Talk about family feuds! The Democratic and Republican frontrunners for the US presidency are related, albeit quite distantly. One thing they do have in common is that they both offered strong support for Israel in their recent AIPAC speeches.
The news is currently circulating in several media outlets that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and her Republican rival, Donald Trump, are distant cousins. However, the story actually broke almost two years ago in the UK-based Daily Mail, but nonetheless, it’s still interesting, especially considering that each is a leading candidate in one of the two main political parties and seems to have a decent chance, at least at this point in time, of winning the presidential race.
Trump’s latest nickname for Clinton is “Crooked Hillary.” She doesn’t seem to like him much either. But then again, isn’t that often the case with relatives?
The two candidates, it seems, are 19th cousins, descending from 14th-century 1st Duke of Lancaster John of Gaunt and his third wife Katherine Swynford, according to the ancestry site MyHeritage.com.
According to historical records, Swynford was Gaunt’s mistress, but they married after he divorced his wife.
“Clinton claims the lineage to her 18th great-grandparents through the Rodham family of her father’s side, while Trump is related to her through his mother Mary Anne Macleod, who was born in Scotland. The common relative means that the Democrat and Republican are 19th cousins,” the Daily Mail reported.
“John of Gaunt, a royal in the 14th century, was the son of King Edward III and featured in the Shakespearean play Richard II, named after his nephew,” the Mail continued.
Then again, if we go back far enough, aren’t we all related?
One thing they do have in common is that they both offered strong support for Israel in their recent AIPAC speeches. Let’s hope that if one of these candidates is elected, he or she will stay true to that promise.
By: Terri Nir, United with Israel