Republican Party nominee, Donald J. Trump, may have finally suffered a knockout punch in Wednesday’s, third, and final Presidential debate. The Trump campaign ship seems to have sprung more leaks than it can repair in the 19 days left until November 8 th, after the candidate released a thrashing storm of insults littered with gems like, “bad hombres” in reference to illegal Mexican immigrants, “such a nasty woman” in return to one of Democratic Party nominee, Hillary Clinton’s jabs, and the repeated reference to Secretary Clinton as “a puppet” for Russian President Vladimir Putin, after she referred to him as one.
The back and forth harsh exchanges between the two began early in the night, beginning with their disagreement on abortion. While Clinton, a notorious pro-choice candidate, defended Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood, and the practical usage of late term abortion in extreme, and rare, cases of high risk of death for the mother or child, Mr. Trump, a pro-life candidate, repeatedly misinterpreted Sec. Clinton’s belief as her wanting to “rip the baby out at 9 months” causing a heated exchange between the two. Where Trump continued his brutally negative tone, angrily yelling into the microphone, and interruptions, Clinton showed this to be her strongest debate of the three, bobbing and weaving her way through a barrage of false accusations and name calling, all while putting her poise, preparation, and knowledge of policy on full display. Trump, as well, had a few shining moments, with his highest point coming with the topic of the newly released “WikiLeaks” information of a speech Sec. Clinton gave to a group of Brazilian bankers in 2013. In released excerpts of the speech she references wanting to see the United States with “open borders”, when Trump pressed her on this, a usually calm and on point Hillary Clinton pivoted and squirmed her way onto another topic. But in Donald Trump like fashion, his highest point of the debate was quickly followed by one of the lowest points of his year and half long campaign. The real headline of the night came when the Republican nominee refused to say whether or not he would honor the outcome of the election, saying he will, “leave you in suspense.” This comes after weeks of Trump making accusations at his rallies of the election being “rigged” if he loses. This is a dangerous stance and excuse that has been offered by no other presidential candidate in modern history.
In a week ravaged by sexual assault allegations and the release of the now infamous audio tape of Mr. Trump bragging about assaulting women, it comes as a damaging blow to the Republican Party that Trump’s debate performance came nowhere close to the level needed to secure votes from a large number of desperately sought after undecided voters. His overall lackluster debate performance, paired with his very true to character brazen behavior, and the bizarre move of bringing President Barack Obama’s Kenyan half-brother, Malik Obama, to the debate only further alienated voters still on the fence in this decisive election. Now with Sec. Clinton holding a 7-point average in all national polls (according to RealClearPolitics), the uphill battle for Mr. Trump seems to only becoming steeper and more slippery. Just as it has been most of his adult life and just as he wants it to be, no matter who wins the presidency, all eyes will be on Donald Trump the evening of November 8 th as the American people look to see if the most basic foundation of their republic, a peaceful transition of power, can withstand an election more dividing than any other in recent memory. The third presidential debate was the last time the public will get a chance to hear the two candidates for themselves, and although Clinton may have squeaked out a victory in the polls, neither did much more than appeal to their base and retain the voters already in their respective corners.
