How to lose a debate Trump style

The second debate is over, and the pundits on both sides of the political spectrum will have a field day announcing which of the two candidates won. I said I wasn’t going to watch the debate, but my wife, after reading about the first debate, decided to watch it, and I could not help but notice snippets on our large screen TV as I moved from my home office to the kitchen or bathroom—okay, I actually stopped and watched the opening salvos. What an excruciatingly painful experience.

The first question from the audience was to Clinton, and asked if the candidates felt they were modeling appropriate behavior for young people. Clinton gave her stock answer, one that she’s given many times about bringing Americans together and healing the divisions in our society. During Trump’s response was also similar to past response, liberally sprinkled with statistics, some of them way wrong. For instance, he said our trade deficit last year was $800 billion when it was actually only $535 billion and that because of the import of oil and low-cost consumer products. In other words, he failed to answer the question put forth.

Anderson Cooper immediately called him on that omission, and brought up the tape of Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women. First, Trump denied saying what he was accused of saying (anyone watching CNN’s October 7 broadcast of the tape knows that’s an outright lie, as Trump is clearly heard saying, “You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful – I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait.” He’s then heard saying, “And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the p****. You can do anything.” Despite repeatedly being asked by Cooper if he’d ever actually done the things he said on tape (many allegations have come out that he, in fact, has on more than one occasion), Trump ducked, dodged, and refused to directly answer the question.

At this point, afraid I might throw a shoe at the TV, I left the room. In fact, I don’t even need to know more about the debate. I give Clinton points for maintaining her cool in the face of this buffoon. Oh, and my wife tells me that he did the same crap he did in the first debate, constantly interrupting her as she tried to speak, and that she didn’t understand most of his answers because he rambles and (in her words) mumbles like he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. She also said, he sounded like a big bully, arguing with the moderators, not answering the questions asked, and interrupting Mrs. Clinton again and again.

I can imagine many in the GOP were watching the debate and shaking their heads in dismay. There shouldn’t have been any surprise, however. Donald Trump might occasionally read from a teleprompter, but he reminds me of the dictator of a country I once served in as an American diplomat; whenever he spoke in public, he had a tendency to get off script and excoriate the U.S. and Europe and accuse them of planning to recolonize his country. Didn’t matter that it wasn’t true, he felt it, wanted to say it, and had lots of naïve followers who hung on his every word, and were ecstatic every time he poked Europe and the U.S. in the eye. That’s Donald Trump. He’s a one-trick pony and a bully, who gives the same answers, regardless of the question, absolutely refuses to take responsibility for his own misdeeds, and strikes out blindly at anything or anyone who doesn’t kiss his feet.

So, regardless of what the pundits say, Hillary won this debate just like she did the last one. And, she didn’t have to work hard to do so.