Leave it to President Francis J. Underwood Kevin Spacey to rather bluntly sum up the state of the 2016 presidential election with: "We get what we deserve."
While Spacey was quick to dismiss comparisons between his hit TV series and this year's election, the rise in the polls of master showman Donald J. Trump has shaken up the process, driving strong voter turnout and saturating the airwaves with free campaign advertising masquerading as news coverage.
We've put together a House of Cards x Election 2016 mashup to examine where the line begins to blur between fact and fiction.
1. "For those of us climbing to the top of the food chain, there can be no mercy. There is but one rule: hunt or be hunted."
Photo by Molly Riley/UPI
2. "Friends make the worst enemies."
Pool Photo by Ruth Fremson/UPI
3. "Power is my food. Combat is my sleep. Blood is my oxygen. Politics is my blood. Sleep is my enemy. My enemies are my food."
Photo by Dennis Van Tine/UPI
4. "It only takes 10 seconds to crush a man's ambitions."
Photo by Brian Kersey/UPI
5. "I've always loathed the necessity of sleep. Like death, it puts even the most powerful men on their backs."
Photo by Matthew Healey/UPI
6. "You will be cleaved from the herd and left to die in the wilderness."
Photo by Matthew Healey/UPI
7. "I have often found that bleeding hearts have an ironic fear of their own blood."
Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
8. "The road to power is paved with hypocrisy and casualties."
Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI
9. "Sometimes a dog don't hunt. Sometimes it don't want to. Sometimes it can't."
Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
10. "I've worked too hard to come within arm's reach of the prize only to have my hand cut off just before I seize it."
Pool photo by Justin Sullivan/UPI
11. "There are two types of vice presidents: doormats and matadors. Which do you think I intend to be?"
Photo by Matthew Healey/UPI
12. "Remember this moment when you resisted me."
Photo by Ryan McBride/UPI
13. "Pay attention to the fine print. It's far more important than the selling price."
Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
14. "In politics, you either eat the baby or you are the baby."
Photo by Brian Kersey/UPI
15. "Harmony. It's not about what's lasting or permanent. It is about individual voices coming together for a moment."
Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI
16. "He doesn't measure his wealth in private jets, but purchased souls."
Photo by Dennis Van Tine/UPI
17. "Do not start a war you know you're gonna lose."
Photo by Matthew Healey/UPI
18. "Power is a lot like real estate. It's all about location, location, location. The closer you are to the source, the higher your property value."
Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
19. "He's in the darkness now, and I'm the only beacon of light. Now we gently guide him toward the rocks."
Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
20. "Long Live the King."
Collection of the artist, Jonathan Yeo, courtesy National Portrait Gallery
