Debates Without Sportsmanship
When I watched the first presidential debate on Monday, Sept. 26 between Mrs. Hillary Clinton and Mr. Donald Trump, I was struck by the lack of dignity exhibited by one candidate as they both fought it out on the stage. The very morning after that debate, Mr. Trump went straight to the press, griping about how the moderator (Mr. Lester Holt of NBC) was biased and even complaining about a supposedly broken microphone and trying to make excuses for his lackluster performance. During the second debate the other night, Mr. Trump again failed to exhibit decorum or politeness towards his opponent and acted as he was expected to—with no grace whatsoever.
"I have a fear that these political debates will become less and less about explaining policies and showing grit. As we see now, they appear to be merely transforming into a mudslinging popularity contest."
Debates are a chance to show people what candidates are really made of. Not only do they allow potential presidents to express their opinions and ideas, but they also show how they act under pressure. After all, it is tough to get hard questions thrown at you with only two minutes to answer. Debates can change the entire forecast of an election within minutes. However, one could argue that conduct at the podium is more important than what the candidates have to say and could especially argue that it makes or breaks would-be presidential careers.When faced with a loss, I was always taught to be a good sport. My parents told me that it doesn’t matter if you win or lose; it’s how you play the game. I have lived with this philosophy throughout my life. Whether I was playing little league baseball or was participating in a tennis tournament, I was always told to be gracious in victory and even more so in defeat. I had first hand experience with those poor sports who chose not to embody this belief. In the end, those who failed to be courteous to their opponents looked dumb and immature. This general idea of the “Golden Rule” applies just as much to presidential debates.
Even when Mr. Trump spoke at primary Republican debates, whether he won or lost, he always had one go-to excuse at the ready. “It was rigged.” Excuse me? Saying this wasn’t only childish; it was inexcusably rude to his opponents. In doing so during the primaries, he sought to invalidate them and make their victory less meaningful. A person who cannot acknowledge their own shortcomings or who always has to blame someone else for bad things that transpire in their life is not at all fit to be president. What Mr. Trump needs is some self awareness, and even more importantly, he needs accountability for his mistakes.
However, this “blame others for my errors” mindset is only one aspect of his lack of sportsmanship. During both the debates, we saw both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump were more than happy to interrupt one another—yet one much more so than the other. During the first debate in particular, Mrs. Clinton interrupted Mr. Trump 17 times while Mr. Trump interrupted Mrs. Clinton a whopping 51 times. Just to put this in perspective, during the second debate of the last presidential race (the so-called “Interruption Debate” on October 16, 2012), Mr. Mitt Romney interrupted Mr. Obama 28 times and Mr. Obama interrupted Mr. Romney 36 times. This was considered by many at the time to be appalling and unprecedented, but even these staggering figures pale in comparison to Mr. Trump’s 51 interruptions.
Now, what does this tell us about him? It proves even more so that he doesn’t know how to respectfully and actively listen while at the same time showing that he prefers hearing himself over others. On a more important note, is that really how we want a president to behave? At Exeter, one of the first things we were taught as new students was to let the other person voice their opinion first and wait your turn to talk (which, believe it or not, works and makes for great conversations). On top of this, we were taught to never interrupt somebody in the middle of speaking. Without these basic rules, our Harkness classes would fail to be. Unfortunately for him, Mr. Trump doesn’t get this basic human concept of politeness and etiquette and perhaps never will.
I have a fear that these political debates will become less and less about explaining policies and showing grit. As we see now, they appear to be merely transforming into a mudslinging popularity contest. Looking far, far ahead to the 2020 presidential election, one can only hope that both candidates will exhibit decorum and civility during bitter debates.