Trump’s Debate Performance Showcased His Worst Qualities

Politics page of the “Washington Monthly” on October 20, 2016 had featured an article from Michael O’Hare on the Republican nominee, Donald Trump and his performance on the last presidential debate. The writer believes that not only Trump isn’t in the normal range of aspiring political leaders, but also it’s unthinkable to see him as the president of the United States. O’Hare continues by pointing out some of the reasons he believes are enough for disqualifying Donald Trump even as a runner for the office. Here are some of the reasons in brief:

·      Ignoring the most fundamental American democracy principal, which is accepting the outcome of election.

·      Threatening to imprison his political opponents if he wins.

·      Lack of practical policies and presenting the pops up ideas when facing a crowd or Twitter windows.

·      Surrounding himself with advisors, those obey him not people who dare to give him unpleasant advices.

·      Hateful, spiteful and racist personality.

·      Demonstration of corrupt business activities.

As media have been discussing, take the article of “The Huffington Post” as an example, both candidates are seriously suffering from unpopularity in general. It seems for the first time in modern history none of the candidates are the first and favorite choice of many Americans. 

I, as independent liberal, believe that the current presidential election is about making an unpleasant or disgusting choice for the next term of the office. This presidential race has been full of shocking moments but Trump’s refusal to commit to accepting the outcome of the election was just stunning. His respond was so shocking and unprecedented that Chris Wallace, a conservative Fox News anchor and the moderator of the last presidential debate, felt obligated to help Trump to correct his response with a short history lesson and reminding him that: "there is a tradition in this country — in fact, one of the prides of this country — is the peaceful transition of power and that no matter how hard-fought a campaign is, that at the end of the campaign that the loser concedes to the winner”. 
Wallace added this tradition brings the nation together in part for the good of the country. But Trump’s response remained the same by saying he will decide at the time and he wants to keep us in suspense! 

        I believe that Trump’s “rigged election theory” is a perfect example of what president Obama called “Whining”. Trump needs a reason other than himself for losing the race, so he questions the integrity of the electoral process itself.

A Trumpism of the Left

On Wednesday October 5^th, Ross Douthat, a New York Times Op-Ed columnist wrote about Donald Trump’s post-debate raging about Alicia Machado, the former Miss Universe elevated by Hillary Clinton as proof of Trump’s misogyny. Douthat believes it’s the first time in this election that Trump has clashed with someone who actually resembles him. Other targets of Trump’s rage seemed handpicked for their uprightness and dignity. But Machado, like Trump himself, is a creature of the celebrity-industrial complex, a determined self-promoter with an interestingly patchy past. 

They share the same desperation for the spotlight and shamelessness in reaching for it. In an interview by Anderson Cooper she responded: “I’m not a saint girl”, when she was asked about her past. In a world where a playboy like Trump is a major party’s nominee for the presidency, why shouldn’t a playgirl like Machado be a character witness against him?

            Writer suggests that Trumpism represents the downfall of the world of politics by tabloid and the reality-television carnivals and argues that although still Democratic Party isn’t a dysfunctional entity, and some kind of celebrity (ahem, Oprah, ahem) might be able to win the Democratic nomination under present circumstances, but they would need to be respectable rather than disreputable. They need to run a campaign that accepted guardrails and gatekeepers rather than destroying them. He predicts that the demographic differences between the Democratic Party’s younger, poorer, browner base and its older, whiter, richer and more moderate leadership are in a potentially unstable balance. He believes that the new voice in Democratic Party would eventually  force the professional class to give way to a version of Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition and someday Machado’s wild, messy, “I’m not a saint girl” style might have its own claim on the American left’s future.

            Based on my 10 years experience of American life, I found it sad but true that the whole political system and the medias are coordinately shaping the campaigns more towards reality shows and competitions. Candidates being awarded for their theatric performances and attacking each other, rather than their true messages, values and decency.  This mentality would only drives the mainstream Americans to look at the political race as a show and amusement not a critical part of their lives, and the generations to come. On Republican side, we have the examples of presidential win by movie star, Ronald Reagan, which was much more respectable and wiser than Trump or elected governor for California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, another unfit official who led the state to it’s worse economy meltdown. In my opinion these examples strongly support the writer’s argument and the influence of excessive populism in politics.