On Monday the first debate between the U.S. presidential candidates for the 2016 election took place. Normally I watch these things with great interest as it’s amazing political theatre. Some people love watching UFC but I’d go back and watch the Obama and Romney debates any day.
I did not, however, watch any of the debate on Monday live or otherwise. I did not watch because I already knew the outcome of the evening. I knew that Clinton would be prepared and I knew Trump would act like a blustering fool. I knew Trump would say outrageous and untrue things. I knew Clinton would play it safe and let Trump make himself look like an idiot.
Indeed it came to be true. Trump openly admitted and was proud that he paid no taxes. On national television, a presidential candidate admitted he was a tax cheat and by being so, he should be admired for being smart. This is a man who very well might have a hand in making the laws for the United States for four years.
I also knew that despite the consensus that Clinton won the debate there would be many Trump supporters who would say it was an amazing night for Trump and that he clearly won the debate. A no contest they would say. Indeed that was also true. Someone wrote that Trump had the worst performance in a debate in the history of presidential debates. Yet if you were brave enough to search with the hash tag #TrumpWon on Twitter today, you get a whole bowl of sadness and altered realities.
The same thing will happen in the next two debates. It won’t even be worth watching. This whole thing is a complete farce. It is a sad reflection upon the state of the America that a man this unqualified to president is actually so close to the job. This is the stuff that banana republics face, not the most powerful nation on this planet. Yet here we are. In a way, America deserves Trump as president but far too much hangs in the balance for that scenario to happen.
Utter madness.