Let’s get ready to rumble
September 23, 2016
Loading ...After months of personal attacks and social media insults, Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton are going head-to-head for the first time on the debate stage at Hofstra University Monday night.
In a move that was not originally planned, the Presidential Debate Commission released its trio of talking points, (America’s Direction, Achieving Prosperity and Securing America) for the upcoming debate.
Despite this early release of information, the commission was quick to mention that topics could change as a result of national and international news that breaks leading up to the debate, and critics have been quick to point out the ambiguity these topics carry with them.
However, that does not stop politically active viewers from voicing their thoughts at what Monday night’s debate should include.
“I’d like to hear the actual difference in trade policies and how they’re going to fix the economy,” senior Zachary Pakizer said.
Some are still unclear on each candidate’s policies, and are going to watch the debate to get a better picture of who Clinton and Trump are as candidates.
“I don’t know what their policies are. I want to know the candidate’s viewpoints on social and fiscal policies,” senior Stephen Chapman said.
Senior and registered voter John Foerster hopes the debate will shed some light on their views on foreign issues, such as the refugee crisis.
“I want them to discuss the integration of Syrian and Middle Eastern refugees. I feel there is a lot of debate on Obama’s pushing legislation for 75,000 new refugees, and depending on who is elected, it will either get pushed through or die,” Foerster said.
While most look forward to seeing Trump and Clinton face off on the debate stage and see if the candidates can maintain themselves, experts interviewed by The Hill project the debate to draw in more than 100 million television viewers, annihilating the previously most watched presidential debate of Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan in 1980, which drew in 80 million viewers. However, senior James Hynes will not be one of those people.
“I feel that [Clinton] is a liar and Trump is an idiot; it would probably devolve very quickly,” Hynes said.
From Trump calling Clinton “Crooked Hillary” for five months, to Clinton saying half of Trump’s supporters fit into a “basket of deplorables” two weeks ago, to political ad after political ad slamming each candidate, the tension and apparent animosity between these two has only been increasing. Will Clinton and Trump be able to handle themselves in the national spotlight for the first time together, or will they continue to attack each other and shout their blanket statements at the New York crowd?
Despite the possibility of things getting out of hand, senior Isabella Guevara looks only for the candidates to not say more of the same.
“I want to know if they have anything new to say or are changing from what they’ve said before,” Guevara said.
Whether one watches the debate or not, there’s no denying that it marks the beginning of a crucial step in an election that ultimately decides the direction of this country.
“If you’re going to have an opinion on politics, you at least have to be informed,” Pakizer said.
The debate will be from 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., will be moderated by NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt and will air on all major television networks, such as ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, NBC, C-SPAN and all other affiliates related to those channels. The debate can also be streamed through a variety of websites.
