Nobody Won

On Sun., Oct. 9, the nation of America looked upon the presidential debate with cringing hearts and hopeful or hopeless eyes. I, myself, was face-palming multiple times as Hillary Clinton twisted answers to promote herself and Donald Trump showcased his A+ childlike behavior, while he was arguing with the moderators, that can only be likened to a five-year-old fighting with his parents before bed.

I also noticed that Trump was losing his demeanor when he kept interrupting Clinton during her turns. He began to stalk Clinton like a predator by constantly following her flank and keeping in the background of the camera shots, though after a very specific video describing how Trump treats woman was released I can understand how he would fail in keeping his distance.

I believe that neither one of the candidates won the debate. Both were weak in their execution and also failed to follow questions and provide direct answers. One of the questions, first directed at Secretary Clinton asked: “… Knowing that educators assign viewing the presidential debates as students’ homework, do you feel you’re modeling appropriate and positive behavior for today’s youth?” This is a very simple yes or no question, but Clinton decides to turn her response into an introduction of nothing but self-promotion.

This is a very early event in the debate, actually the first, but it laid out a preview into what people would have to deal with for the remainder of the debate. But Clinton was not the only one to avoid questions. The biggest one for me to see Trump address were the ones concerning the tapes.

The video in question was released by CNN on the previous Friday before the debate, “You called what you said ‘locker-room banter.’ You described kissing women without consent, grabbing their genitals. That is sexual assault. You bragged that you have sexually assaulted women. Do you understand that?” Trump turned the question to ISIS, making many of us turn our heads in confusion. But at the end of the video, and Trump’s reluctance to answer the question indicates that he has sexually assaulted women and is, therefore, a predator.

Neither one of the candidates won. Being over prepared and holding your tongue but also being disrespectful and ignorant does not make you a winner. The practice of debate is respectful and well thought out, it is a verbal game of chess that requires an air of finesse — not an outdated feminist and orangutan who considers himself a politician.