MIAMI (AP) – There was little sunshine in Florida this week after the presidential candidates arrived.
In back-to-back debates just miles apart, Democrats and Republicans painted a dark vision of America, a place where jobs are vanishing, leaders are corrupt and threats loom from across the globe.
Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders described a nation in “real crisis,” with a “rigged economy.” Americans are “a bunch of suckers” who’ve “lost everything,” Republican front-runner Donald Trump said the following night.
Washington is “killing jobs,” as Iranian leaders conspire to “murder us,” warned Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
Gloomy assessments of the country’s future have emerged as a constant refrain of the 2016 presidential contest, as candidates woo a frustrated and anxious electorate.