By: Cameron Harris and Alexis Stafford
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Last Tuesday, U.S. presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump held what is believed to be the only debate that will take place between the two candidates before the November election.
Trump and Harris went toe to toe with each other about many different policies and political topics. A major talking point was the economy and what each candidate was going to do to help struggling families and small businesses. Another huge point was the issue of immigration and how we can improve the circumstances surrounding our border.
Although both candidates had times when they were able to give feedback about their unique policies, this debate, like many others since 2012 featured many personal attacks and the focus shifted from why each candidate’s policy is important to analyzing the truthfulness and spectacle of their words.
This devolution of another presidential debate into focusing on everything except what each candidate wants to do for America is a trend that students recognized on campus. In a vox pop conducted with students, there were many different opinions, but the most memorable thing to everyone seems to be some of the outrageous comments made during the debate and not the policies.
Former president Donald Trump’s bold claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio are “eating the pets of the people that live there,” went viral on social media platforms shortly after the debate ended due to its absurdity with little to no evidence. At the time of publishing this article, a soundbite of the assertion has roughly around 163,000 posts. “That was the most [out of] left field statement I’ve ever heard in a presidential debate,” AUM student Joshua Stout said. Two other students Jordan White and Victoria Salters declared Trump’s comment was “pretty crazy” and that it “threw [them] off.” Arguably, it is the most talked about moment in the debate.
While several were eager to share their thoughts on the outlandish statements, this is not to say that students do not care about the policies. Many students highlighted which policies they believed to matter most, and some students expressed their frustration with either candidate’s inability to elaborate on the issues that mattered most to them. “Overall, it felt like [Harris and Trump] weren’t really tackling the issues to me,” Austin Brown said.
Out of the seven students we spoke to, six declared that Kamala Harris was the sure winner of the debate. Similarly, a poll conducted by ABC News shows that 58% of participants agreed that Harris outperformed Trump.
We also surveyed students passing by on whether they watched the debate or not when it aired, to which 17 responded “no” and 12 responded “yes.” Regardless of whether you watched it Tuesday night, it is important to be knowledgeable about each candidate’s views on certain issues affecting our country before casting their vote in the election coming up on Tuesday, November 5. Another debate is not guaranteed, so make sure to watch this latest one or do your research if possible.
The deadline to register to vote for the election is Oct. 21, so make sure to do so if you haven’t already. You are able to register online or you may fill out a registration form provided by the Center of Disability Services in Taylor Center 174.
