Twenty days from now, America will make the choice of who should be the next Commander-in-Chief and leader of the free world. It’s not a choice that any of us should take lightly.
Recent polling points to a possible landslide, adding to what would be an already historic election elevating the first woman to the Oval Office. The reason this is even possible is because the contrast between the two nominees is stark on so many levels.
With that in mind, I’m going to ask that you humor me for a moment. Let’s pretend that Donald Trump never openly discussed sexual assault against women on that bus in 2005. Let’s imagine that Trump released his tax returns months ago. Let’s consider a world where Trump isn’t constantly singing the praises of Russia’s Vladimir Putin while putting down women, Hispanics, African Americans, and Muslims.
If we can do that, then all that is left to consider are the candidates on their merits and a lifetime of work. Even if you remove all of those recent distractions, Trump loses–”bigly.”
As you prepare to watch the final presidential debate of the 2016 campaign, here’s a game you can play. Take a moment in time from the past 50 years, and ask yourself where Trump and Hillary Clinton were and what they were each doing, during that particular point in time. We’ll even make it easy for you; there’s an app for that, which was recently released by the Clinton campaign.
When Clinton was investigating segregation academies in Alabama and working with the Children’s Defense Fund, where was Donald?
When Clinton, as First Lady, was fighting for access to quality healthcare for all Americans and, while giving a speech in China, declared that “women’s rights are human rights,” where was Donald?
When Clinton, as Senator of New York, worked with President Bush in the aftermath of 9/11 to secure federal resources to make New York City whole again, where was Donald?
When Clinton was negotiating cease-fires in the Middle East, laying the groundwork for a nuclear deal in Iran and restoring our nation’s image the world over, where was Donald?
The short answer to each of those questions is that while Clinton spent a lifetime serving Americans in small and large ways, Trump spent a lifetime serving himself, gaming the system, and working to discredit our first African American president. However, you should check the app to confirm this.
So, even if you remove the disturbing issues that have surrounded Trump during the last month, and you only consider their collective work over time, Clinton still comes out on top.
No candidate is perfect, and Clinton, herself, has said that she needs to work on issues concerning trust and the American people. However, there is a reason that more and more Republicans are saying that they intend to vote for Hillary Clinton. There is a reason conservative newspapers, such as the Dallas Morning News and the Cincinnati Enquirer, have endorsed Hillary Clinton. There is a reason Hillary Clinton leads Trump by double digits in national polls and among women, Hispanics, African Americans, and college educated Americans.
The reason, in part, is because they know where Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have been their entire lives, up to this point. Play the game and see for yourself.
Enjoy the debate tonight.