If Donald Trump’s goal in the first presidential debate was to win the votes of traditionally Democratic groups like African Americans, Latinos, and women, he missed the mark by a significant margin.
When asked about racial conflict and implicit police bias, Trump responded, “I think that I’ve developed very, very good relationships over the last little while with the African American community.” Not only did Trump fail to address the question, he didn’t even attempt to discuss the underlying issues facing black Americans today, such as high unemployment, school dropout, and a staggering wealth gap. A 2010 analysis of Federal Reserve data by Desmos showed that while whites only make up 64 percent of the United States’ total population, they hold 88 percent of its wealth. Blacks, on the other hand, make up 13 percent of our total population, but hold only 2.7 percent of our total wealth. This demands the question: who, or what, is to blame? Trump didn’t care to consider this question.
When Secretary Clinton brought up the case of Alicia Machado, who in years past Donald Trump has referred to as “Ms. Piggy,” and later, because of her Latino heritage, “Ms. Housekeeping,” he frantically tried to defend himself, asking of Clinton, “Where did you find this? Where did you find this?” While one would not expect either of the candidates to be well-versed in or up to date with social media trends, Ms. Machado’s story went viral in June of 2015, over a year ago. Not only does this exemplify Trump’s blatant disrespect for both Latinos and women, it shows just how out of touch with current events he truly is.
During this debate in particular, Trump’s obtuseness hindered his ability to effectively communicate with minority voters. The facts he produced on-demand, of which there were few, were ambiguous and sounded rehearsed. When asked why he is a better choice than Hillary Clinton “to create the kinds of jobs that will put more money into the pockets of American workers,” Trump deliberately avoided answering the question (though, to be fair, Secretary Clinton has been guilty of this as well at various times). Instead, he started on a tangent about the devastating effects of manufacturer emigration. During this tangent, he managed to recall a single, obscure datum: “All you have to do is take a look at Carrier Air Conditioning in Indianapolis. They left—fired 1,400 people. They’re going to Mexico.”