It’s been a long campaign, and after 18 months of nonstop coverage, many of us heard more about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton than we ever wanted to. The two candidates have been the media equivalent of two black holes on a collision course: All-consuming, and destined for an explosive finish.
But over the course of an election cycle, it’s easy to forget about the cast of smaller characters we’ve met on the way. Non-candidates and ordinary Americans like Ken Bone have, because of this campaign, become recognizable names. Others, like “Trump’s African-American” and “the kid Marco Rubio hit in the face with a football,” aren’t as well-known but still were the subjects of brief media frenzies.
For these breakout stars, micro-celebrities and unwitting internet sensations, their 15 minutes of fame may expire once the election results roll in. Their lives, however, don’t simply return to a pre-election state of being.
Here are the reflections and plans of the American men, women and children the public met over the past year-and-a-half. Some of their lives have changed drastically, and some less so, but nobody is without a story.
1. The Black Lives protester who interrupted Bernie
When Bernie Sanders headed to the Pacific Northwest on August 8, 2015, he had just begun to hit his stride. His poll numbers were rising, he was drawing larger crowds than ever, and suddenly it didn’t look like Hillary Clinton would coast to the Democratic nomination. People had begun to take the senator from Vermont seriously, and he had every reason to expect an enthusiastic welcome when he took the podium in Seattle that morning.
He never got that far. Before Senator Sanders could speak, Marissa Johnson and Mara Willow, two activists from the Black Lives Matter chapter in Seattle, took the stage with the demand that Sanders be held accountable for not doing enough to address police brutality and racial inequality. Many in the crowd booed, but Johnson and Willow didn’t back down. Eventually, Sanders left, declining to give the speech. Instantly, the incident became a symbol of the progressive wing of the party devouring itself.
For all the attention the protest got, Marissa Johnson says she and Mara Willow had no idea of the size of the waves they would make. Initially, the protest was a gesture aimed at Seattle and the Pacific Northwest; they didn’t expect their actions to spark a national conversation. “We were thinking about it more on a local scale,” says Johnson.
The protest was immediately condemned by both the left and right, at least at first. Johnson received hundreds of death and rape threats the following week, including from Sanders supporters. Many liberals slammed Johnson and Willow as being counterproductive, arguing that the two were hurting the candidate most aligned with their values. But others on the left began to defend their actions, making the point that Sanders’ platform seemed far more interested in economic “revolution” than racial justice.
Johnson still receives hate mail to this day, and admits that in almost every way, the protest has made her life harder. At the very least, the moment increased her stature as an activist. “I walk into the grocery store and people think I am going to yell at the deli guy,” Johnson jokes.
Standing by their decision to occupy the mic in Seattle last August, Johnson says that shutting down Sanders’ rally helped infuse a much-needed conversation about black lives into the political discussion. Democratic candidates had to affirm on the debate stage that “black lives matter,” and GOP candidates were forced to address the issues in their own ways. She sees what happened this cycle as just the opening chapter, working with activists younger than her to try to build Black Lives Matter into a stronger political force. “We are what comes before the next real black liberation movement,” she says.
2. “Trump’s African-American”
One of many strange moments in a strange campaign came last June, when Donald Trump, at a rally in Redding, California, pointed at a black audience member and exclaimed, “Oh, look at my African-American over here! Look at him.” Around that time, Trump’s support among black voters was historically low; just a few weeks later, a Wall Street Journal poll pegged his approval number at 0 percent in Pennsylvania. In California, it seemed Trump had finally found at least one African-American fan.
Every national news outlet made the moment a headline, and the possessive pronoun “my” sent social media into a furor. But Gregory Cheadle, the man Trump pointed to, says the media got it all wrong. Moments earlier, says Cheadle, Trump was talking about his African-American support, which prompted Cheadle to yell, “I’m here!” Trump heard Cheadle, which is why he said what he did. Yes, the use of the possessive “my” was a little strange, Cheadle admits, but it isn’t that big of a deal.
“We were all laughing,” Cheadle said. “Everybody around me was laughing. At the time, it was funny!”
So … is he Trump’s guy? Well, he wasn’t in the primary: “The way Trump was at that rally, it was more like stand-up than a serious political speech,” said Cheadle. When he voted in California’s primaries a week later, he was so frustrated with his choices that he wrote in his own name.
Further down the ballot, Cheadle didn’t have to write in his name; he was on it, running as a Republican for California’s 1st Congressional district. It was Cheadle’s third time running for the seat, and even though he didn’t advance to the general election, he has every intention to run again in 2018. In the meantime, can Trump count on the support of his “African-American”?
He probably can, said Cheadle. He certainly won’t support Hillary: “I just cannot vote for that woman.”
3. The rabbi who asked Hillary about her ego
Rabbi Jonathan Spira-Savett of New Hampshire probably asked Clinton the best question of the year last February — a question that visibly intrigued the presidential hopeful: “How do you cultivate the ego, the ego that we all know you must have, a person must have to be the leader of the free world, and also the humility to recognize that we know that you can’t be expected to be wise about all the things that the president has to be responsible for?”
Clinton enjoyed the question so much, she found Spira-Savett after the event to tell him so. “She told me she wished she had more authentic opportunities to reflect in that way,” said Spira-Savett. “And I told her that I hope she would make more opportunities.”
“I think about how I wish it wasn’t such a noticeable moment,” said Spira-Savett, “because if there was a more authentic conversation over the campaign, it wouldn’t have received as much attention.”
Since the town hall, the rabbi has continued to venture into politics. Last August, The Huffington Post published a sermon he wrote on the intersection between Judaism, liberalism and conservatism. Now, Spira-Savett has received commitments from both Sen. Kelly Ayotte and Gov. Maggie Hassan — who are currently competing in what is probably the nation’s fiercest senate race — to attend a reconciliation event hosted by Spira-Savett after Election Day. And in 2020, if he can find candidates willing to field his big questions, he would love to host another town hall in Nashua.
4. The student who got Taylor Swift-ed by John Kasich
When Kayla Solsbak, a journalism student at the University of Richmond, walked into a John Kasich rally, the organizers asked her to sit behind the candidate, presumably to give his campaign a youthful appearance on television. Solsbak, intent on asking Kasich a question about immigration, refused. She found a seat in the back row, and during the question-and-answer session, she patiently kept her hand raised until the candidate acknowledged her. After some time, he finally did:
“I’m sorry, I don’t have any Taylor Swift concert tickets,” Kasich told Solsbak.
Solsbak immediately wrote a biting op-ed on her experience for her school newspaper, The Collegian. “It was astonishingly clear that Gov. Kasich did not come to Richmond for my vote,” she wrote. Solsbak didn’t think anyone would take notice, but then the DNC sent her article to reporters, and that was all it took to go viral.
Ironically, Kasich’s dismissive comment only empowered Solsbak. A few weeks later, the Trump campaign reached out to her, asking if she would come to a Trump rally. She told them she had no interest in being a token, and would only come if they gave her press credentials. They said OK, and that’s how Solsbak covered the Trump campaign for The Collegian.
Then in September, Solsbak made national media all over again. Rather than be the story though, this time she broke it: A fraternity at her university sent out an email telling 95 students to ready themselves because “tonight’s the type of night that makes fathers afraid to send their daughters away to school.” The Washington Post, Fox News and others picked up the story and linked to her article.
On campus, some of Solsbak’s peers say her critique of Kasich helped enable an even bigger misogynist, Donald Trump, to become the Republican nominee. She dismisses such logic. “Trump’s sexism doesn’t belittle sexism of other candidates.” And even though she has her critics, “It’s nice to know I have a voice,” Solsbak said. “I have more of a platform now.”
5. The kid who Marco Rubio hit with the football
It was the moment every campaign consultant dreads—a fun football toss at the local park meant to show the “relatable” qualities of a slick, young politician, ending with a viral video of said candidate, Marco Rubio, beaning a pre-schooler in the face.
Tina and Jon Dill were shocked when friends began texting them, reporting that they saw Brody, their 4-year-old son, on the internet. Brody was fine, and it didn’t seem like a big deal at the time. Brody was excited to hear his name on TV, but also felt shy about being all over the internet. At least, until his older brother explained to him how cool it was.
After the moment went viral, Rubio reached out to make sure Brody was OK, and gave him a signed football. A few months later, Rubio had a chance to redeem himself. In a spoof video called “How to Get Revenge with a Football,” Rubio successfully completes a pass to Brody. He then continues throwing footballs, attempting to bean a few D.C. insiders, including POLITICO’s own Daniel Lippman. The video didn’t go viral like the first one did, but Brody was happy to participate anyway.
Brody is now in kindergarten, and when he met Marco Rubio a second time, Brody told the senator that he hopes Rubio will become president one day. That way, Brody explained, he can bring Rubio to show-and-tell and say to his classmates, “This is Marco Rubio, my best friend.”
6. The guys you thought were hecklers, but were actually making a movie
Social media lit up in mild confusion and bemusement when a man at a Marco Rubio event in Florida stood during Rubio’s speech to accuse the candidate of stealing his girlfriend. “They met in New Hampshire and she doesn’t look at me in the same way anymore,” he lamented.
It was a particularly odd moment for a campaign season that has been rife with hecklers, protesters and political trolls. There was the time that Donald Trump threw a man out for interrupting him and calling him boring, the instance when someone yelled, “Trump for president,” during Rubio’s concession speech, and the internet-famous picture of two men wearing “Settle for Hillary” shirts at a Clinton rally.
In the most random election year yet, these moments were anything but. The same two comedians were behind every interruption. And nobody knew until Rachel Maddow exposed them in June.
Davram Stiefler and Jason Selvig, it turns out, pranked 14 candidates over the course of the campaign, then they made a movie out of it. The story is about two undecided voters trying to find their dream candidate. They shoot guns with Rick Santorum, pray with Mike Huckabee (for him to drop out of the race; the governor appeared suspicious, but didn’t stop them), and attempt to perform an exorcism on Ted Cruz.
At one point, to the surprise of both Stiefler and Selvig, they become the center of a Clinton campaign ad.
“Everything went a little different than planned,” Stiefler said. “But we couldn’t believe we kept getting away with everything.
Undecided: The Movie came out on Netflix in October, and Stiefler says they’d love to do something similar in 2020. In the meantime, they’re still at it: Last month, they showed up at a Mike Pence rally wearing rain ponchos, telling him he needs to abandon ship because the Trump campaign was sinking.
7. The high school students who convinced Hillary to come to their school
It started out as a challenge from their sociology teacher. How could they, three high school girls from rural Iowa, improve their community? The Iowa caucuses were around the corner, but presidential candidates rarely go out of their way to visit Keota, whose population barely exceeds 1,000 people.
Abby Schulte, Megan Adam and Kylea Tinneas weren’t deterred. Though they identified with different political parties, they began a writing campaign, reaching out to every candidate then campaigning in Iowa. It began to work; Rick Santorum mingled with students at the high school in October, and then Martin O’Malley said he would come too.
But Abby, Megan and Kylea had their nets in the water for an even bigger fish: The probable Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton. They wrote letters, they pushed on social media and they eventually attended a Clinton rally in a nearby city. In a question-and-answer session, Megan asked Clinton what she would do to help rural schools like their own. In her response, Clinton said she would visit Keota High School.
Hillary kept her promise. She attended a town hall at Keota High School in December, a month before the Iowa Caucuses. Abby, Megan and Kylea used the opportunity to press Clinton more on the issues facing rural communities like Keota.
“It’s still kinda hard to believe,” said Abby. “We all still look at pictures to remind ourselves.” Each of the three received a personalized letter from Hillary Clinton after the event.
A year later, Kylea is finishing her senior year in Keota, while Abby and Megan are freshmen at Simpson College and Iowa State, respectively. All three have been elected to student government, and Abby says Hillary Clinton’s visit inspired her to major in political science. “Politics never seemed like a real possibility for me, but after making connections to campaign, I fell in love with it,” said Abby, who is going back to Keota this weekend to knock on doors before the election.
“I don’t think anyone has seen the last of us,” said Abby of their group. “People should definitely keep their eyes out.”
8. “That kid that cried and hugged that guy on TV”
Fair to say this presidential cycle was critically short on the warm and fuzzy stuff. Debates that sounded like playground taunt fests, Twitter pummelings and rallies that got scored like boxing matches were the norm. Then there was John Kasich. Never a huge threat to take the nomination, the Ohio governor, who has a bit of a reputation for his sharp tongue, found he had no competition when it came to doling out hugs.
One of those hugs went to Brett Smith. At a rally in South Carolina, the Georgia college student told the governor that he had a difficult year. A close family friend had killed himself, his parents had divorced, and his dad lost his job. But he had found hope in Kasich’s message. So he asked whether he could have one of the hugs Kasich is famous for.
He got his hug. And people loved it.
“I’ll never forget turning on the TV the next morning to watch Morning Joe,” said Smith, “and seeing them covering my moment with Governor Kasich, with Mika Brzezinski evening tearing up a little herself.” Reporters started reaching out, and at first, it was difficult for Smith to talk to them about the difficulties in his life leading up to the hug. But over a multi-day interview with Stephanie McCrummen of The Washington Post, he began to find the process therapeutic.
That spring break, rather than head to Florida with friends, he traveled to Ohio to campaign for Kasich. “While I was there, many people I came across would claim that they had already met me before but couldn’t remember where,” said Smith. “It was fun to watch the reaction when I explained who I was or when they had an epiphany and recognized me as the ‘Kasich Hug Guy,’ or occasionally ‘that kid that cried and hugged that guy on TV.’ Nonetheless, I was on the receiving end of a lot of hugs in Ohio.”
Smith, who is currently interning in the office of Georgia’s governor, hopes Kasich will run again in 2020. And while he laments his choice between Trump and Clinton this year, he is open to giving them both a hug.
9. The boy who asked Trump if he was Batman
The Iowa State Fair is about as low-tech as it sounds. Most notable for the life-sized cow made of butter, the event in August 2015 got a big boy toys upgrade when Donald Trump arrived in his private helicopter and started giving rides to kids. Young William Bowman, a superhero-focused 9-year-old, was one of the lucky ones. He didn’t waste his moment.
“Mr. Trump,” he asked as a family member hit play on the video recorder, “are you Batman?”
Trump, wearing the red version of his iconic golf hat and looking about as unlike the Dark Knight as it’s possible to look, didn’t miss a beat: “I am Batman.”
Of course, the moment went viral. When William’s parents told their son what happened, William was afraid that “viral” meant he would have to go to the doctor.
Now, William is in fifth grade, and continues to enjoy politics. He is sometimes called BatTrumpKid, and loves discussing the Constitution. The Fourth Amendment, William says, is his favorite.
For this article, William was asked what he thought of Trump, one year and an entire campaign later. William paused, smiled, and said, "Trump is the hero America needs."
10. The most famous red sweater in America
Red sweater, a white tie on a white shirt, and an unforgettable name. In a second presidential debate characterized by post-Trump tape tension, Ken Bone was the lovable breath of fresh air the internet desperately craved. Social media anointed him a celebrity before the debate was even over, and it wouldn’t be long before Bone had a quarter million followers on Twitter. “America needed a hero,” declared the Washington Post. “Kenneth Bone answered the call.”
Embracing his newfound fame, Bone logged on to Reddit for an Ask me Anything session later that week. The problem was he used his real Reddit handle, which allowed the world to read through his history as his Reddit user. The internet was less than pleased with what it found—an admission he had looked at hacked nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence and his contention that the shooting death of Trayvon Martin was legally justified. And as the internet so often does, it took a big swing at a star it was still in the process of making.
“My message has been one about elevating the level of conversation,” a repentant Bone later told the New York Times. “And if I want to hold our leaders accountable for their words, then I must be accountable for mine.”
It took Ken Bone less than a week to experience the best and worst parts of being a celebrity, but that hasn’t stopped Bone from making the most of his fame. For much of the last month, he has traveled the country and encouraged people to vote. He has run out of vacation days; often, he will accept a speaking invitation in a different state and then fly back that night to take a late shift at the power plant where he works.
“It’s been a blast meeting all these people,” Bone told POLITICO. He was in Memphis for a radio show and sounded weary over the phone. “But I do miss being able to sleep in with my wife or do regular dad stuff with my kid.”
Bone doubts the speaking invitations will last beyond the election. But for the time being, it’s 100-plus- hour weeks for the internet celebrity. He has refused to endorse anyone, and he is about to auction off his famous red sweater and donate the proceeds to a homeless shelter in St. Louis. (He wears a replica IZOD gave him upon request.)
“As long as I can do some good for people, I’ll go out and do it.”
While Bone does not complain about the difficulties of fame, he admits it has its downsides. Last week, Bone’s son woke up to police officers armed with M16s in their home, responding to a bomb threat. And even when Bone isn’t wearing his famous red sweater, he can’t go out in public without being recognized. And when he does, “It’s a mob.”
Asked if we can ever expect a Ken Bone for Congress campaign, Bone said that “if I thought I could affect any positive change, maybe I’d run for city council next year and see where it goes from there.”
But frankly, says Bone, “Being in the public eye forever as a politician sounds kind of miserable.”