She may have produced many of the videos at July’s DNC convention, but even the creator of ABC’s “Scandal” couldn’t have written a more scandalous script for last night’s debate.
It was the showdown between the man whose lewd comments about women dominated the weekend news coverage, and the woman whose husband’s indiscretions have written punchlines for decades. Prime-time TV drama for sure.
Because 2016 has broken all the rules, here’s what undecided voters will remember when they cast their votes on Nov. 8.
#LockerRoomTalk
As if to mirror this crazy election cycle, the first half hour of the debate focused on scandal after scandal. It took 30 minutes to get to policy as Donald Trump did very little to diffuse the scandal-babble.
While he did technically give an apology (or what he considers an apology), he seemed dismissive — Pro-tip: calling it “locker room talk” doesn’t cut it. What he should’ve done was say he was wrong, ask for forgiveness, and confess he is a changed man. Then, pivot to Bill Clinton. Call out the man who didn’t just use “words,” but many claim acted maliciously towards women.
In addition to the scandal, Trump could’ve further distanced himself from this weekend’s news coverage by highlighting all of Hillary’s scandals. Though he mentioned her emails, he failed to call out the Clinton Foundation, and instead used his precious time to talk about his taxes. Even more bizarre was his failure to mention the Wikileaks scandal — something the mainstream media was more than happy to bury this weekend.
Bottom line: Trump failed to land many punches by hitting her where it hurts, yet continued to defend himself on every indefensible attack.
It wasn’t until Trump finally hit Hillary’s 30-year record that the tables started to turn.
Are there any adults in the room?
I’ve mentioned it before, so I risk sounding like a broken record if I say the moderators influenced this debate. But the moderators influenced this debate. ABC’s Martha Raddatz quickly became the Candy Crowley of this election cycle, rounding out the list of worst debate moderators. Instead of posing questions, Raddatz took it upon herself not only to interject, but to push back several times (with commentary!) while Trump was talking. One quick look at Merriam-Webster’s definition of “moderator” and you’ll notice that an “arbitrator or mediator” was definitely not the role Raddatz assumed.
Anderson Cooper’s influence is summed up in style points. While he wasn’t as biased as his counterpart, the only thing classy about him was his wardrobe.
Honey Badger Don’t Care
For better or worse, Trump and Clinton performed as expected. They were themselves: Trump squirming and irritated; Hillary stiff and rehearsed. So points for authenticity? But no future presidential candidate should ever replicate their styles.
First, it’s like the audience didn’t exist. And for a town hall-style debate, that’s a no-no. Sure, both candidates fielded questions from undecided voters, but Trump failed to make eye contact with the question asker and Hillary only managed to offer her normal fake smile. Neither repeated the name of the undecided voter, and both eventually pivoted to the moderators or to each other.
Second, last night was a study in Trump: Unleashed. You take away his podium and he’s proven he will roam that stage for better or worse. The majority of the camera shots included both Trump and Clinton when Clinton was speaking because he refused to sit down and often turned his back to her. Some might give him points for strategy — if he’s constantly in her shot, she can’t take the spotlight. But the movement was also distracting and gave us a full view of his hair … not necessarily a win.
In the end, I give Debate #2 a draw. While Trump had more to lose after a weekend of near-campaign ending news coverage, Hillary failed to deal the death blow needed … no “last nail in the coffin” here. She took the first 30 minutes, but he took the last 60 by highlighting her decades in office and failure to fix what she calls “broken.” His quip about Honest Abe didn’t hurt either.
While Trump was initially concerned about a debate during Sunday Night Football and the MLB playoffs, round #2 proved entertaining. Shonda Rhimes couldn’t have scripted it better herself.
Beverly Hallberg is president of District Media Group. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions.
