The 3rd Debate and What It Means for US Presidential Election Day

(Baonghean.vn) - The two US presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have gone through three live debates. After the third debate, it seems that the advantage has tilted towards one candidate.

Clinton and Trump's expressions after the third debate. Photo: Internet.

The third debate

Clinton and Trump continued to show their hostility when they did not shake hands before and after the debate ended. Although both candidates, especially Trump, showed restraint in the beginning, the end of the debate had some climaxes and memorable statements for the audience.

Key topics of debate included Iraq, Syria and IS; Russia and Ukraine; Abortion; Immigration and Wikileaks documents.

After the first two debates, Trump appeared to be weaker with his personal tax scandals and most recently his offensive statements about women 10 years ago. Therefore, he entered the third debate as the underdog. Meanwhile, Mrs. Clinton only needed to maintain her form in the previous two debates and not make any major mistakes to be considered successful.

Trump tried to restrain himself and did well in the early part of the debate when talking about immigration, abortion and foreign policy. His anti-abortion, anti-immigration stance will appeal to many conservative Americans.

However, in the later part, when Clinton showed his wisdom and continuously gently attacked Trump, he could not keep his cool. Trump appeared to be at a disadvantage against Clinton's experience and composure.

Clinton repeatedly offered detailed policy proposals, while also attacking Trump’s weaknesses when she had the chance. She hinted at Trump’s lack of political experience, recalling, “The day I sat in the Situation Room overseeing the Bin Laden raid, he was hosting ‘The Apprentice.’” This was followed by attacks on Trump’s career flaws, his financial troubles, and his recent treatment of women.

In response to Clinton’s cleverness, Trump appeared to be at a disadvantage when he only knew how to make his own “shocking” statements that were gradually becoming boring. Trump called Clinton a “puppet” and even interrupted Clinton and called her an “evil woman”.

Trump's disastrous response

Not only did he fail to turn the tables, Trump continued to “shoot himself in the foot” with a disastrous answer. When asked by the moderator whether he would accept the election results if he lost, Trump gave an indecisive answer, or in other words, refused to answer.

Trump initially beat around the bush: “At that point, I’ll see. What I saw was terrible, the media was terrible… They poisoned the minds of the voters, and unfortunately for them, the voters saw through it all.” When the moderator asked Trump to get to the heart of the matter, he said: “At that point, I’ll say it… I’ll keep you guys in suspense.”

This proves that Trump will consider the election results to be fixed, if he is not elected. For a democratic country like the US, this thinking of a candidate is unacceptable. Speaking about this, current President Obama said:

“That is dangerous. When you try to sow doubt in people's minds about the legitimacy of our elections, that erodes our democracy.”

Will Trump accept the election results if he loses? Photo: Internet.

The significance of the third debate for Election Day, November 8

Although she did not perform very well in the third debate, it was enough for Mrs. Clinton to continue to lead Donald Trump. The Republican candidate was involved in many scandals and his statements during the debate made many people feel that he was not suitable for the position of President of the United States.

The favorable results after the three debates are the reason why Mrs. Clinton is leading her opponent by 4 points according to the latest survey results. According to the Reuters/Ipsos survey, in the week from October 14 to 20, the support rates of the two candidates were 44% and 40% respectively.

However, the gap has narrowed compared to last week. When the video was released with statements about sexual assault, Trump's reputation was severely damaged and let his opponent lead by 7 points. Even other members of the Republican Party turned their backs on him. It is clear that many people still ignore Trump's scandals and are more interested in what he will do after becoming President. Trump's immigration restrictions, opposition to abortion and tax cuts are supported by the majority of conservatives in the US.

Another issue that the third debate brought up was Trump’s stance on accepting the election results. In the past, US presidential elections were very fierce but all losing candidates accepted the results. According to Associate Professor Cassino, Fairleigh Dickinson University, if Trump does the opposite, it will lead to serious political problems and even violence in the US.

Quan Le