By Margarita Artoglou
Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Jeb Bush met at a debate last Wednesday. Andrew Harnik/AP
I was on my high school debate team. I coached the team last year and I teach at debate camps over the summer. I really like and respect debate.
So I was really interested in watching the Republican Debates. I have read about the Republican candidates and their many slip ups, and I was ready to see them first-hand.
My verdict? I have witnessed middle schoolers debate with more grace and knowledge.
The Republican debate was very reminiscent of debate rounds in which a few overly-confident novice debaters would try to out-do a few overly-tired varsity debaters.
Although manners are never at the forefront of any political debate, Donald Trump in particular seemed out of place. He acted like he was in the boardroom of The Apprentice, instead of at a podium. He spoke over everyone, called them by their first names and rolled his eyes every other minute. At least the other candidates respected everyone else’s right to speak.
But politeness was the least of my worries during the Republican debate. Instead, I was appalled at the lack of actual discussion that took place.
One of my pet peeves as a debater was when judges would be swayed by good rhetoric that lacked support from evidence. Rhetoric is exactly what these candidates specialized in during the debate.
Trump, in particular, refused to offer any supporting evidence or specific policy plans (probably because he does not have them). However, he was not the only one guilty of supplying very little information.
Overall, many of the candidates seemed to be unprepared to actually discuss the issues. Instead, quite a few of them preferred to rant about problems without providing solutions. The candidates who appeared prepared, like Carly Fiorina, offered seemingly well thought out responses that ended up being factually incorrect. For example, she challenged Democrats to watch a video that, according to her, shows “a fully formed fetus on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking, while someone says, ‘We have to keep it alive to harvest its brain.’” This video does not exist.
Despite the disapproval of fact-checkers, many media outlets hailed Fiorina as the winner of the debate. Still, at least she came prepared with a semblance of specifics, unlike some of the other candidates.
Marco Rubio brought up his immigrant family whenever he could, even if it was not relevant to the question. Chris Christie made his experience as U.S. attorney for New Jersey a talking point. Ben Carson and Rand Paul, who both have medical backgrounds, were given an opportunity to attack Trump’s claim that vaccines cause autism (which has been disproven) but instead suggested that maybe vaccines should be more spread out over time.
Another moment that showed a lack of preparedness was when the candidates were asked which woman should be put on the ten-dollar bill. Five candidates named a woman who was either a member of their family or not an American. The Republican party is already infamous for not getting the female vote. Being uninformed about female issues, and, apparently, females in general, is the reason why.
A popular theme in the race for the Republican nomination is the desire for a candidate who is a so-called “outsider.” In other words, Republican voters are tired of professional politicians, hence the allure of candidates like former Hewlett-Packard CEO Fiorina, neurosurgeon Carson, and real-estate mogul Trump. Perhaps this is the real reason why so many of the candidates declined to provide specifics in their answers: if the American people say they do not want a seasoned politician in office, then maybe what they really mean is that they do not want political answers.
At least, I hope that this is why so many of the candidates shied away from any real discussion. The other possibility, that they really did not have answers, is more depressing, but still plausible.
Indeed, Trump is ahead of everyone else in the polls, and he is the worst offender when it comes to making outlandish and unfounded claims. So the tactic is working, at least for now.
My advice for the Republican candidates is that convincing rhetoric will only take you so far. After constantly hearing the same outlandish claims and unfounded proposals, the American people will eventually realize that they need a candidate who can cite facts and provide a platform with feasible policies.
Margarita Artoglou, FCRH ’18, is a communications and media studies major from Queens.
