Young Americans are so horrified at the prospect of a Trump presidency that 55% of them would rather the Earth be obliterated by a large meteor, according to a recent survey.
To be fair to the Donald, Hillary Clinton didn’t fare much better. When respondents were given the choice between a Clinton presidency and a meteor apocalypse, 34% voted for the latter. Given similar either-or choices, 51% said they’d rather Barack Obama serve a life term as president than have a Clinton presidency, while 39% preferred a random lottery to pick the president than a Clinton presidency.
More than 1,200 Americans, aged between 18 and 35, took part in the tongue-in-cheek survey from the University of Massachusetts Lowell Center for Public Opinion. (It was conducted online, so isn’t perfectly representative.) When respondents were asked to rank all five outcomes in order of preference, 33% of first-choice votes went to Clinton, a life term for Obama came in second with 27%, while Trump came in third with 16% of first-choice votes.
While the researchers acknowledged that respondents aren’t earnestly interested in seeing the world end, they suggest the widespread willingness to rank two constitutional crises and the end of civilization ahead of Trump or Clinton is “a sign of displeasure and disaffection with the candidates and the election of 2016.” When asked directly to choose between the two candidates, these respondents heavily favored Clinton.
The survey comes as both candidates gear up for the third and final presidential debate this evening (Oct. 19). But with Trump’s poll numbers slipping nationwide, perhaps only a giant meteor can prevent a Clinton victory.