Trump Takes Clinton's Bait
Summary: Hilary and Trump appeared in their first presidential debate Monday and it seems that Hillary “managed to crawl under Trump’s skin”. The debate revealed that Trump was more focused about his image than addressing the public’s concerns while Hilary remained perfectly composed throughout. In Ohio, out of a focus group with 29 undecided voters, 17 believed Hillary won while none voted for Trump. Clinton continued to push his buttons by making remarks about loaning millions from his father and attacking him for not paying any federal taxes. In response Trump stated he would make his taxes public when Hillary made her deleted emails public. Trump also retaliated and attacked Hillary for her husband’s signing of NAFTA, “the worst things that’s ever happened to the manufacturing industry”. However, Clinton continued to fire back at Trump by fact checking him for his denial of supporting the Iraq War and claiming Obama was not born in the U.S. It is uncertain who truly won the debate but what we do know is that the polls are close and the next debate will be vital to determining who becomes the next president.
Questions:
- What were some of the reasons why Hillary deems Trump unfit to be president? Why does Trump deem Hillary unfit?
- Who do you think won the debate?
- Explain the political cartoon
- What demographic does Trump/Hillary appeal to?
- Do the debates even matter if people already know who they are siding with?
While Trump claims that he "won the debate" only hours ago today, for the public, there is not a clear winner as both of the candidates' flaws were on full display. The presidential debates do not have an extremely large impact on those who already know who they are going to vote for and side with. For voters who have a strong stance for either candidate, they won't be swayed from this debate. There is little to no chance that voters who have already decided on their candidate will change their minds and vote for the other. Voters only view the debates as a way to see and evaluate the flaws in the other candidate. Those who side with Hillary Clinton only see more and more of the flaws from Donald Trump and vice versa. For those who do not stand strongly with either candidate or undecided, this debate could help them side with one.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tesia that voters will likely not be swayed by the debates. The political cartoon reinforces this notion, emphasizing the pointlessness and ridiculousness of the presidential debates through its satirical portrayal of all those involved in the political process.
DeleteI agree that voters that have already sided with a candidate will not be swayed by the debates. The debates for these decided voters act as opportunities for them to reaffirm their stance. They will pay more attention to the flaws of the opposing candidate to further validate their decision.
DeleteI do not believe that the debates will impact the opinions of those that have already made up their minds. The debates will matter for those still undecided. Of the undecided that were surveyed none thought that Trump won, this is evidence that the debates are having an impact on the undecided. For those that have already decided who they are voting for the debates will have little impact because the debates do not really provide any new information, they simply make what the public has known all along more obvious. The Trump supporters will continue to support him and view Clinton as untrustworthy, the Clinton supporters will still see Trump as a joke.
ReplyDeleteHillary Clinton clearly won the debate. The facts she stated were accurate, while fact checkers indicate that Trump fibbed about most of his claims. In addition, Clinton remained calm and respectful towards her opponent, while Trump's constant and disrespectful interruptions displayed his childish, ill fit for the presidency, behavior.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Larissa that Hilary has clearly won the debate. Clinton's arguments are concise and she remained fairly calm throughout the debate. On the other hand, Trump was vague on his argument, in addition, he verbally attacked Clinton claiming she was not physically fit to be president due to her pneumonia. I think despite that most people know which party they allign themselves with, the presidential debate still plays a prominent role in the election. There are some citizens who still remain unsure of which party to vote, the debate informs the audience more about each candidate and what they advocate for.
DeleteI agree. Clinton won the debate because she was better prepared and more efficient about addressing the question being asked. Her answers were also accurate and consistent with the stances she's taken in the past. Trump, on the other hand, looked very unprofessional as he ranted about irrelevant topics. For many questions, he went on tangents without really addressing what was asked of him. He was being disrespectful to both Hillary Clinton and Lester Holt. Personally, watching him speak was cringe-worthy.
DeleteSeriously laugh out loud cartoon!
ReplyDeleteWhat were some of the reasons why Hillary deems Trump unfit to be president? Why does Trump deem Hillary unfit?
ReplyDeleteHillary and Trump clearly show disapproval of each-others' canidacy for a plethora of reasons. While Trump lacks experience, Hillary's main complaint is his hot headed temperament and lack of thinking before acting. His childish tweets and unsubstantiated claims give truth to Hillary's insults. On the other hand Trump argues that Hillary is untrustworthy and has no problem lying to the public. His accusations also carry weight because of Hillary's recent email scandal. Overall both candidates are flawed, but with little support for the third party hopes for another candidate are in vain.
In this election especially, if people already know who they're siding with, the debates do not matter at all. This is because of multiple reasons: 1. Trump and Clinton have very differentiable policies and platforms, which eliminates much of the reason for potentially confused voters who are single issue-minded 2. At this point in the election cycle, voters already know the candidates pretty well, so anything that happens in the debates will not impact their voting preferences 3. Televised debates are less about policy, and more about presentability, so voters who are already decided will most likely not change their stances. However, for those who are undecided, the debates are an opportunity to decide who they believe would serve as a better president. Unfortunately, this election is so obscure that most undecided voters at this point are voting based on preconceived notions and appearances rather than public policies of the candidates, which is what the decided voters base their decisions off of.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion Hillary won the debate. She seemed more collected than Trump and did a great job attacking him. However, I do not think it really matters who won. At this point in the elections, voters already have a strong understanding of where Trump and Hillary stand as well as who they are going to vote for. At this time I believe the only thing that could change most voters' minds is if either candidate is accused or says something that seriously hurts their standing in this election.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Hillary won the debate because she was better prepared, answered questions in their entirety and appealed to viewers, and overall stayed calm and levelheaded. The debates barely matter at this point in the election. With less than a month until elections, and after having seen the candidates for months and months prior to these debates, the constituents already know the candidates pretty well. Especially since Clinton and Trump have such contrasting stances on many issues, the majority of voters have already determined who they will be voting for. Even undecided voters are likely leaning toward one candidate at this point in the presidential race, thus debates hardly matter.
ReplyDeleteThe political cartoon is divided into 4 parts. The top left quadrant parodies Hillary's health as being weak and is basically on life support. The top right quadrant is most likely referencing Lestor Holt, I'm not too sure of the zipper and starch spray reference. The bottom left references viewers and getting the alcohol ready to drink if the debate is an embarassment. Finally the bottom right is Donald Trump more concerned about his public image over his policies.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Clinton delivered a series of detailed answers on subjects ranging from race to the Middle East to tax policy. Meanwhile, she delivered a string of attacks on Trump, assailing him for stiffing contractors, refusing to release his tax returns, fomenting birtherism, and caricaturing black America. She stumbled only occasionally, but left few openings for Trump. She remained calm and often smiling as Trump repeatedly attacked her and interrupted her answers.
ReplyDeleteWith this presidential election, I think that the debates do matter. Of course there are many people who would never vote for Trump and also people who would never vote for Hillary. Due to the fact that many people believe they have to choose the "lesser of evils", there are many undecided voters. Seeing how the candidates behave as well as the policies they talk about, the debates could have a candidate win over undecided voters.
ReplyDeleteWith this presidential election, I think that the debates do matter. Of course there are many people who would never vote for Trump and also people who would never vote for Hillary. Due to the fact that many people believe they have to choose the "lesser of evils", there are many undecided voters. Seeing how the candidates behave as well as the policies they talk about, the debates could have a candidate win over undecided voters.
ReplyDeleteAmong likely voters, Clinton has an eight-point lead among women and is tied with Trump among likely voter men. Clinton has a solid lead with black and Hispanic voters. Trump, however, has never held a significant lead with this group and is down by a 12-point margin among white college-educated voters. Overall, Democrats and Republicans have aligned behind their candidates.
ReplyDeleteI think debates definitely matter since it can easily swing a voter in the complete opposite direction that they anticipated. The true personalities of the candidates come out in the presidential debates as it truly exemplifies how one can cope with competition and demanding questions. In this case the debate showed Clinton's level headedness and Trumps lack of filter. The way in which the candidates respond to the questions and to what their opposing candidate say speak a lot about the president they will be and the campaign they are running.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the voters more or less will not be swayed that much from the debates because they probably have already sided with a candidate. Rarely do people turn on the TV to watch the debate to decide who they want to vote for; they usually instead are cheering for one candidate. However this election is very unique and I do believe that if one of the candidates states something completely unexpected, it may sway a certain group of voters.
ReplyDelete