Time had reached November, and the second trailer for It was released.
At the same time, the viral marketing website set up was attracting more and more attention.
But the heat still wasn't as intense as the election.
The final outcome was about to be revealed.
November 2.
By now, everyone could see Hillary's downward trend. Even evangelicals, who had always favored Democrats, were starting to express support for Trump.
Clinton was the same.
"Forget it, dear. We don't have to be president; our family's power won't be affected much." Clinton said to his wife.
Hillary still said the same thing: "I'm not willing to accept it."
Then her eyes turned fierce. "I want to teach that idiot a lesson."
Clinton's expression immediately grew serious. "Don't be impulsive—it's not worth it. If he dies, everyone will suspect us."
"Fuck!" Hillary cursed angrily. "Who said anything about killing him? I just mean giving him a lesson."
"What kind of lesson?" Clinton asked.
"Heh, a lesson he'll never forget." Hillary sneered.
...
November 5, evening.
Trump took the stage in Reno, Nevada, for a rally speech.
Trump began his address.
At that moment, a man in the audience suddenly pulled out a black pistol, aimed it at Trump, and shouted: "Bastard, the Lord won't forgive you. Someone like you belongs in hell."
Trump was nearly scared stiff, but his instincts kicked in—he quickly ducked and covered his head.
The on-site Secret Service agents reacted too, two rushing onto the stage, grabbing Trump by the collar and dragging him off, while several others charged into the crowd and tackled the armed man.
At this point, the man suddenly laughed. "Hey guys, don't get worked up—I'm just kidding. This is only a toy water gun."
"See!" The man tried to pull the trigger to prove it, but his arm was already twisted behind his back, and the black pistol was snatched away.
The crowd erupted into chaos.
Local police hurriedly organized evacuations.
In a secure room, Trump shouted angrily: "It must be that old witch—it must be that old witch. She wants to assassinate me, that damn executioner. Why aren't you arresting her?" He yelled at the nearby agents.
At that moment, the agents who had subdued the gunman entered.
Trump immediately stood up. "Well? Did you catch him? Did you?"
His life threatened, of course he was scared.
One of the agents said: "Mr. Trump, we've got the man."
"Great—did you interrogate him? Was it that old witch?" Trump said excitedly.
The agent's face looked odd. "Sir, this might be a prank. The gunman was holding a toy water pistol with no lethality. We've checked his identity—he's a Muslim."
Implying that the man might have done this outrageous act today to retaliate against Trump's previous unfriendly remarks toward Muslims.
"What the fuck!" Trump's face flushed red.
"Sir, we'll escort you back to the hotel." The agent said.
Trump first nodded, then suddenly looked at his aide by the door and ordered: "Go check if the people outside have dispersed."
A moment later, the aide returned. "Everyone's still there— they're all talking about what just happened."
Trump's eyes darted around, then he suddenly stood up and declared loudly: "I want to continue my speech."
The agents were stunned. Their leader said: "That's too dangerous, sir."
"You'll protect me, won't you? That's your job." Trump pointed outside. "And out there—that's my job."
With that, Trump straightened his clothes and strode out.
This move actually earned him a bit of admiration from the agents.
When the crowd saw Trump return to the stage, there was a brief silence, followed by an eruption of fervent cheers.
Trump fixed his disheveled hair and said calmly: "Thanks to the diligent Secret Service agents—no one can predict if our future will be smooth sailing, but we won't stop. We won't stop. I have to thank the agents—they're outstanding. Now, let's continue the speech we didn't finish..."
The next day, the incident of "Trump facing a Muslim threat at his rally" became the hottest topic in North America.
Most people expressed respect for Trump's brave act of returning to the stage to continue speaking, especially those rednecks in Texas.
But in mainstream media reports, this "bad fruit" was Trump's own doing.
However, mainstream media was truly in decline—American citizens no longer bought into their narrative.
On November 7, a Gallup poll showed that 52% of Americans believed U.S. media was biased and favored Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in their reporting.
Only 8% of respondents thought the media promoted Republican Trump.
Trump had previously stated that nearly all media held extreme biases against him.
He said: "I think 93% of the material published about me is very negative—even positive material, they always find a way to report it negatively."
Meanwhile, only 38% of respondents believed the media reported the presidential race objectively. Among Democrats, this view was held by 63%, while among Republicans, it was nearly 12%.
The survey was conducted from October 27 to 28, 2016.
The U.S. presidential election was scheduled for around November 8.
Hillary's outburst of anger probably didn't even satisfy her—it felt like she'd indirectly helped Trump instead.
Clinton made his move too. Though the election outcome might be irreversible, the Clinton family's dignity couldn't be tarnished.
On November 7, at the repeated urging of White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, U.S. President Obama finally agreed to fire FBI Director James Comey.
Obama had ordered his advisory team to draft a plan to remove Comey from his position.
It was unclear who would announce the dismissal—Obama himself, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, or someone else.
Nor was it clear when Comey would be temporarily relieved of duties; the only certainty was he could retain his post until the election ended.
So who was this White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett?
The U.K.'s Independent once called Jarrett "the most powerful person in the White House besides President Obama." She was Obama's old friend and senior advisor; whenever Washington bigwigs met in the Oval Office, Valerie usually sat behind Obama.
At the same time, this Valerie Jarrett was also a very close friend with "personal connections" to Clinton, so her determination to deal with Comey made perfect sense.