In their article “Presidential Debate: What You Missed,” New York Times writers Alexander Burns and Matt Flegenheimer go over the key moments of the third and final presidential debate. On Wednesday evening, much controversy surrounded candidate Donald Trump, who refused to state whether he would accept the results of the election. This action builds on his previous allegations that the democratic system is “rigged” in his opponent's favor. Unsurprisingly, Hillary Clinton called Mr. Trump's remarks “horrifying” and “dangerous,” reminding American voters that we should have a greater degree of faith in our democracy if we wish to see it continuously function. The discussion regarding faith in democracy was by far the most controversial and publicized, somewhat overshadowing the discussions on national debt and abortion, which were also heated. Trump’s cynical comments about our democracy, as well as the notion that he may oppose the peaceful transfer of executive power, could lead to a lower degree of voter efficacy. Many share in the sentiment that our government operates through inefficient or undemocratic means, citing the power of influences such as PACs as well as backroom deals. The fact that a controversial political outsider like Donald Trump, who seems skeptical of our democratic system itself, is a major party nominee bodes poorly for our nation.
1. Young Americans have a low voter turnout rate. Why is this and how could comments like Trump’s further impact young Americans?
2. What will happen if voters begin to lose faith in our democratic system?
3. How does the media’s discussion of the third presidential debate influence our thoughts about the issues discussed and our opinion on who won?
With all of the media's negative remarks about Donald Trump, that will surely influence the opinion of voters. The press draws attention to many of the faults Trump possesses and forces the public to recognize other aspects of the Republican nominee that for months people tried to ignore. After the debate, the news cycle seemed to be much more critical of Trump than Hillary, for good reason, but its bias will likely shine through in the polls. The article cited here is more unbiased than most, but it still leaves a negative depiction of Mr. Trump. Because of this, the majority of the media has made it openly clear that they believe Hillary Clinton won, and people followed their lead and took this stance as well. Through a CNN poll, only 38% of debate watchers felt that Donald Trump had won, but this could largely be an affect of how the news company seems to largely favor Hillary Clinton.
ReplyDeleteYoung Americans tend to have a low voter turnout rate in part because they think that politicians don't listen to them and that they can't make a difference. Trump's cynical comments about the election being rigged can cause young voters to further question their political efficacy. As a result, the voter turnout rate for young Americans could possibly decline if they think that the electoral system is corrupt.
ReplyDeleteIf voters lose faith in our democratic system, much of that system will begun to fail. Since they believe that their voice or vote doesn't matter in politics, they may begin to try other means in order to express their opinions and get policy they want. These changes could result in a much worse society. On the other hand, people who lose faith in the system may in turn just have a lower degree of voter efficacy. Either way, its beneficial for our country if people have faith in our system and believe that our government is doing their best job.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mollie about the declining faith in our democratic system. Trump is constantly criticizing the system, and since he has a huge following, I believe people are listening. This added to people already losing faith, is surely a sign that there is something fundamentally wrong with how Americans perceive the government. People need to voice their opinions and participate if they feel like something is wrong rather than sit back and complain.
DeleteI agree with Ivan and Mollie about the growing distaste in our democratic system. Trump, our new president constantly criticizes the system and like Ivan said, due to the fact that he has huge support, that people are most likely listening. Trump is growing the distaste within our government and the fact that people are listening shows that there is a disconnect with how Americans perceive government. People definitely ned to go out and have their opinions heard rather than complain.
DeleteYoung Americans have a low voter turnout rate because they don't feel particularly represented in the issues that are being discussed. Bernie Sanders was able to gain such a huge youth following in part because he made tuition prices such a large focus of his campaign. Topics such as immigration and tax policy don't draw younger voters in because they don't feel that these issues effect them greatly. With Bernie, their concerns were being addressed. Trump's comments could make the situation worse because it is leading people to believe that their political participation is futile and unimportant. This is a dangerous train of thought because when people don't vote, it leads to elections that do not truly represent the wishes of the country.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Hannah in that up until Bernie Sanders, not many candidates have tried to reach the youth and discuss topics that directly effect us. In order to influence younger people to vote, candidates need to speak on issues that will gain our attention such as the price of college tuition, and begin to come up with solutions. Because of underrepresentation within different demographics, people are beginning to lose faith in our democracy, which will greatly impact voting and election turnout. If people do not believe their vote matters, or their voices are being heard, our president will not accurately represent our country.
DeleteTrump's comments on our nation's democratic system provides the youth and other voter demographics with false, unjustified claims that degrade the nation's faith in the current electoral system. As voters begin to lose faith in the current electoral system, voter turnout rates, which have already been decreasing, will see an even further decrease as many citizens will feel that their votes do not count or matter. Moreover, because the youth is already the lowest voting demographic, comments such as Trump's further influence them not to vote. However, Trump's comment could also have the opposite effect, in which younger people actually turn out to vote to prove Trump's statements wrong and express the power of the people, to vote. Lastly, I feel that the media's coverage of Trump's comment on the current electoral system highlights the unpatriotic and pessimistic attitude that Trump holds.
ReplyDeleteIf voter began to lose faith in the democratic system we will have more elections like the 2016 presidential election where presidential candidates will be chosen to avoid past frustrations with our democratic system. For example, many voters believed that Hillary Clinton represented the flaws of our democratic system while Trump had little history with democratic system. If voters continue to lose faith in our democratic system we can expect to see voters make decisions similar to those of the 2016 presidential election.
ReplyDeleteThere is a low voter turnout rate for Young Americans because the issues discussed do not directly affect youth. As Hanna mentioned, Bernie gained support from youth because he focused on college tuitions, which youth are largely affected by. American youths also do not trust anyone to represent their interests.
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with Dione's point that American youths feel underrepresented. Not only that, but kids often lose faith in the democratic process, much like Trump in fact, because of the lack of issues covered in their direction. While kids may not align with Trump's opinions, it certainly may have been difficult for them to align with Hillary's. Trump may have been voicing exactly what American youth may have been thinking: that the democratic process does not work. Of course, this does not necessarily youths favor Trump, but his statements could have leaned them towards his direction.
DeleteThe low voter turnout in young Americans can correlate with citizens starting to lose faith in the democratic system. With Donald Trump being a political insider, his influence in standing out against the corruptness of politics only furthers such notions. If the country were to increasingly begin to lose faith in the democratic system, I believe that leadership will go into chaos and civilians will refuse to provide allegiance to opposing parties. Such can possibly being civil wars and threats to secede from the nation. California's threats to secede from the nation for instance and the large amounts of protests that refuse to accept Donald Trump as their president.
ReplyDeleteMany young Americans don't vote because they feel that their vote has little impact in the political system and possibly that they don't have all of their political opinions formed yet. Trump's comments will impact young voters in that they will likely vote even less, due to fear of the political system or being involved in the political battle.
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