As the world's grandest spectacle, the US presidential election had always commanded immense global attention.

And as the frontrunner Hillary, she was naturally under constant scrutiny from all sorts of eyes. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel✶fire.net

Among them, the gaze from chilly Russia was laced with utter malice.

The Russians hoped Trump would win the election.

Because between Trump and Russia lay incredibly tight connections.

Martin knew this well, since in the original timeline, four years later, this matter had been exposed.

By the time of his second election, Trump no longer hid his friendliness toward Russia, even making a shocking statement during a public speech.

He expressed support for Russia targeting NATO member countries that didn't pay or underpaid their dues.

NATO, as one of the key international organizations post-World War II, played a crucial role in maintaining Europe's security and stability.

Its member nations addressed various security challenges and threats through cooperation and mutual aid.

However, with changes in the international landscape and differences among members, NATO also faced certain challenges and predicaments.

A major issue was the payment of membership dues and security guarantees.

NATO's operations required all members to pay dues as agreed to ensure the organization's normal functioning.

But some members failed to fulfill their obligations, leading to financial shortages and difficulties for NATO.

Trump's statement at the time was a response to this issue; he declared support for Russia punishing members who didn't pay or underpaid.

Of course, such an approach would undoubtedly further undermine NATO's stability and effectiveness, weakening trust and cooperation among members.

That was in the future.

For now, Russia was scheming how to further propel Trump to power.

...

Hillary had no idea that a pair of deep, scrutinizing eyes from Russia was fixed on her.

Right now, she was pouring all her efforts into expanding her influence among female voters.

On the evening of April 27th, after losing the elections in Alaska and Washington, Hillary was interviewed by US news anchor Rachel Maddow.

In the interview, she compared the male-female ratio in her "future cabinet" to the US population's gender ratio.

Rachel asked: "Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau once promised 50% female members in his cabinet, and he kept that promise. Would you make a similar commitment?"

Hillary replied: "I will form an American-style cabinet, which might have 50% women, as Americans are."

Faced with this ambiguous answer, Rachel pressed: "Is this a commitment to 50% women in the cabinet?" To this, Hillary nodded in agreement.

And on that same day, Republican Trump swept the Northeast's Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania—four states—and all five Republican primaries in Rhode Island, further leaving other candidates in the dust.

Compared to the somewhat struggling Hillary, Trump was truly a runaway horse.

When time reached May 3rd, Trump once again captured the Republican primary in Indiana.

That evening, Republican presidential candidate and Texas Senator Ted Cruz announced his withdrawal from the presidential race at a conference.

He stated that he no longer had a viable path to victory.

This also meant that Trump, who won the Republican Indiana primary that day, would securely obtain the party nomination.

After Cruz's withdrawal, the remaining Republican presidential candidates were Trump and Ohio Governor John Kasich.

John Kasich was just hanging on; his win rate wasn't even as good as Cruz's.

"We did everything we could in Indiana, but the voters chose another path," Cruz said. "So, with a heavy heart and boundless optimism for our nation's long-term future, we have decided to end our presidential campaign."

At the conference, Cruz expressed hope that his decision would unite and advance our party in the Republicans' calculations to reclaim the White House.

But from his tone, one could hear how unwilling he was.

After all, at the start of the intraparty race, he was the most favored, while the now far-leading Trump was seen as a mere also-ran.

That evening around 9 p.m., Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus tweeted that Trump was the "Republican presumptive nominee," and "We all need to unite and focus" on defeating Hillary Clinton.

Previously, the Indiana intraparty primary had been seen as the Republicans' other presidential candidates' key battle and last gamble to block Trump from the nomination, but it ultimately ended in failure.

Trump's popularity was high, beyond everyone's expectations.

Before the primary, Trump had confidently stated that if he took this state, it meant he had the intraparty nomination, and it was all over.

According to the Associated Press (AP), Trump had already accumulated 1,041 delegate votes; as long as he secured 1,237 delegate votes before the Republican National Convention in July, he could obtain the party's presidential nomination.

Reuters pointed out that when Trump, riding the momentum from sweeping five Northeast states the previous week, snatched Indiana from Cruz, he had gained an absolute advantage. Note that Indiana was originally considered Cruz's stronghold; outsiders had expected Cruz's Christian conservatism to hold broad appeal there, potentially tying him in a tough battle with Trump.

However, the reality was Trump led Cruz by nearly 20% in vote share in that state.

The main reason was Trump's support from key voters, like basketball legend and former Indiana University men's basketball head coach Bobby Knight.

Reports said the one who helped Trump convince this person was Martin Meyers, who, as Trump's daughter's boyfriend, had fully sided with Trump in this election.

CNN commented that in Indiana, Trump's strength was overwhelming for Cruz; Cruz and Kasich's "anti-Trump alliance plan" could hardly block Trump's path to the intraparty presidential nomination. After this Tuesday, it seemed Cruz had no hope left.