October surprise
news event deliberately created or timed or sometimes occurring spontaneously to influence the outcome of an election, particularly one for the U.S. presidency
en-GB/ɒkˈtəʊbə səˈpɹaɪz/
en-US/ɑkˈtoʊbɚ sɚˈpɹaɪz/
news event deliberately created or timed or sometimes occurring spontaneously to influence the outcome of an election, particularly one for the U.S. presidency