump to comply with a confidentiality clause surrounding their divorce and an affidavit in September 2016 seeking to keep the divorce records sealed, Ivana Trump recanted her allegation. (Carmon, 2016) The most disturbing claim was that Trump raped a 13-year-old girl in 1994. This case was pending in federal court at the time of the 2016 election. The woman alleged bondage, violent rape, hitting, screaming, and threatening to harm or kill her and her family if she ever discussed the event. This allegedly took place at the home of Jeffrey Epstein and the complaint included an affidavit from a witness. (Carmon, 2016)
In October of 2016 Trump attorney Michael Cohen made a $130,000 dollar payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels to persuade her to keep quiet about an alleged affair with Trump in 2006. Although it took eight years, in May of 2024 Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsified business records related to this payment but due to his re-election as President he was sentenced to an unconditional discharge with no consequences. (Katersky & Charalambous, 2025) According to multiple sources there were many other active lawsuits against Trump’s companies during the 2016 election however they are too numerous for elaboration here.
Campaign Finance
Hillary Clinton raised more than $1.2 billion during her campaign compared to Trump’s $600 million. Trump contributed a little over $66 million to his campaign from his own personal wealth. (Beckel & Levinthal, 2016) He also used his own assets and infrastructure to his advantage, flying in his own private jet, and hosting campaign events at his resorts. He received a significant amount of free airtime which dramatically cut campaign expenses. Clinton spent a large amount of money on television ads and her get-out-the-vote campaign however Trump was very strategic in his spending, targeting groups of Clinton backers on social media, using negative ads to decrease Democratic voter turnout in battleground states. (Allison et el., 2016)
Campaign Advertising
In revisiting a sample of five popular political television ads for both candidates from the 2016 election, several themes dominated. Donald Trump focused heavily on immigration recommending a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States, building a wall along the southern border that he would force Mexico to pay for, preventing Syrian refugees from entering the country, and bombing ISIS. He touted himself as the new leader poised to deliver America from broken politics by lowering taxes, providing childcare tax credits, and restoring law and order balanced with justice and fairness. One of his ads focused exclusively on comments made by Secretary Clinton that many of his supporters were deplorable. It is noteworthy that the National Rifle Association (NRA) spent $30 million on thousands of ads in support of Dondald Trump. (Beckel & Levinthal, 2016)
Hillary Clinton focused on measuring the success of America by what we do for our children and the values we pass on. She advocated for good schools, college education without debt, jobs that provide a living wage, working together, and respecting one another. Three of her top ads targeted Donald Trump’s language and the message it sent to children, girls, and Muslim Americans. Clinton’s ad “Daisy” featured the girl from the first “Daisy” political ad for Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, circling back to concerns about the use of nuclear weapons and Trump’s references to using bombs. You can find links to these 10 ads in the reference section below.
The Debates
A fresh review of all three 2016 presidential debates between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump highlighted strengths and weaknesses of the two candidates and their political strategies. It is helpful to keep in mind that true debate is very formal and structured with equal time given to participants and a requirement for providing evidence to support claims. It is also a civilized event where value is placed on the strength of a logical argument devoid of strong emotion and inflammatory language. There was certainly mudslinging from both sides and attempts by Donald Trump to gaslight Secretary Clinton. For the most part she did not respond but by the third debate tensions escalated with a decline in civility from both candidates.
Secretary Clinton’s debate strategy appeared to be straightforward. She answered moderator and audience member questions directly and provided specific strategies in her plan for addressing the economy, foreign policy, health care, and immigration. Donald Trump’s strategy appeared to be attack and evade. He placed blame on Secretary Clinton, President Obama, former President Bill Clinton, and others for multiple issues and did not answer specific questions even after being asked multiple times by moderators. He was scant on details about his plans for the economy, foreign policy, health care, and even immigration which was one of his primary areas of focus.
Secretary Clinton did a better job of using neutral language and focusing on potential repercussions of decisions made rather than resorting to character assassination. Donald Trump repeatedly talked over both Secretary Clinton and the moderators even with multiple requests to be quiet and allow Secretary Clinton to finish her allotted time. Much of his language was phrased as personal attacks and again he was scant on details of his plan and how it was superior to his opponent’s. The third debate was much more contentious and in the last five minutes Donal Trump made the statement “Such a nasty woman” while Secretary Clinton was speaking. She did not respond to this statement. In all three debates the audience members were asked to remain silent. In the third debate in particular, there was significant verbal audience approval of Donal Trump’s derogatory remarks to and about Secretary Clinton. You can find links to all three debates in the reference section below.
The Vote and Voter Demographics
In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton received 65,853,514 votes which was 48.18% of all votes. She won the popular vote over Donald Trump by a margin of 2.09% which amounted to almost 2.9 million votes. This made her the losing presidential candidate with the highest margin of the popular vote over her opponent in United States history. (Lerer, 2016) Why was she not the first woman president of the United States? She lost the Electoral College vote 304 to 227. (Federal Election Commission, 2017) The Electoral College was created by our Founding Fathers as part of the Constitution. It was an attempt at a compromise between Congress and the people electing the US president. (National Archives, n.d.) Each state has the same number of electors as it has in its congressional delegation. The District of Columbia is also given three electors. How exactly does this process work?
Each presidential candidate has their own slate of electors attached to them in each state. While the procedure for choosing electors varies by state, most are selected at their political party convention. They are either nominated or chosen by the central committee and are often selected as recognition for their loyalty and service to the party. A vote for a presidential candidate is generally also a vote for their slate of electors and most states have a winner take all policy, with the exception of Nebraska and Maine possibly leading to a split vote in those states. Historically, 99% of the time electors have voted as pledged, for the candidate of their party. (National Archives, n.d.)
There have only been four other elected presidents in U.S. history who did not win the popular vote. In 1824 John Quincy Adams lost the popular vote by 10.5% and interestingly also lost the Electoral College vote to Andrew Jackson by 5.7%. Since neither candidate received a majority of the electoral votes, Adams was elected by the House of Representatives amid claims of deal brokering and corruption. (United States House of Representatives, n.d.) Other candidates who won the election but lost the popular vote were Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876, Benjamin Harrison in 1888, and George W. Bush in 2000. (Woolley & Peters, 2024).
An examination of votes by gender, age, ethnicity, and education provides additional information that may help answer questions about the election results. Keep in mind there were four primary candidates for the 2016 election and five additional candidates received electoral college votes. Votes for Clinton were higher in all women (54%), 18-29 year olds (58%), 30-49 year olds (51%), those who identified as Black (91%) and Hispanic (66%), Black men (81%) and women (98%), Hispanic men (65%) and women (67%), all college graduates (57%), white college graduates (55%), non-white college graduates (68%) and non-white non-college graduates (77%). (Pew Research Center, 2018) The votes for Trump were higher in men (52%), 50–64-year-olds (51%), those over 65 (53%), those who identified as White (54%), white men (62%), white women (47%), all non-college graduates (50%), and White non-college graduates (64%). Trump had a slight edge in voters who identified as Independents (43% to Clinton’s 42%).
Analysis
Hillary Clinton clearly had the advantage in credentials to serve as President of the United States. Donald Trump and many of his supporters claimed her experience was a drawback because career politicians were hesitant to go against party lines. While this may be true, having experience with the system one has to work in and learning how to negotiate and compromise are critical skills for the highest position in our country. As a businessman, this was not something Trump had experience with and he was used to making unilateral decisions despite consequences for others. He is in fact the only elected US President with no political or military experience. (Crockett, 2017)
Hillary Clinton also held the advantage in campaign funding. Her campaign ads were professionally done, provided more information about her goals, and outnumbered those coming from the Trump campaign however he received a significant boost in ads from the NRA. The advantage in the debates also goes to Clinton in terms of professional behavior, answering questions accurately, and providing specific information about her plan for addressing the economy, foreign policy, health care, and immigration. In addition to these advantages, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote so why was she not the first woman President of the United States? The simplest answer is that the electoral college is problematic. It allows for a small number of states to have a significant impact on the election. So why not just eliminate it? That is easier said than done. It has been a bone of contention since its constitutional mandate, with approximately 700 failed proposals in Congress to either reform or eliminate it. (American Bar Association, 2019) Since it is part of the constitution it would require an amendment to change it which would take ratification by 38 states. The electoral college was definitely a factor in this election. However, it does not factor into most elections and was not a source of discrepancy in the 2024 election, test case #2 for a presidential election with a woman candidate. There were more complex issues that affected both elections that are worth discussing.
One of the key issues that arose multiple times while researching this piece was media control of the flow of information and access to facts. In 2016 approximately 88% of US adults used the internet. (Pew Research Center, 2025) That same year it was estimated that 68% of adults used Facebook, 28% used Instagram, 21% used Twitter, and 25% used LinkedIn. (Greenwood et al., 2016) Given these statistics it is probably fair to say that many voters were getting their information online during the 2016 campaign. With the staggering amount of misinformation available through the results of search engines and on social media platforms, how does the general public distinguish fact from fiction and important from irrelevant? We have not done a good job of teaching critical thinking skills in this country and that, combined with lack of time and information overload, has created a vortex of irreconcilable sound bites. Even if a person wanted to check facts, where do they go and how do they know the information they are accessing is accurate? The rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will make this problem much worse. Are voters making decisions based on false information?
During the 2016 campaign critical information was both released and withheld from the general public in the final 12 days prior to the election. On October 28, 2016, James Comey, the FBI Director, informed Congress that the FBI had discovered new information that may or may not be relevant to Secretary Clinton’s use of a private email server that may have compromised classified government information. That day Republican Jason Chaffetz tweeted “FBI Dir just informed me, “The FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation.” Case reopened.” Three days later The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Las Angeles Times, NBC, ABC, and CBS all featured this as a top story. Donald Trump then used this information as a primary focus of his campaign activities until the election. Just two days before the election another letter from the FBI Director was sent to Congress and tweeted by the same individual stating the recent “new information” did not change the conclusion of the investigation. Ultimately, Clinton’s decision to use a private server was deemed careless but the investigation determined no classified information was compromised. Trump again used this information to his advantage by stating the system was rigged and Clinton was a criminal who should not be elected. (Murray, 2017) Some analysts believe the timing and manner in which this information was released, swayed undecided voters in key swing states that was enough to cost Clinton the electoral votes needed to win the election. What was not released by the FBI until after the election was their lengthy investigation of the Trump campaign’s possible ties to Russian interference with the election. At a Senate hearing in May 2017 the FBI director was questioned about why he released the information about the “new information” despite guidelines from the Justice Department prohibiting interference in elections. He was fired within a week of his testimony. In the final week prior to the election Trump also made numerous references to information on WikiLeaks critical of Clinton and encouraged voters to visit the site whose credibility was questionable.
The events that happened during this 12-day period raise additional questions about information flow, media regulation, and journalistic integrity. What drives decisions made by the owners, publishers, and editors in chief of the major newspapers and networks? Does journalistic integrity still exist in the United States? Who ultimately controls the flow of information to congress from the FBI and other government agencies, including the Department of Justice? Are members of Congress held to the same standard regarding sharing information that may affect the outcome of an election? In this election, the timing and accuracy of information appeared to play a crucial role in the outcome. If members of the general public cast their votes based on inaccurate information were the results of the election really valid? Honestly, delving deeply does not provide answers, it only creates more questions. What can the average voter do? Consult multiple sources to get information about candidates and issues including sources that are in opposition to your point of view. Discuss candidates and issues with others, including those who may have differing views and really listen to what they are saying. Take time to analyze all the information you gather before making your decision.
Finally, what do the voter demographics tell us? Trump’s base of voter support was primarily white men and women over the age of 50 without a college degree. In some ways this is not a surprise. Depending on the source, between 47% and 53% of white women voted for Trump, which is disconcerting. I am not insinuating that more women should have voted for Hillary Clinton because she was the first women candidate for president. I am stating it is confusing that so many women voted for a man who openly made derogatory comments about women, mocked people with disabilities, and was disrespectful towards others because of their race, ethnicity, and religious beliefs. Even if you assumed the numerous claims made against Trump by women were false, his own public behavior spoke volumes about his beliefs. It was disturbing that the debate audience seemed to enjoy Trump’s derogatory comments towards Secretary Clinton. It reminded me of the school yard bully. People support the bully and join in the intimidation of others in order to avoid being the one bullied. Yes, standing up to the bully by yourself puts you at risk of physical harm and humiliation but it also shows others what is possible. When others begin to join you, it takes the bully’s power away, especially if you get the support of the school administration. This unmasks the bully and reveals a scared and powerless little boy who uses humiliation, threats, and violence to get attention and make him feel powerful. While it is up to each voter to decide what characteristics and actions are positive or negative in candidates it is interesting that using a personal email server appeared to be seen as more heinous than multiple claims of sexual harassment and sexual assault, including against minors. What does this say about our societal beliefs regarding women? I have written more extensively about this issue in my prior pieces A Man’s World (https://womenwomenspowerwomensrights.com/2025/09/16/a-mans-world/), Power and Control (https://womenwomenspowerwomensrights.com/2025/09/29/power-and-control/), and Going Backward (https://womenwomenspowerwomensrights.com/2025/10/14/going-backward/).
Photo by Kathy Kroening. Copalis, WA. March 2012
Circling back to my original question, can a woman lead the United States? The answer is yes. Hillary Clinton not only possessed a skill set unequaled by many former presidents, but she also won the popular vote. There is no doubt she was highly qualified and extremely capable of leading this country. A more meaningful question in search of answers is what needs to change to allow a woman to be elected President of the United States? In American society, the mirror for women is rigged. The reflection is not accurate. It distorts the essence of each individual woman, alters her ability to see herself whole and complete, and limits her potential. With whatever time I have left on this planet, I will work diligently towards creating a mirror for women that provides a true reflection, revealing their glorious beauty, strength, and power and showing them the sky’s the limit.
Until next time sisters stay safe, be well, be kind to yourself, support each other, and spread the love.
Photo by Kathy Kroening. Seattle, WA. May 2025
References:
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Make America Great Again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvL2LRz3CW4
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Campaign Ad Video links Hillary Clinton
Role Models: https://youtu.be/mrX3Ql31URA
Mirrors: https://youtu.be/vHGPbl-werw
Measure: https://youtu.be/e4y27luhDnM
Captain Khan: https://youtu.be/WCqFCCgU1xk
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Debate #2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fmzBwnmQJM
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