WESTFIELD—After the third presidential debate, many aspects of the candidates have become solidified, but so have voters. 
Westfield State University held a watch party for the third and final presidential debate, hosted by political science professor Dr. David Smailes and communications professor Thomas Gardner. The turnout to the watch party didn’t meet expectations, but it seems that the debate didn’t either.
“I don’t think this debate will move much of the numbers, it seemed like a greatest hits of the previous debates, really,” Smailes said.
“The beginning of the debate was pretty promising,” he said. “Chris Wallace kept them focused on the issues, [Hillary] Clinton and [Donald] Trump were direct on the issues—the beginning of the debate was what you hope a debate would be.
Professor David Smailes of Westfield State University
“But then the wheels sort of came off the bus.”
Smailes said that the most recent debate stayed in line with the previous two debates, showing nothing new from either candidate, especially Trump.
“Had Trump stayed more focused on those issues he would have had a much better night, but that seems to be the pattern of the debates, he seems to be redirected easily,” he said.
Smailes said that this is partially due to Trump’s inexperience.
“I think she was vulnerable and a better candidate would have gone against her,” Smailes said.
Instead, Trump once again made the debate about his own views, even interrupting Wallace while he questioned Clinton directly about a variety of scandals and redirecting the criticism toward himself.
Additionally, when asked seemingly simple-to-answer questions, such as if he would accept the election results, he appeared to have bumbled the response, which has led to what has dominated the headlines post-debate—that Trump may not accept the election results if he loses.
“The problem is, the headline should have been ‘Trump pushes Clinton on Benghazi’ or the Clinton Foundation,” Smailes said. “That’s the type of headline the Trump camp could have used, but instead we’re talking about not accepting the results of an election.”
Gardner agreed.
“To refuse to say that he would respect the results is beyond the pale,” Gardner said. “That decision to pre-judge the election as not legitimate has people very concerned.”
Gardner also pointed out that in addition to not respecting election results, Trump may have also continued to show disrespect toward women in the debate.
“I think his constant use of the pronouns ‘she’ and ‘her’ has hurt his standing with women even further,” he said, “I think it’s a demeaning tone.”
Still, this seemed to have fit in with Trump’s style, which has been largely—or more appropriately, bigly—brash, cursory and anti-establishment. And following the debate, some pundits believe that this may have helped his stance with his base.
Smailes said that this may be more strategy from Trump than people realize. Smailes believes that the Trump camp may be attempting to create a powerful enough emotion from his supporters that they turn out in high numbers in the polls. This could help Trump in the election, especially if some Clinton supporters stay home this election, assuming that they have won.
However, Trump was not the only one who may have been utilizing some subconscious strategy to appeal to voters. Gardner noted that Clinton’s choice of attire color for the debate may have been a deliberate choice.
“Clinton was wearing white, the color of purity,” Gardner said.
Gardner though, believes that Clinton did not have to rely too much on political trickery and the subconscious of voters to do what she wanted to.
“I think she’s done what she needed to do to look presidential and has taken the reigns of the election,” he said.
Regardless of what was done in the debate though, both Smailes and Gardner said that it probably won’t impact voters much, if at all.
“I don’t see any change, it doesn’t move the need at all,” Gardner said.
“I think there was nothing sort of new that would have moved the needle one director or another,” Smailes said. “All that Clinton had to do was to hold her own and she did. Good news for Clinton, bad news for Trump.”
