The leading 2016 Republican and Democrat presidential contenders are actually distant relatives, genealogy experts say.
According to author A.J. Jacobs, who researched the candidates’ backgrounds with genealogy website Geni.com, both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton share the same 18th great-grandparents – making the presidential frontrunners 19th cousins.
“Their 19th great grandfather is King Edward III so there is precedent for ruling a country; it’s in their genes,” Jacobs said.
Entertainment website “Extra,” who interviewed Jacobs, stated that “John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, married Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster, and John and Katherine are Donald and Hillary’s shared 18th great grandparents.”
The revelation may come as unsurprising to some given recent discoveries surrounding the connections between America’s most powerful politicians.
As reported by CNN in 2007, former Vice President Dick Cheney and President Barack Obama are actually eighth cousins as well.
“Obviously, Dick Cheney is sort of the black sheep of the family,” Obama joked at the time.
In fact, as unbelievable as it may seem, research shows that every single president except Martin Van Buren is descendant of John “Lackland” Plantagenet, the former king of England.
Whether this latest discovery will have any effect on the current presidential race remains to be seen.
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