The GOP Debate aired last week on CNN and millennials all over the country tuned in for various reasons, in various ways. Some watched because they want to consider one of those eleven candidates for presidency. Others watched simply because friends were watching, and they were curious as to what all the hype was. And then there are the liberal millennials, the ones who were watching to form adequate arguments against one or all of those nominees. There is a small portion of those liberal viewers, the portion that includes the vast majority of my friend group, who watched for the pure humor of it. Unfortunately, much of what was said and focused on during the debate felt so much like a "Saturday Night Live" skit.
The main reason was Donald Trump. The fact that he is currently leading as the Republican candidate is humorous all by itself. Trump has openly stated (among making other ridiculous declarations) in response to being asked about some of his “out-there” (i.e. insulting) comments that he is an entertainer, and entertaining is what he knows. By claiming this, he is openly mocking his campaign, and the campaign for presidency itself.
Rand Paul made the point to speak up and shut Trump down as simply an entertainer who is too quick to throw insults. He asked the audience and voters to imagine Trump as he is now negotiating with Iran. Paul said we do not want someone like Trump in such a position, because it would mean disaster for our country.
Scott Walker also commented on Trump’s candidacy, saying that we do not “need an apprentice in office,” and the focus for the debate should not be on Trump because that is not what’s important. He encouraged voters and citizens to realize that not everything Trump says is the truth, and we must focus on fighting for the average American, not the Trumps of our society.
One of Trump’s most arguably horrendous moments was when Carly Fiorina was given the opportunity to respond to Trump saying in an interview that she was too unattractive to vote for, and Trump responded to her mature and well-worded statement by pointing out that she shouldn’t worry, he does find her unattractive. This is despicable. The race for the presidential nomination is not, and never should be, about physical attractiveness, and when Trump was given the opportunity to prove that he wasn’t shallow and could operate like a politician, he failed miserably.
At one point, when all of the candidates were asked about which historical female heroine should be on the $10 bill, Trump said his daughter, openly demonstrating that he does not know any bit of “herstory,” or women’s history. Trump continually repeated before this that he was for women, he knew women—everything he was saying about his support for women’s rights sounded exactly like what Jimmy Fallon has been saying when in his Donald Trump character, one of them being: “I know a lot of women, and they all have issues.” This statement is funny, but then it becomes scary; it sounds almost verbatim to what Trump was repeating in the second debate. His lack of knowledge about past female role models swells our fear about Trump’s sexist behavior.
The second debate was an embarrassment for Donald Trump, and I am extremely surprised that any sane person is still willing to support such an attention-hungry business man. Anyone watching, for any reason, deserved better. The entirety of last night’s debate reminded me of SNL’s cold-open during the last presidential race, with their renditions between Romney and Obama, and how hilariously ridiculous they were. I continually had to remind myself that it was not comedians in character mocking how focused we are on Trump instead of the real issues during such an important debate. It was reality, and it was humiliating for America.
