Moving on after the third debate

The debates are over and apparently, according to most polls, so is the presidential race. Donald Trump needed a “knock-out punch” in the third debate to have a chance to close the gap between him and Hillary Clinton. However, he did not come close to achieving it.

Most observers thought the last debate was Hillary Clinton’s best performance while Trump came out with objectionable statements that will further drive voters away from him. He was cantankerous and insulting to his adversary and at one point could not stop talking over the moderator and Clinton.

When asked by moderator Chris Wallace if he would accept the results of the election and commit to a peaceful transition of power, Trump unbelievably said, “What I’m saying is that I will tell you at the time. I’ll keep you in suspense.” This refusal to commit to the outcome of the November 8 election is unprecedented and it has surprised even some of his supporters.

If Trump had responded that he would accept the results barring extraordinary circumstances like the Florida presidential recount, that would have been an acceptable answer. Instead, the Republican candidate flippantly disregarded the need for America to move on and tackle its problems. Apparently, Trump will continue to try and divide and polarize the American people even after the presidential race is over. Hillary Clinton called the answer “horrifying.”

Although Trump may have been pandering to the most extreme anti-government members in his camp, Clinton correctly pointed out, “That is not the way our democracy works, [and] we’ve had free and fair elections … We’ve accepted the outcomes … and that is what must be expected of anyone standing on a debate stage during a general election.”

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham observed, “If he loses, it will not be because the system is ‘rigged’ but because he failed as a candidate.” The conservative editor of The Weekly Standard magazine, tweeted: “I deplore what Trump said and refused to say about accepting the election results. [It] confirms … he shouldn’t be president.”

Trump managed to insult Latino voters again by answering a question about his immigration and Great Wall proposals by stating they’re needed because, “We have some bad hombres here and we’re going to get them out.” (“Hombres” means “men” in Spanish). Geraldo Rivera, a Fox News correspondent, said “I love Trump, but what a dumb remark!” He likened the label to equally abhorrent characterizations like “drunken Irish” or “greedy Jew.”

Trump’s stereotyping reveals the nature of the man who would be president. Alex Nogales, president of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, noted that Trump’s phrase is out-of-date and harkened to the ’50s more than the 21st century. Furthermore, the choice of a Spanish word to use as a label for all “bad men” was deeply offensive to Spanish-speaking Americans.

Nogales maintained that “by saying ‘hombres,’ he made it clear that he was worried about Spanish-speaking people [and] It is in keeping with his racism and demagoguery that he wants to paint Latinos, as he did from the very beginning, as criminals, drug pushers [and] as people bringing this country down.”

The candidates battled again at the Al Smith dinner in New York City just one night after facing off at the bitter and fractious presidential debate. Trump, who described Clinton as a “nasty woman” in the debate, and Clinton who said he was “the most dangerous presidential candidate” in modern history, were able to shake hands and they were supposed to “make nice.”

However, despite some actual humorous comments from Trump, he quickly returned to his mean-spirited and insulting true personality. Trump was booed by the crowd when he accused Clinton of “pretending not to hate Catholics.” He went on to whine about how many public figures and politicians in the room used to look to him for support, as if they owed him support no matter how crazily or unpresidentially he behaves.

Equally unacceptable behavior is exhibited by some Trump supporters. The actions and words are provoked by the Trump campaign’s appeal to hate and fear. The goal is to divide the people to achieve victory. When the election is over, we must quickly heal the wounds and eliminate the divisions that the bitterness of the campaign created.