Presidential Debate Hits New Low As Election Looms

By Askia Muhammad -Senior Editor- | Last updated: Oct 13, 2016 - 11:20:34 PM

WASHINGTON—When it seemed that the presidential campaign could not stoop any lower; when it seemed there could be nothing more shocking from the major-party candidates than what had already been exposed; when former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton faced off for the second face-to-face presidential debate against casino operator Donald J. Trump the conversation took the campaign to a new low.

In the wake of the release of an 11-year-old video in which he boasted about groping and kissing women; describing his conduct using the most crude and profane expression in the English language, Mr. Trump turned the second of three presidential debates this election year into a brooding, mudslinging event in which he continually fidgeted, pacing the stage, scowling, standing behind Mrs. Clinton as if he was stalking her.

Throughout the debate Mr. Trump taunted Mrs. Clinton, frequently interrupting her; telling her if he was president she “would be in jail;” he called her “a liar,” and once he even, said she was “the devil.”

Before that second debate Oct. 9 in St. Louis, the Trump campaign had been in a freefall after days of damaging reports: The Washington Post released a video of Mr. Trump containing him making crude, sexual remarks in 2005. “You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful—I just start kissing them,” Mr. Trump said to then “Access Hollywood” host Billy Bush on the way to a cameo soap opera appearance the show was filming.

“It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. Grab them by the p---y,” he said, boasting of his status as an important celebrity. “You can do anything.” Since the release of the footage, Mr. Bush has since been suspended from the cast of his new employer, the “Today Show.”

Early in the debate, when asked about his language and actions described in that recording Mr. Trump reiterated a brief apology and dismissed the recording in a stream-of-consciousness response. “But it’s locker room talk, and it’s one of those things. I will knock the hell out of ISIS.” And with that, Mr. Trump pivoted to speak against Muslims and immigrants.

A Muslim woman in the town hall audience of undecided voters chosen at random to ask questions of the candidates asked about Islamophobia and the equal place for Muslims in the U.S. in the future. Mr. Trump suggested that Muslims in this country “have to report” suspicious behavior by “radical Islamic terrorists” in order to earn the trust of a Trump White House.

At the same time there have been new denunciations from shocked Republicans. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) Announced that he would not appear at any campaign event with Mr. Trump, nor would he defend his comments. Mr. Trump remains unfazed.

Still, both living former Republican presidents; the last two GOP presidential nominees, current officeholders and other candidates have denounced Mr. Trump or called on him to withdraw, afraid that a Trump defeat might cost them and the party politically

Through it all, Mr. Trump remained unfazed. He behaved “like Trump,” in the debate, reiterating overly simplistic answers to complex policy questions, pivoting instead to his favorite campaign talking points—“repeal Obamacare;” hatred for and shrill attacks on Mrs. Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton; “law and order;” and attacking Muslims. He spoke to his core constituency Whites who feel they have been left behind again, as Blacks made social and political gains, especially the election of a Black President who served scandal-free for eight years.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Clinton solidified her lead in the popularity polls immediately after the debate, with composite leads of 48.3 percent to 42.5 percent, according to Real Clear Politics.com. But Mr. Trump remains in the contest, therefore he still has a “puncher’s chance” to land a lucky knockout blow to win.

Black and other non-White voters have power if they decide to utilize it. The power of Blacks, particularly Black women, was central to Mrs. Clinton’s winning the nomination. Black voters however have been taken for granted by some Democrats and ignored by the Republicans, in part because Black voters are gripped by a “morbid fear” of a Trump presidency, and their votes can therefore be written off.

Ironically, such concerns are rooted in historical episodes of “backlash” from White masses in this country angered by their perception that Blacks, Latinos, immigrants, and Muslims are receiving benefits from the American society that they deserve. Such White voters are able to forgive any flaws, inexperience, or moral turpitude on the part of Mr. Trump.

Part of the reason for some of the blind support for Mr. Trump is rooted in White supremacy, in race hatred. “Whenever there’s been a push and overwhelming show of political power by people of color, there’s been a backlash,” Professor Gloria Browne Marshall, who teaches constitutional law at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told The Final Call.

“That took place with the Chinese with the undermining of their political power with the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act; in 1890 was the Mississippi Plan to undermine Black political power; we had Plessy v. Ferguson which undermined all political, economic and social rights for people of color. You continue to have these backlashes today.” Today, Whites feel left behind by changes brought about by the “politically correct” culture and by “affirmative action.”

“In this country, people are under the uninformed notion that this is supposed to be a White country for White people alone, and anything that comes to anyone else should be crumbs from the table,” said Prof. Browne Marshall. “With so many people believing this, false sense of superiority, that when you have this political success by people of color, this is an undermining of that identity. And when someone feels their identity is being pushed out of what they believe is their own country, then they fight back in ways they feel that they can ‘right the wrong,’ which is to put them back into the position which they feel they’re supposed to have in this country.” Mr. Trump represents the restoration of the White identity dominating the U.S. political scene, Prof. Browne Marshall continued.

“That political circle, that sense of: ‘There are things that my community needs; things I need. Whether from the school board all the way up to the president of the United States, is what the future holds for people of color who actually take the time to understand their power and what they can do with it.”

Blacks and other non-Whites must decide how to utilize their potential power, Prof. Browne Marshall said, and then work to achieve designated “power outcomes.”

The Final Call