Well it finally happened. The presidential candidates, Billionaire Donald Trump and Fmr. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, met at Hofstra University for the first of three presidentiaI debates and it was about as entertaining as we all expected. They had a lot to say only plenty of issues, some more relevant then others. However, as an 18 year old I was looking for what they had to say about our future.
If there is one issue in this election that millennials care about above all, it’s: Will this candidate irreversibly fuck up our future? In my personal opinion Donald Trump would do significantly more damage than Hillary Clinton. However, don’t take my word for it. Take the candidates at their words. Here is an analysis of what the candidates said in the debates and how exactly their statements address millennials and our issues.
Hillary Clinton - “The central idea of this election is what kind of country we want to be and what kind of future we want to build”
Right off the bat, Sec. Clinton underlined a central theme of her campaign: we need to make not only a better present, but start thinking about our future. Could one accuse her of pandering to millennials, a central group to the Democrats’ voting bloc and one she is underperforming with? Of course. However it must be said that of the two major candidates, at least she is really the only taking the time to address our issues. Issues such as the environment, equal pay, income inequality, student debt, background checks and gay rights among many others.
Donald Trump - “Under my plan I will be reducing taxes tremendously from thirty five percent to fifteen percent for companies, small and big businesses.”
This line from Mr. Trump’s opening statement is not a parallel to what Sec. Clinton said in and for good reason. Trump’s opening statement proved that his platform is a jumble of nonsensical and often contradictory bullshit. This quote is just one prevalent example of how Trump would irrevocably damage our generation. Under his plan, not only would our debt skyrocket but middle and working class families would see their taxes increased. Trump wants to be the next Reagan in a time where those trickle down economics (a policy championed by Reagan) can be looked to as the source of many of our current economic woes. It is certainly not a good plan to secure our future.
Hillary Clinton - “The science is real. And I think is important that we grip this and deal with it both at home and abroad. And here’s what we can do - we can deploy a half a billion more solar panels. We can have enough clean energy to power every home.”
Sec. Clinton’s support of this view is important because climate change is a huge issue for millennials. In public opinion, some 55% of millennials believe climate change is manmade and 75% overall believe in it’s existence. Does this belief in climate change translate to concern? Well, 76% of millennials say they are more concerned than their parents about the environment so I would say yes. However, whether or not you believe it is man made, as Mrs. Clinton said “The science is real” and it will have a huge impact on our generation. We will see crazier weather patterns, rising sea levels and, according to the New York Times, places such as Arizona could see more than 130 days a year with temperatures over 100ºF by 2060. That’s insane and it’s something that needs to be addressed if our generation is to survive.
Donald Trump - “The single greatest problem the world has is nuclear armament, nuclear weapons. Not global warming like you think and your president thinks”
Yes, Mr. Trump is semi-correct in that nuclear weapons are an important issue. Are they the “greatest problem” as he puts it? Not likely, but it is tough to objectively say that any one problem outweighs another. However, as stated in those statistics given above, millennials are very concerned about climate change, but not so much about nuclear weapons. especially in a time with a lot of violence involving terrorism and chemical weapons. However, Trump is hardly the authority on this; he has proposed we give nuclear weapons to japan, said it would wouldn’t matter if Saudi Arabia acquired them, said he wouldn’t rule out nuking Europe and stated that we need to be “unpredictable” with nuclear weapons.
Donald Trump - “It's not negotiable. No, let her release her emails. Why did she delete 33,000 emails?”
Hillary Clinton - “We know the IRS has made clear there is no prohibition on releasing it when you are under audit. So you gotta ask yourself -- why won't he release his tax returns?”
This has been a huge point of contention in this campaign and one which has dogged both candidates, though it seems to plague Sec. Clinton much more than Mr. Trump. Between Sec. Clinton’s deleted emails and undisclosed speeches and Donald Trump’s tax returns, we have seen very little transparency in our two candidates. This would probably be a good time to mention that I myself am a Clinton supporter: I voted for her in the New York primary and will most likely vote for her again in the general election. However, if there is one pet peeve I have with Hillary Clinton it’s her constant dodgeness when it comes to the truth. At this point, nothing in her emails or speeches could ever be more incriminating or damaging than the fact that she is so reluctant to release them. However, I do believe that the issue has been blown out of proportion. What has not been blown out of proportion is Trump’s omission of his tax returns. Besides the fact that it goes against one of the most important and progressive traditions of modern presidential campaigns, it likely means that he has something to hide whether that be shady business dealings with Russians or the fact that he is less wealthy than he says. But transparency is a huge issue for millennials, in fact it is one of the few things we almost all agree is important. In a modern presidential administration, we will have to have a better level of transparency than either candidate is exhibiting.
Hillary Clinton - “Unfortunately, race still determines too much, often determines where people live, determines what kind of education in their public schools they can get…”
This is notable because it is a rare, and often avoided, bold statement on race relations in this country. It’s a hard thing for much of the electorate to cope with, but our society is not post-racial, racism is still present and strong in many places in the US. However, there is one group who does believe that race relations is currently a big problem and, surprise surprise, it’s millennials. The millennial generation is not only the most socially progressive generation but also the most ethnically and racially diverse generation. Millennial support for the Black Lives Matter movement is increasing: 85% of blacks, 67% of asians, 62% of hispanics and 51% of whites between the ages of 18 and 30 now support the movement. This represents a significant increase in people who are becoming "woke" about the realities of racial relations in the US.
Donald Trump - “We have to bring back law and order. Now, whether or not in a place like Chicago, you do stop and frisk which worked very well Mayor Giuliani is here worked very well in New York.”
Yes, Donald Trump the “law and order” candidate has so many endorsements from police groups. Except that doesn’t really fly with millennials who are increasingly suspicious of cops, 50 percent say they don’t always trust the police to do the right thing, and 72 percent believe that police violence against African Americans is a problem So having the support of the police should hurt Trump with millennials (Although the same poll that said 50 percent of millennials don’t trust the police also said much larger portions don’t trust wall street or the government, which is bad for Sec. Clinton). His support for the controversial stop-and-frisk policy, a policy proven to be unpopular and ineffective, should hurt him as well.
These are just a few quotes among the many before and the many to come that paint a very clear picture of where these candidates stand on our issues. The decision is yours millennials, but I implore those of you who watched the debate to consider this question; Do you feel that the candidate you’re voting for represents your interests. Does your favored candidate even bother to address the issues that matter to you? If you are supporting Trump, there’s a good chance the answer is no.
