Nominees battle for voters one last time

Two presidential candidate contenders confidently strolled onto the debate stage for a third and final time, Oct. 19. They were greeted with a constitutionally-themed backdrop, which ironically voters have questioned their abilities in defending such a document.

No handshakes or greetings were exchanged between Republican nominee Donald J. Trump and Democratic nominee Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Chris Wallace moderated the debate, touching on a variety of subjects the presidential candidates will face in the oval office.

Supreme Court

Wallace began the two-hour debate by asking Trump and Clinton about their decisions on appointing new justices to the Supreme Court.

Clinton opened the debate by voicing her support for the American people and not the powerful corporations and the wealthy. Clinton’s ideal justices would support women’s rights and the rights of other groups including the LGBT community. Clinton also wants justices who oppose Citizens United because of it’s undermining of the election system.  

Trump responded by vocalizing the importance of having the right justices elected to the Supreme Court. Trump used Justice Ginsburg’s derogatory comments against him and his supporters as an example of the importance of the Supreme Court Justices. Trump stated that he wants justices who are pro-life, willing to protect the second amendment and interpret the constitution the way the founders intended it to be interpreted.  

Immigration

The widely discussed subject of immigration came to the candidate’s minds as Wallace presented his next topic. Wallace unfurled the controversial debate by recalling Trump’s plans for the construction of a wall across the southern border and major deportation of illegal immigrants, and Clinton’s proposed package to citizenship.

Trump aggressively criticized Clinton’s proposition of amnesty to all illegal immigrants, calling it unfair to the people attempting to legally enter the U.S. Trump called for stronger borders mentioning some of the families who have had members murdered by undocumented immigrants. By building a wall, Trump claims that it will stop the drug trade, and if he is elected, he will confront the drug lords.

Trump defended himself well against the accusations of disrespecting women, pointing fingers at the Clinton campaign for staging the scandal. Wallace’s question on Clinton’s bias towards donors was defended by her telling the crowd that what she did as Secretary of State was for the betterment of the country. Trump was able to back his accusation with evidence from Wikileaks that the Clinton campaign had instigated trouble before, while Clinton did not provide any solid evidence for her actions while she was Secretary of State. –Sam Cross

Clinton countered Trump’s points with an encounter she experienced with a young girl. The young girl, Carla was fearful she would be separated from her parents because of their undocumented status. Not wanting to see families separated through deportation, Clinton sees Trump’s deportation policies as a threat to families like Carla’s.

Clinton believes that such an act as un-American and would divide the country. However, Clinton still believes in border security. In the first 100 days of being in the oval office, Clinton claims she would introduce Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

Economy

After an off topic debate that went from a clarification from Wallace on Clinton’s stance on open borders to the candidate’s policies concerning Russia, Wallace reeled the candidates back in to discuss U.S. economic growth.

Clinton began boldly by avowing she will grow the economy through giving middle-class families more options by creating the biggest jobs program since World War Two. Clinton wants to support and grow small businesses and raise the national minimum wage along with equal pay for women.

With an eye on education, Clinton wants a well-founded school system beginning in preschool and finishing in college. Agreeing and working with Senator Bernie Sanders, Clinton has a plan for free college in public colleges for families whose annual income is less than $125,000. Clinton criticized Trump’s economic plan, speculating that his tax cuts on the wealthy could result in the loss of 3.5 million jobs, adding $20 trillion to the U.S. national debt and beginning another recession.

Trump fired back at Clinton, calling her plan a disaster because of increase in taxes outlined in her plan. Trump proceeded to question some of the U.S.’s allies willingness to support the U.S. in defending their countries. Trump continued saying that the U.S. needs to ask for financial support from the countries it helps protect.

Trump accused the trade deal NAFTA of taking jobs away from the U.S. economy. He plans to renegotiate NAFTA or replace it completely with other trade deals. If Trump is elected, he claims he will cut business taxes. By doing this, Trump anticipates the businesses will begin hiring more people and get the economy back on track.

Personal Fitness for Candidacy

After straying from debates on the economy to policies on ISIS, Wallace again redirected the candidates to the next subject of personal fitness for the presidential candidacy. Wallace began the new topic by asking Trump to explain himself on the allegations concerning him inappropriately touching women.

Trumped immediately denied knowing any of the women who had come forward and was suspicious of Clinton’s campaign staging the scandal as they did in inciting violent riots at a Trump rally in Chicago. Trump dove into further detail stating he never apologized to anyone because he had nothing to apologize for. Trump dismissed all of the allegations as false.

Not commenting on the allegations of faking the scandal, Clinton proceeded to discuss what Trump said at rallies following the second presidential debate. According to Clinton, Trump apparently said he could not have done such things to women because they were not attractive enough.

After discussing Trump’s scandals, Wallace proceeded to question Clinton on a scandal surrounding her campaign. During a 2009 confirmation hearing, Clinton agreed to avoid a conflict of interest with the Clinton Foundation while she was Secretary of State. Donors received special access compared to other non-donors.

According to Clinton, all of her actions as Secretary of State was for the betterment of the nation. Overjoyed by the opportunity to talk about the foundation’s charity work, Clinton discreetly changed the subject of the question and began talking about the many charitable acts the foundation has contributed to. Clinton spoke about the foundation’s contribution in enabling 11 million people the ability to afford HIV/AIDS treatment.

Trump challenged Clinton to return all of the donations her foundation received from countries that mistreat different groups of people.

Trump’s views on abortion and the second amendment both align with my own views on the two controversial topics. An unborn child is still a child, and taking away American’s firearms would be a direct attack on the rights they possess. Equality and justice are issues on the voter’s mind currently in the dilemmas the country faces with police relations and other racial issues. Clinton chose wise words in describing what she wanted her ideal justice to believe in.

With the current situation at the border, America needs a strong force defending the border, and proper security to slow the flow of illegal immigrants into the States. Trump and Clinton agreed on the need to beef up border security, but I feel Trump already has a definite plan to slow the illegal border traffic in the coming years. I disagreed with Clinton’s proposal of amnesty because of the  unfairness that would bring to people attempting to legally immigrate to the U.S.

Clinton’s plan for taxing the wealthy and large corporations would eventually take a toll on the U.S. economy. Companies would begin moving their headquarters to other countries where taxes on them are lower. This would cut jobs, and hurt the economy and possibly send the country spirally back into recession. Trump’s plan to lower taxes on the corporations is risky but has great potential for bringing jobs and companies back into America.

Wallace remained unbiased during the discussions, asking equally condemning questions to both Clinton and Trump. Trump defended himself well against the accusations of disrespecting women, pointing fingers at the Clinton campaign for staging the scandal. Wallace’s question on Clinton’s bias towards donors was defended by her telling the crowd that what she did as Secretary of State was for the betterment of the country. Trump was able to back his accusation with evidence from Wikileaks that the Clinton campaign had instigated trouble before, while Clinton did not provide any solid evidence for her actions while she was Secretary of State.

There can only be one president of the United States. To secure the title president, Clinton or Trump needs 270 electoral votes to be elected president. In less 20 days, America will select the new commander in chief.

Check back on The Feather for part 2.

For another election article read, Upcoming election brings uncertainty to nation

This writer can be reached via Twitter: Samuel Cross.