Trump’s presidential campaign shrouded in delusional beliefs
Has there ever been a U.S. presidential election campaign as smeared with scandalous stories and nasty verbal attacks by individual candidates as this year’s? No wonder it is being denounced as the worst ever.
The Democratic Party’s presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her Republican counterpart Donald Trump have held their third televised debate. It is regrettable, however, that even in the final one-on-one face-off ahead of Election Day on Nov. 8, the two candidates lacked policy discussions and were instead conspicuously engaged in slandering each other.
Clinton said, “Donald thinks belittling women makes him bigger.” Citing his past indecent remarks, she emphasized that Trump lacks the temperament to be president. Many Americans likely agree with her view.
It was revealed recently that Trump blatantly made lewd and sexually charged comments in a video recorded when he appeared in a TV program 11 years ago. This was followed by a series of allegations by women that they were groped by Trump.
There has been no end to the Republican Party’s mainstream and swing voters distancing themselves from him. This can be regarded as natural as long as he sticks to a radical stance with no sign of reflection. He said during the debate, “Nobody has more respect for women than I do.” But his statement seems to have no persuasive power.
It is extraordinary that the Trump campaign has exploited internal documents of the Clinton campaign, which were leaked online due to cyber-attacks, to attack Clinton.
Democracy at stake
The U.S. government has been investigating the case, suspecting the Russian government was involved in the hacking. If this is proved to be true, stern steps must be taken.
Something that cannot be ignored is that Trump did not commit to accepting the outcome of the presidential election, citing biased media reporting and alleged fraud in voter registration. Even when the debate’s moderator asked about his position, Trump only answered, “I’ll tell you at the time.”
Questioning the legitimacy of an election without presenting concrete evidence to prove “bias” and “unlawfulness” amounts to a rejection of democracy. What on earth does he think about the influence of his instigating and thoughtless words on his supporters and on society? One can only be dumbfounded.
Despite a number of blunders by Trump, Clinton has failed to improve her low likability rating. This is also problematic. She was even called a “criminal” by Trump over the allegation that while she served as secretary of state she handled confidential information in her private emails. It is indispensable for her to give sincere explanations on the allegations.
The driving force of the working class Americans who persistently back Trump is their anger against the outflow of jobs overseas and the expanding income gap between rich and poor. The emotional chasm between the establishment Clinton represents and the working class is ever widening.
What relief can be offered to people left behind by economic globalization? This could be a grave issue that will remain even after the U.S. presidential campaign.
