Last Friday, I wrote a piece for Red Alert Politics titled, “Liar”: Millennials reject Clinton, but will they show up to the polls?”
Hours after the story was published, something happened that completely changed the political landscape of this election. Footage was published of Donald Trump from 2005 saying some offensive things about a woman, which not only plunged his campaign into chaos, but also shook up the Republican National Committee (RNC). Sources confirmed to me that the RNC began pulling funding that was initially earmarked for Trump’s campaign.
Many Republican leaders withdrew their support, and several high-level elected officials asked Trump to step down and suggested he be replaced with his running mate Mike Pence. The outlook appeared so bleak that I publicly said, “Trump’s campaign is already in the water. Tonight’s debate determines if it washes away into the abyss of nothingness.”
This debate was the game changer Trump desperately needed, otherwise his campaign was toast a month before Election Day.
On Sunday night, Trump did something not many of us expected. He held a pre-debate press conference and brought out four women who attacked the actions of the Clinton’s. Trump’s panel included Kathleen Willey, Juanita Broaddrick, Paula Jones, and another woman Kathy Shelton, whose rapist was successfully defended by Hillary Clinton as a young lawyer. Three of the women made allegations of sexual assault against Bill Clinton in the ‘90s.
All four women attended the presidential debate in St. Louis, as did Bill Clinton. This changed the conversation from the Trump tape to the alleged Clinton rape.
On question after question Trump hammered away, providing his best debate performance in the general election. According to CNN, 63 percent of debate watchers said Trump did better than they expected. I was among that 63 percent, and so were a number of other millennials.
Unlike the first debate when Trump didn’t get personal with Clinton, this time he attacked her on Benghazi, her email scandal, and her judgment, among a long list of items. He did exactly what his base wanted him to do. I must say that even if you are not a Trump supporter you likely enjoyed seeing Trump holding Clinton accountable, because she received an almost free pass during the first debate.
“[Trump] repeatedly accused Clinton of lying, being an ‘ineffective’ senator and making money off her political position,” wrote Jenna Johnson for the Washington Post. “He said she had hate in her heart and didn’t care about those living in inner-city poverty. He reprimanded the moderators when he thought Clinton got too much time to speak and often hovered over her.”
Also unlike the first debate, the moderators covered scandals that negatively impacted both candidates.
There are two questions coming out of this debate: Did Trump stop the bleeding after the leaked tape, and did he do enough to move some undecided voters and millennials into his column? I say yes to both. He continued to repeat a quote from Sen. Bernie Sanders, the former Democratic candidate who galvanized the millennial vote, about Clinton having the experience but also having bad judgment. This, I believe, was a direct appeal to the Sanders supporters, who are part of the coalition of 23 million voters who supported Obama in 2012. These folks don’t view Clinton as honest and trustworthy and Donald Trump gave them something to think about.
The reaction from #NeverTrump conservatives supports my assessment.
Erick Erickson, a leader of the movement said, “I may not care for Trump, but he beat Hillary tonight fair and square, even with Martha Raddatz trying to defeat him.”
Guy Benson, the political editor for Townhall said, “He improved, exceeded expectations, decisively won several exchanges. She could have landed a death blow tonight and did not.”
The end result is Trump’s debate performance allows him to move forward with his campaign. It appears that he will win or lose the election on his terms, and with that being the case, none of us pundits can predict what will happen moving forward. What we do know is debate number two left us hungry for the final debate scheduled for next week with Fox News host, Chris Wallace. What we don’t know is what new scandals will be uncovered before then.
