US presidential election: Quotes of the campaign

The latestUS presidential election campaign, whichcomes to a close today as voters go to the polls, has been long, divisive and often nasty. Here we compile some of the most noteworthy quotes from the last 18 months:

"How exquisitely unfair of Mr Comey to say, in effect, 'We have something that warrants investigation of you, yet we don’t know its significance, so we can’t say what it is.' This is reminiscent of Franz Kafka’s “The Trial”, in which the lead character is being pursued for a year on unnamed charges, against which he cannot defend himself."

Conservative Judge Andrew Napolitano, a former judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey and the author of seven books on the US Constitution, delivers a surprising verdict on fellow Republican and FBI director James Comey’s bombshell letter to Congress

“I’m not opposed to all Jews."

Former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke during a chaotic debate of Louisiana’s US Senate hopefuls last Wednesday

“This isn’t Coke versus Pepsi. This is Coke versus (lead-poisoned) tap water in Flint.”

Documentary maker and liberal activist Michael Moore on the choice between Clinton and Trump

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

Donald Trump during his June 16 announcement speech at Trump Tower

“When Slovenia sends its people they're not sending their best. They’re sending us their plagiarists.”

A sign outside the Republican Convention the day after Melania Trump’s controversial convention speech

“He’s not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”

Trump, who avoided military service in Vietnam, comments on Senator John McCain’s POW status

“When they go low, we go high.”

Michelle Obama during her Democratic Convention keynote speech

“You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the 'basket of deplorables'. Right?”

Hillary Clinton during an LGBT fundraiser

“I regret saying half…that was wrong.”

Hillary Clinton apologises for describing half of Trump’s supporters as ‘a basket of deplorables'

“Responding to claims that he groped several women, Donald Trump responded, ‘That’s ridiculous. I would never cheat on my daughter’.”

Dangerous comedy from HBO political satirist Bill Maher

"I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father.”

Texas Senator Ted Cruz explains his refusal to act like a ‘servile puppy dog’ and endorse Donald Trump at the GOP convention. Two months later, he publicly endorsed Trump

“I never hit my mother over the head (with a hammer). And you didn’t either Bill.”

Donald Trump explains to Fox News host Bill O’Reilly why he thinks Ben Carson is mentally ill

“The American people are sick of hearing about your damn emails.”

Bernie Sanders to Hillary Clinton during a primary debate. Apparently he was wrong

"It is not God's plan that I be president in 2016 - or maybe even ever."

A downcast Marco Rubio addresses supporters after he was soundly defeated by Republican front-runner Donald Trump in his home state

“(Fox News) is not a Trump network. I’m not going to mention the other networks, CNN, MSNBC, who are rooting -- actively rooting -- for Hillary Clinton.”

Fox News host Bill O’Reilly denies pro-Trump bias at Fox