The campaigns for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump announced on Friday, September 23, a bipartisan move they assert will bring greater truth to America's electoral process. They are combining their respective presidential tickets on the 2016 ballot.
In a joint statement issued by the Republican and Democratic nominees, their respective spokespersons announced Clinton and Trump will dispense with the theatrics of campaigning against each other and verify what most voters have known for over a year.
"These two enormously wealthy candidates decided it was about time to spell-out the truth and tell the world, 'We're not rivals, we're running mates,'" said Clinton spokesperson Woody Wilson.
Speaking on behalf of the Trump campaign, senior adviser Bud "Bubba" Leight extended his boss' gratitude to the Commission on Rigged Presidential Debates. "The Commission on Rigged Presidential Debates made it possible and we can't thank them enough," he said. "We might have had to actually carry-on with these extravagant and laborious presidential campaigns if not for the Commission's dutiful exclusion of alternative candidates from the upcoming debates."
Wilson expanded upon that sentiment, explaining that wider awareness of other presidential hopefuls would have meant actively pursuing support from undecided voters to preserve the status quo.
Shortly after the public announcement, Trump took to Twitter and posted two rapid-fire tweets stating, "My years of contributions to both Clintons' prior election efforts & their foundation have paid off in ways I had only imagined before." and, "I like to think of all that $$ I gave Clintons not as donations but as a solid business investment. Takes paying-it-forward to a new level."
The newly formed Clinton-Trump campaign announced that their previously selected running mates, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, will be assured of ranking cabinet positions in the forthcoming new White House administration in compensation for their cooperation with the new arrangements.
Or, they will be offered a sizable buyout with available campaign funds that won't have to be spent on advertising or promotional materials.