Iranians on Facebook: Who Will Win the US Election?

What do ordinary Iranians think of the US election and its candidates? How safe do they feel at the prospect of a President Clinton versus a President Trump? What impact will the outcome of Tuesday’s election have on Iran’s economy? Do they agree with the supreme leader’s view that both candidates are “catastrophic” and expose the hypocrisy of US values? In a Facebook poll, IranWire asked Iranians about their hopes, fears and perspectives on the 2016 US election. 

“The yellow dog is the jackal’s brother” 

Many voters in the United States have voiced frustration over the choice of candidates, with many arguing that both Clinton and Trump are so awful they feel they have been robbed of any opportunity to positively contribute to their country’s future. As a result, the media has routinely said that Clinton and Trump are the two most unpopular presidential candidates in history.

Iranians seem to agree with this view,  and many, including Salamat Javaheri and Mahin Mortezaei, responded to the Facebook poll with a Persian saying: “The yellow dog is the jackal’s brother.” For them, they are as bad as each other, and there’s little difference between the two. “Of course, with apologies to animals,” added Salamat Javaheri. “They are all enemies of humanity,” said Mahin Mortezaei. Sam Sohrabi believed both were “evil criminals and bloodthirsty.” 

Their view seemed to be: the future is bleak, whatever happens. “I believe neither are good for the US presidency, posted Mahin Tabatabaei. “Either of them will create mayhem in the world if they win and the world would be worse off than it is now.”

A Rigged Election

Donald Trump has been fond of saying that if he loses, it will have been a case of vote rigging. And plenty of Iranians on Facebook agree that the results of the election have already been decided. 

“They have already arranged it for Mrs. Clinton,” wrote Batman Chsasmani. “The same way that America showed that a black man can become president now it wants to make a woman president to show the world that this is how democracy works.”

Maliheh Beh took the opportunity for a healthy bout of damning: “A curse on both their houses,” she posted . “It is clear that Trump has already been chosen.” 

The Third Candidate

Given the frustration over the choice, it’s no surprise that many Americans have turned their attention to the third party candidates, including Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein. But for IranWire’s Facebook poll, Iranians had another candidate in mind: Former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In answer to the question “Who will win the US presidential election?” quite a few Iranians put his name forward. “Only Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is good for the US presidency,” said Dani Arad, while Ali Aghaee said “Ahmadinejad with 21 million votes” was the way forward for the US. 

It’s not clear what Iranians — at least those taking part in these polls — thought of the more conventional third-party candidates. 

The Politics of Hate

Of course, there's always time for anti-American sentiment, though this wasn't the tack most participants chose. "My wish is that half of America would drown in water!" wrote Reza Tayebi, without going into specifics of which part of the country he meant. Taking a slightly calmer approach, Khalil Hamidi said, "It has nothing to do with you and me. We should defend our own elections if we are man enough." And then, just for good measure: "Damn America and the Americans!"

Impact on Iran 

While most of the Iranians who took part in the poll took a cynical view, some brought this cynicism close to home, and gave their opinion of what it meant for Iran. When answering the question “Who do you think will when the US election?” Shahryar Vaziri wrote: “Anyone who can overthrow the Islamic Republic. I don’t like Trump but I say Trump.”

Bruce Bahrami agreed with so many others that Clinton is no better than Trump, and could see it in specifically Iranian terms: “Actually the choice is between bad or worse. For those who think if Trump wins he will get rid of the Iranian regime, that will not happen. It is the puppet masters who will decide the world's affairs.”

Mehdi Rezaee said: “The US elections will affect Iran. If Mrs. Clinton is elected, the chances are that Rouhani would be a one-term president and a hardliner will become president [in Iran]. Considering that Iranian politicians act more prudently under pressure, chances for Rouhani’s second term are better if Trump gets elected.”

But others thought whatever happened, Iran’s relationship with the United States would not fare well. “Makes no difference ...red or blue,” wrote Ali Reza. “America will follow the same foreign policy, just like last few decades. If anyone thinks otherwise, that these two clowns can make a difference, then you are a part of the problem, and have catching up to do.” He also seemed hostile to the media “First tip: stop watching TV. Read books instead.”

“These two are only the actors and we don’t see the director,” wrote Maryam Ghorbani. “Perhaps at the end of the play?”

And finally, Elnaz Nateghi offered a view of what IranWire thinks, from her perspective: “I am sure that you, IranWire, would have supported Bernie Sanders because you share his beliefs.”