Debate 2.0: It Actually Got Worse

The nation watched on Sunday night as the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, faced off against the Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, at Washington University in St. Lewis, Missouri. (Watch the full debate on NBC News here)

Both candidates have had a terrible past couple months, with many scandals uncovered.  In any other race, the Democratic nominee would have struggled to recover from the release of her speech to Goldman Sachs.  This would be the main topic during the debate, which would confirm Bernie Sanders’s accusations, and ultimately destroy any chances of Hillary winning the presidency.  This scandal, however, was practically forgotten in the wake of Donald Trump’s most recent scandal: the release of a horrendous recording of Trump’s “extremely lewd conversation about women” in 2005. Even before the debate, Trump’s scandal led many Republican and religious supporters to leave the Trump bandwagon, including some going so far as to call for Trump to abandon his campaign for the presidency.

This momentous outrage was the primary focus of Sunday’s debate.  Mrs. Clinton capitalized on this opportunity to attack the legitimacy of Trump’s campaign and to portray him as unfit to lead our nation.  Meanwhile, Trump tried to refocus the debate on Clinton’s trustworthiness, especially with the handling of more secrets regarding national security. Trump generally tried to dodge the issues of his past comments, including seguing to the topic of ISIS while issuing a partial apology regarding his comments on the video.

Many enjoyed watching the candidates answer a closing question regarding qualities in the other that they admire.  Hillary chose to compliment Trump’s children, while Trump admired Mrs. Clinton’s perseverance and unwavering determination.

One topic that was especially notable to Catholics was the mention of replacements for the late Supreme Court Justice, Mr. Scalia.  Hillary promised a justice who would continue to uphold Roe v. Wade, while Trump promised a judge who would resemble Antonin Scalia.

Before the debate, Trump appeared to be doomed.  While it was not a resounding win for his flailing campaign, he did recover some of the vast territory that he recently lost in the wake of his surging scandals. What remains unclear is whether he gained enough to salvage his chance at securing the Presidency. With only a month remaining, the candidates have much work to do in order to win the decreasing number of undecided voters.

For good or for ill … the third and (thankfully) final Presidential Debate will be at 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM (CT) on Wednesday, October 19, 2016.