Reality TV at its best: 3 debates will decide the US Presidential Election

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Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Immigration, President, Presidential Debate, US Election, USA

Trump vs Clinton…a straight fight for the White House…all rights are reserved for this image ©

By Manish Pandey.

It will be the three televised debates which will decide the next US President. After a bitterly fought campaign on both sides, it is a dead heat between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. We will see reality TV at its best in the 3 debates.

The polls have been fluctuating over recent weeks. Trump’s numbers plummeted when he picked a public fight with the father of a Muslim war veteran. Clinton’s numbers followed suit when she had her health scare and was diagnosed with Pneumonia.

Over 100 million viewers are expected to tune in. The stage is set for the most significant televised debate in history. It is brains vs instinct. Preparation vs fast food. Woman vs man. It is Clinton vs Trump.

According to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, 34% of registered voters think the three presidential debates would be extremely or quite important in helping them decide whom to support for president.

Both candidates will be focusing on ensuring they do not make any memorable gaffes which could lose them the presidency. It will be fascinating to see the strategies employed by both candidates.

In recent weeks, Donald Trump has toned down the rhetoric and portrayed himself as more presidential. Hillary has upped the ante by personally attacking Trump on several occasions online.

Due to the unique nature of Trump and his style, it will be tricky for Hillary Clinton to anticipate which Donald Trump she will face in the debate. There is no doubt she will be preparing relentlessly for both versions of Trump. Until she is face to face however, we will not know how she copes.

Trump has a skill in dragging people down to his level. In deflecting the debate by being personal when he does not want to answer questions in depth. He can wind his opponents up with his bluster and demeanour.

It will be a challenge for Clinton to keep her discipline and cool, in particular because she is a woman. She must not look angry or on the defensive, because despite being in the 21st century, women tend to get penalised for that.

There is no doubt Trump will bring up the email scandals. He will make digs at her health. He will make her seem unfit for role of President because it was on her watch that Daesh grew to such an extent. It is Hillary who represents the greedy Wall Street slimeballs. It is Hillary who corrupt and ‘crooked’. She represents the establishment and not the common hardworking American.

Hillary will have to provide answers which satisfy the voting public. She has to show she can be trusted. Importantly, she must not lower herself into meeting Trump jab for jab.

Instead, Hillary will focus on the disaster of a Trump presidency. She will hammer home the lack of policy knowledge for Trump. She will emphasise the divisive and un-American values of Trump. He hates women. He is a serial liar. She will indicate that Donald Trump as President will be perfect recruitment material for Daesh, because of his views and future policies on Muslims.

For Trump, he has to show a deeper awareness of policy. Attacking Hillary the entire time will not win him the support of the undecided.

Indeed in a strange way, by acting normal and disciplined, Trump could be portrayed as a winner without doing much in the debates itself. Nobody knows which Trump will turn up. Yet expectations are not very high on an outstanding Trump performance.

It will be on issues of security where Trump could hold the key. The recent attacks in the US have worked well politically for Trump, who has advocated banning Muslims who come from known terrorist countries, from entering the country.

Whilst an outrageous and horrible policy, discriminating against a religion, it is a policy nonetheless. It is Trump’s solution to the terror threat facing the US right now. With every problem, there is a solution, and the voters like to see possible solutions.

With Clinton, the solutions to security issues are very thin. There are fluffy lines repeated by Clinton, just like they are repeated by every politician. It is an important issue where Clinton is weak and where Trump will look to exploit. Trump has hardline policies, Clinton is soft on security.

On issues of gun control, while Clinton may hold the moralistic view, Trump holds a view popular to most Americans. The 2nd Amendment is precious, regardless of the damage that guns do.

On the economy, the recent announcement by Ford that they were moving plants to Mexico caused uproar. That means less jobs in the US and more jobs for the Mexicans, feeding into the Trump narrative.

However, Clinton has an impressive and comprehensive plan of action available for all to see. It is these types of issues that Clinton has to target because she has the upper hand in policy depth. She has to show she is not being controlled by Wall Street, by showing she will be firm and deal with the deep-seated issues on Wall Street.

Unless Clinton shows herself as being firm against Wall Street, people will not believe she is the right person to bolster the US economy.

On education, making college ‘debt-free’ will undoubtedly bring in young voters to vote for Clinton.

Immigration and in particular illegal immigration is the issue which has taken up many newspaper pages. Both candidates have an immigration policy which advocates reform, but they are very different policies.

Clinton talks about the need for immigration reform and supporting the executive actions of President Obama known as DACA and DAPA- actions which have been deadlocked by the Supreme Court.

The need for reform is evident. However, the problem with reform is that it takes time. People often want to see instant results.

Therefore Trump’s plan to ‘build a wall’, whilst being controversial, has become quite popular. It is not the only part of the Trump immigration reform, but it is the most well-known. It shows a quick potential solution to an issue that many Americans feel is a big problem. It may not be nice, but once again, it is a solution to a problem.

Clinton is the favourite and has the upper hand going into these debates, because she is experienced in one to one debating. She did it against President Obama and more recently against Senator Bernie Sanders. Trump has only ever experienced the debates of the Republican primaries with several candidates.

To underestimate Trump, though, would be a big mistake. He is experienced under pressure and he loves the limelight.

There are many Americans who are disenchanted after 8 years of the Obama administration and 8 years of Democrats. Many feel Obama has been a failure as President. Do not be surprised to see an anti-incumbency sentiment. Trump will attempt to show that Hillary will just be another Barack.

Hillary Clinton will be preparing with countless amounts of policy texts and mock debating. Trump will be a lot more relaxed and less ‘prepared’. Preparation is very often the key to success. Ultimately, that could be the difference.