I'm not American, but I agree with you, it's can't all be about defeating the candidate I hate most. If the two main candidates are terrible, why not go for a third? Even if my pick doesn't win, maybe if enough people think the same, you could have a more diverse pool of candidates further down the line. What's the worst that could happen? It's not like Trump will end the country in four years right? right?

Imagine if headlines were "the two main options are terrible, what other options do we have" instead of, "they're both terrible but you have to stop the guy you hate the most at any cost". Feels like a way to limit the candidate pool to two options.