The first presidential debate is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 26 at 9 p.m. “NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt will moderate the debate. The debate itself will occur at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, but you can catch it on all of the major news networks and even online.
This debate, like the rest of this election, promises to be unlike any debate in recent years.
Ignoring the fact that the conversation surrounding this election has been populated by topics that have nothing to do with policy and Americans should seriously consider changing how we conduct political discourse, the debate promises high entertainment value.
The debate gives candidates a chance to both explain their own views and engage in civil discourse with their opponent. Or, at least in an ideal world, the discourse would be civil.
This election has been heated, and Republican candidate Donald Trump is famous for his off-the-cuff remarks.
Successfully navigating Trump’s speech and maintaining her own composure when confronted with his remarks could be Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s toughest challenge.
Though, as a senator, she has a lot of experience handling herself in this sort of political setting, Trump is unlike any other politician.
And Trump could surprise everyone. Though he has a habit of improvising, Trump is a businessman who has necessarily needed to conduct himself in a formal setting.
He could choose this prestigious debate as an opportunity to show a different, more classically “presidential” side of himself.
One of the most pressing questions both candidates will have to answer is the question of income inequality.
According to a 2015 article published by the Pew Research Center, the richest 20% of U.S. families own almost 90% of all the wealth.
Additionally, in light of the recent bombing in New York City, which CNBC reports New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called “an act of terrorism,” the candidates should have a response or plan to stop these events from happening in the future.
This debate should provide a great opportunity to truly compare the candidates.
Both their individual responses to the questions and the way they choose to counter their opponents’ responses will be good indicators of how they might conduct themselves in office if elected.
The phrase “must-watch” is thrown around a lot these days, but the presidential elections are the true definition of “must-watch” TV.
Even if reading articles or doing research on candidates does not sound like a good way to spend an evening, the first presidential debate is shaping up to be both informative and entertaining.
