This year has been iconic in the political world. All parties have had incredibly interesting candidates that would make for killer future President of the Unites States. The issue many of my friends are running into is this: we know who we're dealing with, but we lack information. While there are two other active candidates running (Gary Johnson and Jill Stein), I'm going to give you some pros and cons regarding the debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump airing September 26th. Here's what you need to know:
Hillary Clinton, Democratic candidate
Hillary is the first female presidential candidate. While I don't want to identify her simply by the fact that she is a woman, this is a huge step for gender equality and we cannot ignore that fact.
Some pros regarding Hillary's opportunity:
- Hillary is incredibly experienced in politics, and this can make her quite effective if elected.
- She is publicly vetted. Being a former first lady, staying in the political world, and running for the democratic seat both in 2008 and now gaining the nomination, she has been in the public eye for a long time. There's a lot of information on her and her family in general.
- She has a very detailed plan. You may or may not like her plan, but at least it's detailed and clear enough for you to make that decision.
- She is known internationally, as well as accepted. She is well-known and will be taken quite seriously by our allies.
Cons:
- Hillary brings a lot of baggage to the table. She's been under fire for scandals lately, including the email scandal when she used a public server to send private emails. She was investigated by the FBI.
- She has a tough time gaining trust with voters not yet on her side, due to issues such as the aforementioned.
Donald Trump, Republican candidate
Donald Trump stepped onto the political platform for the first time to become part of this race.
Pros:
- As a businessman, it is assumed he is financially dependent and knows about financial crises in the U.S., and able to manage a large organization.
- He is independent of traditional party structures, not a typical candidate.
- His views deeply resonate with voters that do not feel safe with where the U.S. is headed, economically.
Cons:
- He is abrasive and also involved in scandals.
- He's unpopular abroad - U.S. allies are not fond of him. He's well known in the business world, and may not be taken seriously as a politician.
- He's insincere and uncertain. His stances on certain (huge) issues are not clear and he has consistently taken different sides.
While we do have candidates running in the Green Party and Independent Party, they were not a part of the debate as they do not have at least 15% of the voting poll secured. The best step would be to watch the debates, see which candidate resonates with you. The next debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is set for October 9th - be sure to tune in. This election will be epic, no matter which way we go.