Third Presidential Debate
Having watched the two previous debates, my expectations for this debate were already quite low, even before Chris Wallace asked the first question. Shockingly, the beginning of the debate seemed like a typical presidential debate to me, which is impressive considering the absurdity surrounding both candidates and their respective backgrounds.
Trump was able to maintain his composure and actually address policies pertaining to his beliefs about the Supreme Court, the Second Amendment and abortion. While personally I may not agree with his beliefs regarding these issues, I found it beneficial to have a better understanding of his actual thoughts. Clinton, who has been consistent in thoroughly explaining her beliefs, was able to convey her opinions about these topics as well. Though all of the issues discussed throughout the debate are important to any American citizen, there were a few topics that resonated with me the most. As someone who is among many high school students going through the college application process, what the prospective candidates had to say about the issue of college and student loans was extremely important to me. While both candidates did recognize that this is a major issue for a country where college education is becoming more and more important, neither really made clear what they were going to do to fix this issue. Though I do wish they addressed it in more detail, I do appreciate that both recognize the burden that college can be to those who can’t afford it.
Another topic of importance to me that was unfortunately addressed after the debate had begun to take its normal course as a crazy, “anything goes” situation, was the possibility that Social Security and Medicare may not be able to exist in the future. When asked what each candidate would do to prevent these programs from going under, Trump’s response was to cut taxes overall and to repeal ObamaCare, whereas Clinton vouched for raising taxes on the upper class to benefit low income workers. Though both candidates responses tend to line up with the typical beliefs of their respective parties, it was helpful to hear their standpoints on this issue, as the loss of these programs is expected to come within our lifetime if the national debt does not decrease.
One aspect of the debate that really stood out to me was Donald Trump’s claim that if Clinton won the presidency, he would not guarantee that there would be a peaceful transition of power. A peaceful transition of power has always been something The United States has prided itself on, and Trump’s claim that he may not concede the presidency to Clinton is absurd. While both candidates have their own reasons for disliking the prospects of the others’ presidency, Trump has no right to make that statement and take that action.
While this debate did eventually take the similar route that the previous two have taken, I found that especially towards the beginning, both candidates seemed to be able to get their points across without a massive and absurd argument. Hopefully both will be able to deal with their potential presidency with as much dignity as they had in the first part of this debate.
