On October 19th, the final US debate was broadcast, signaling a near end to the 2016 US Presidential election, much to the relief of all those suffering from US election fatigue. Is the US electorate much better informed as a result though?
By poll measures, Hillary Clinton was said to have won all three debates. Her debate style remained consistent throughout. While previously body language experts have noted her answers were too long, she kept most of her debate responses concise and frequently attempted to engage with the audience. Meanwhile her challenger, Donald Trump, directed most of his responses towards Clinton directly and spoke in vague absolutes throughout, the highlight being when he stated he’d failed to discuss strategies regarding Syria with his running mate Mike Pence and in fact disagreed with the Governor’s stance. It is no coincidence that as a female candidate, Clinton cannot afford to use the kind of chauvinistic campaign rhetoric Trump has deployed throughout his campaign to gain coverage.
(Photo Credit: VOA News)
Emails
A topic of ongoing scrutiny, which is unlikely to be resolved before November 8th, is the issue of Clinton’s emails. In recent days the FBI have decided to effectively reopen their investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email and server account during her time as Secretary of State. In a last minute turn of events, emails relating to the investigation of Anthony Weiner, embarrassed husband of Clinton’s top aide Huma Abedin, have been linked to Clinton, though the content of said emails is unknown. FBI director James Comey has faced criticism from Clinton’s campaign who argue he has abandoned FBI political neutrality by discussing the pertinence of Clinton’s emails while refusing to involve the FBI in other matter’s such as Russia’s interference in campaigns, due to the timing being too close to the election.
Clinton’s emails were a primary subject throughout the debates. During the second debate Trump promised “if I win I’m going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation.” Trump has repeatedly stated he will have Clinton imprisoned with chants of ‘”lock her up” echoing at his rallies.
(Photo Credit: ABC News)
Fergurson
The true low point of the second debate came in the form of a lack of debate surrounding one major issue: police brutality. For a debate held in St. Louis, Missouri, mere miles from Ferguson, the silence on the part of both the candidates and moderators regarding police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement was disappointing. The following morning Trump reiterated his belief that the Central Park five were guilty and defended his racially charged 1989 advertisement that ran the headline “Bring back the death penalty.”
Neither candidate has a strong history on issues of race relations. BLM protestors have stormed a number of Clinton’s rallies demanding Clinton do more to address the systematic racism faced by people of colour. In a 2015 Clinton rally intervention protestors were escorted out while chanting “we have nothing to lose but our chains.” In relation to his wife’s campaign, Bill Clinton was forced to defend his Presidential record and controversial 1994 crime bill as many critics have argued the crime bill unfairly targeted black neighborhoods and resulted in the mass incarceration of black citizens.
Meanwhile Trump’s candidacy, endorsed by white supremacists, has been fuelled by racist fear-mongering rhetoric throughout. His infamous racist comments have included calling Mexicans rapists and criminals; promising to build a wall between Mexico and the US; calling for a total ban on Muslims entering the US; and provoking the parents of a US Muslim soldier who died in action, to name a few. His assertion made back in August that he was the best candidate for Africa-American citizens was met with disbelief and humour from the majority of the mainstream media.
Gun Control
However, the candidates did mention police brutality in the first debate in relation gun violence, with Clinton arguing “the gun epidemic is the leading cause of death for young African-Americans” and further argued for reform within the police force so police are “prepared to use force only when necessary.”
Trump, endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the US police force’s largest trade union, accused Clinton of being afraid of the words “law and order” arguing, “we have to stop the violence, we have to bring back law and order.”
(Photo Credit: Huffington Post)
Sexual Harassment comments
With regard to Trump’s horrific “Grab ‘em by the pussy” comments, he argued, “I didn’t even apologise to my wife, who is sitting right here, because I didn’t do anything.” Laura Bates from the EverydaySexism project argued rape culture exists when a Presidential candidate can brag about sexually assaulting women and mainstream media debates whether “men should be able to have a safe space to be able to say things about women.” Trump proceeded to stalk Clinton around the stage, inciting the fear felt by many women who have walked home alone. His stalking seemed an interesting tactic from a candidate who was trying to convince the world he wasn’t a sexual predator.
(Photo Credit: The Daily Beast)
Following the debates, Michelle Obama (arguably Clinton’s most powerful surrogate and ally) spoke of the fear and cruelty she felt when she heard Trump’s comments, passionately arguing, “It reminds us of stories we heard from our mothers and grandmothers about how, back in their day, the boss could say and do whatever he pleased to the women in the office.”
Overall, the debates proved to be some of the ugliest and most controversial in US Presidential history. The US election system and length of the campaign allows for the focus of these debates to remain on the political scandals and controversies of the moment, be that emails, explicit comments or general fear-provoking hyperbole. As a result, both candidates have been able to remain non- specific on many areas of policy, which has ultimately been to the detriment, and disservice of the American public.