UNITED STATES—Nasty. Personal. Argumentative. Lack of respect. Those are just some of the words that I would use to describe the second presidential debate between Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. I mean the first debate was quite decisive; there were proponents that argued Hillary performed better, others quipped that Donald had the edge.
What is important is the fact that over 84 million people watched. That is monumental for a presidential debate because you’re talking of viewership in terms of Super Bowl proportions. While this second debate dropped in viewership, 60 million plus people is nothing to frown upon. However, this highly anticipated debate between both candidates might have been the most uncomfortable debate I have EVER watched. I mean the introduction of the candidates to the floor was a pure sign the level of tension in the air was so thick if you tried to cut it with a knife, it would spark an explosion.
Next, on the world of etiquette, neither candidate shook the others hand. That, I immediately spotted, and it concerned me greatly. I mean both of you are running for the President of the United States and you don’t have the decency to show respect to each other by shaking hands. I mean Hillary and Donald had no trouble shaking hands during the first debate, so what transpired this time around to where that respect could not be echoed. That was the first sign that this debate was going to be one talked about decades to come.
Moderators Anderson Cooper and Martha Raddatz seemed poised to have more control of the debaters compared to Lester Holt which allowed a free-for-all in my personal opinion. Things kicked off on a fiery discussion as no time was wasted asking Donald Trump about those infamous remarks that fueled the media frenzy over the weekend. “This was locker room talk,” Trump quipped when asked about the incident during the debate.
I mean there was no sign of remorse in my opinion from Trump, but from a PR perspective, he had no choice, but to eat those words that were echoed from that hot mic that captured audio between him and former Access Hollywood host Billy Bush. When Anderson Cooper attempted to get a definitive answer from Donald, he skirted the issue slightly, but finally answered.
That was only the beginning of this circus for the next 90 minutes. We all knew questions would continue to come to the forefront for Hillary regarding those infamous emails and her private server and she had to face the music yet again. While she appeared contrite, it was evident that the question unnerved her slightly, and having Donald continually raise the issue during the debate did not help. There was tension on Hillary’s face, even if she refuses to address it.
While it was nice to see the town hall style debate, this seemed more like a ring match where Donald and Hillary did everything in their power to exploit the weaknesses of their component, instead of fully focusing on the issues of hand. I mean issues of Obamacare, Bill Clinton’s prior history with women, foreign policy, the environment and the economy were al at the forefront, this didn’t’ really feel like a debate to me. I want to see the person who is planning to become the POTUS to be more composed and not engage in schoolyard behavior in my opinion.
Was there a clear winner in this debate? I would argue no, once again it was a draw. I don’t think Hillary did anything to work in her favor, neither do I believe Donald. So with two debates out the way, I seriously think this third and final debate is VITAL for both candidates. They have to bring not only their A-game to the debate, but have to convey to potential voters and the American public WHY there are the best fit to become the next president of this great country, and seriously discuss what they WILL DO if elected to office.
