There's no doubt that the 2016 election has been an unusual, entertaining and scary one. However, while you may not be a fan of either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton as a candidate, it’s still important to be politically involved in society and to take on the duty to vote as an American citizen.
So, to help those who still may be struggling to decide, here is a simple recap of the second presidential debate.
A major topic of discussion was the video tape that was released with Donald Trump talking about women inappropriately. At the debate, Trump apologized for his actions and said that it was “locker room talk.” Consequently, Hillary questioned Trump’s fitness to serve as president; she believes that the video represents exactly who he is.
In the face of this altercation, Trump retorted that while he was talking about women in an inappropriate manner, Bill Clinton actually acted inappropriately toward women. Trump said, "If you look at Bill Clinton, far worse; mine are words, and his are action."
Besides the news in the media, some of the more crucial issues that were discussed in the debate are the issues of radical Islamic terrorism and the Syrian refugee crisis. In fact, these two subjects became intertwined and Trump and Clinton expressed their opposing viewpoints regarding how the United States should take action.
While the goal of both candidates during their presidency is to stop terrorism, Trump wants to enforce stricter rules and wants to close the border to avoid terrorists from coming into the country whereas Clinton doesn't think that this will solve further problems. Clinton said that Trump is targeting immigrants and Muslims, but Trump fired back by saying how he wants to make America safe again.
In addition, Clinton wants the country to help the Syrian refugees, especially children, by letting them into the country. As a nation, “We are great because we are good,” Clinton said. She expressed how she wants to be welcoming to Muslims and how “we have had Muslims in our country since George Washington” and that “we are a country founded on religious liberty.”
On the other hand, Trump explained how President Obama and Clinton don’t use the term “radical Islam” and how we have to recognize what the name of the problem is in order to solve the problem. He also said, “Muslims have to report what is going on… If they don’t do that, it’s a very difficult situation for our country.” Then, with reference to the Syrian refugee crisis, he he said he believes that we shouldn’t let refugees into the country due to the unknown of what the refugees think about the United States.
Out of everything that was brought up during the debate, this seemed to be the topic that had the most substance.
Another talking point was Clinton’s email scandal. Trump even told her directly that he wants to get a special prosecutor to investigate her email situation and how if it were up to him, she would be in jail.
Although key phrases were the pinnacle of outrage during and after the debate, nonverbal communication between the candidates is also something to take note of. At one point while Clinton was answering a question, Trump stood closely behind her, which is something that has never been done during a presidential debate before. At various moments, Clinton would smile at Trump or at the camera whenever she thought Trump was saying something ridiculous.
But the unexpected plot twist that was at the end of the debate was when a man from the audience asked the candidates what positive things they could say about each other. Clinton answered the question by saying that she respects Trump’s children and Trump said that Clinton doesn’t quit and doesn’t give up.
