WS Chronicle

CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT

The nation viewed yet another debate between the top two presidential contenders on Sunday, Oct. 9. In the spin room, several commentators said afterward that the United States lost in the debate between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton because not much policy substance was discussed.

The debate came days after a 1995 videotape of Trump speaking lewdly about women surfaced.

Some African-American officials and a political expert in the Winston-Salem area give their views.

Dr. James Pope, assistant professor of liberal studies at Winston-Salem State University, said, “At this point, the sensational-ism and clear outrageousness of Donald Trump and the fact that you have a highly disliked candidate in Hillary Clinton, it’s kind of masking what is really happening in society. Everybody eyes are being diverted to this circus, but we have to understand in the political landscape we have to keep our eyes on local and state elections as well. We can’t get caught up in the hate rhetoric.

“The dominant narrative that is coming out of this two-party system is that the people are getting tired of the same old things. The people are tired of the social, political, and cultural climate that is in the United States from both sides. This election is a showing the gaps in society live on TV. As a result we must pay more attention to those gaps and less to the rhetoric that we are hearing from these candidates.”

Forsyth County Commissioner Everette Witherspoon said:  “I felt presidential politics went to an all-time low. Donald Trump should be ashamed of himself. When you’re a presidential candidate, you have to have more in your bag of tricks than putting people down and spreading hate, spreading division. I’ll take the secretary of state [Hillary Clinton] over the secretary of hate any day.”

Forsyth County Commissioner Walter Marshall said: “I think Donald Trump is crazy. The man is sick. My part of it is just, it’s kind of hard to believe that we’re that divided, that a guy like this has a chance of being considered for president of the United States. I think it doesn’t speak too well for the country.”

Winston-Salem City Council Member James Taylor said: “There is a clear distinction between the two candidates. Hillary Clinton has clearly out-lined her plan for America. Donald Trump hasn’t done a good job and some of his comments have been extremely distasteful. Some people may think there isn’t a huge contrast between the two candidates but there is a huge contrast between the two.”

When asked about the debate, Taylor said, “I don’t think they told me anything I wasn’t aware of. I felt Hillary Clinton did a good job of laying out her plan. Donald Trump did a good job of discussing what he is looking for in a Supreme Court candidate but the message is clear. I don’t think anyone is confused about who they’re going to vote for this election.”

“I don’t think the candidates gained or lost any followers from the debate. Everybody knows who they want to vote for and I think the debate just reinforced that.”

Staff writers Todd Luck and Tevin Stinson contributed to this report.