Source: Time
In a striking breach of decorum that upended more than two centuries of American democratic tradition, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trumprefused to commit Wednesday to accept the outcome of the Nov. 8 general election.
“I will tell you at the time,” Trump said midway through the third and final presidential debate with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. “I’ll keep you in suspense.”
The moment underscored the potential chaos looming at the end of a long and often ugly election. Lagging Clinton badly with 19 days to go, Trump has repeatedly argued that the race is being rigged by her opponent, special interest groups and the media. To the chagrin of aides and Republican allies alike, his unwillingness to respect the integrity of the electoral process has challenged one of the central pillars of American democracy.
In an election in which substance has taken a back seat, Trump was done in by character. The billionaire showman — who has argued his opponent shouldn’t be allowed to run because of her private email server, that the election would be stolen, and that he’d imprison his rival if elected — delved deeper into the realm of conspiracy at precisely the moment he needed to appear more presidential.
Trump took the stage as a candidate on the ropes, needing to dramatically alter the course of his floundering campaign amid plunging polls and waves of allegations from women who accuse him of unwanted sexual behavior. And while he tried to heed the campaign advisers who urged him to project a more sober temperament for the first 30 minutes, the rambunctious candidate couldn’t hold it together for the duration of the show at the University of Nevada–Las Vegas’ Thomas and Mack Center.
Once again, Trump wilted under Clinton’s needling. In the second half of the debate, he fell back on the interruptions that marred his earlier performances (“Wrong!” he interjected, over and over), denied that he has attacked the physical appearance of his accusers and hurled a personal, gendered invective at the former Secretary of State. “Such a nasty woman,”Trump blurted out with minutes remaining in the debate.
Meanwhile, Clinton was deftly wielding pithy punch lines. “When you are whining before the game isn’t even finished,” she told Trump, “it just shows you’re not up to doing the job.”
In the spin room after the debate, Trump aides and advisers — who had long cautioned Trump against his rhetoric questioning the conduct of the election — played cleanup. Trump, they told reporters, would absolutely accept the outcome of the race. But their assurances flew in the face of the candidate’s own words on stage. The mixed message evoked the old Groucho Marx quote: “Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?”
Categories: America, The Muslim Times, US elections, USA