Little Monsters is set in the months preceding the 2016 election and the “October surprise” announced by then FBI Director James Comey, where he said he was going to investigate Hillary Clinton’s emails again. This seemed to have impacted her loss to Donald Trump. Little Monsters refers to Clinton and Trump throughout the novel. Adam is a supporter of Bernie Sanders, the senator from Vermont. He concedes in Chapter 1 that the “presidential choice would be between a boorish billionaire and an unscrupulous woman” (6), echoing the attacks on each candidate from the other.

Attacks on Clinton—from questions about her fundraising to complaints about her emails—are interspersed throughout the novel. They reflect the narrative’s emphasis on toxic masculinity and ambitious women. They also reflect Adam and Ken’s view of women as dutiful wives and objects of desire. At Ken and Jenny’s Memorial Day party, David observes, “The news cycle is nuts right now, and this election […] is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before” (87). David lays bare the election’s strangeness, which serves as a backdrop for the novel’s exploration of toxic masculinity, lies and secrets, and family dynamics.

These dynamics spill over into Ken’s personal ambitions.