Not up for debate: Donald Trump drives another nail into democracy’s coffin
Alice Wu says in the wake of his excruciating performance in the US presidential debate, we should beware the dangers of fearmongering populism in our own pursuit of a democratic Hong Kong
From what we have seen of the US presidential campaigns and last week’s debate, we have every reason to believe democracy is in serious trouble. Veteran journalist Dan Rather wrote that the debate “would seem to be the latest chapter in our quadrennial dance with democracy. But ... it was of course anything but”.
The emergence of Donald Trump, possibly the biggest bully in history to have been alloted this much airtime, is worrying. Rather sees Trump’s “wilful ignorance of important issues” as an affront to the nation’s founders’ belief “in reason and the power of intellect”.
Who won the Clinton-Trump debate? Certainly not Americans
Democracy is indeed in trouble when facts are not important and emotions trump all. It is in trouble when scaremongers who speak freely of their hate come to the fore. And it is in trouble when, as the world saw last week, a debate is made a mockery by a candidate who views himself above all rules and therefore treats logical consistency, factual accuracy and understanding of issues – all essential qualities in a debate – as unimportant.
The secret of snake oil salesman Donald Trump’s success
Trump is asking the people of his nation to vote for him based on his self-proclaimed superior judgment and temperament, never mind his zero regard, let alone respect, for the truth and other people he deems less deserving. When such a man is this close to being elected to arguably the most powerful seat in the world, the world has got a crisis on its hands.
What we’ve learned from the debate are things to lose sleep over.