Orville Taylor | Trumped up debate

Because it is not a statement about Jamaicans, hardly anyone will believe it. After all, despite the increased tolerance regarding certain practices, Jamaicans do not publicly support the eating of cats, dogs, or any other nomenclature these two may go by. This is literally a case of puss and dog not having the same luck, and I will resist the temptation to speak about them going to market.

On Tuesday last, true to himself, Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, faced Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in his second debate against the representative of the Democratic Party. Unlike the last occasion when he trumped a clearly impaired Joe, who seemed to be ‘Biden’ his time between responses, this foe, a former prosecutor and child of college professors, was clearly the better debater.

Predictably, Trump has not conceded defeat, and up to press time, with his typical defiant raised fist, he was self-evaluating his mastery of debating skills.

One might think that winning or losing a debate makes any difference to Trump. For him, as he stated on Friday, he is not interested in any more debate because the elections have started. He wants votes – not some successful peer review from intellectuals or any kind of dictum from Harris’ legal colleagues. That is behind him now.

American voters, and electors on the whole, vote according to what matters to them and whether or not the candidate can deliver it.

True, 63 per cent of CNN viewers said that Harris was the better debater. Great! But the telling statistic, even with that unscientific sample, is that Trump held firm. Harris’ approval grew by five per cent from 39 per cent to 44. Importantly, his popularity and unpopularity figures hovered between 40 and 50 per cent, respectively. Simply put, his base still loves him.

More significant, 44 per cent reported that they believed she better understands the problems facing Americans compared to 40 per cent for Trump.

Yet an identical 54 per cent each indicated having “some confidence’”in either candidate.

TELLING STATISTICS

More telling statistics: 20 per cent more of those locked to their screens felt that Trump would be better at handling the economy.

In that conversation we need to understand that voting is about feelings not necessarily knowledge. People act according to their perception of reality not numbers or data. Therefore, it is totally irrelevant that unemployment rates may be up or down, inflation is at a particular level, or that the balance of trade has tipped in any direction.

What matters is what the people feel and believe.

True, the viewers overwhelmingly felt that Harris would be a better custodian of democracy and abortion rights. The larger question is, who cares?

Is ‘democracy’, whatever that might be, for a country that is a republic of critical importance to the majority of American voters? Does the average American believe that abortion is a big deal for him or her? And even so, does the typical voter line up with the Democratic party’s extreme advocacy of LGBTQ rights?

Does the regular person who will vote believe that it suits American policy to be as concerned about America’s intervention in ‘enforcing’ certain human rights in the ‘sh…le’ countries in Africa and the Caribbean who say no to same sex marriages? Do they care about the way it handles Russia, Israel, or anywhere else?

Trump may meander, prevaricate, and skip around debate topics and may even have low approval ratings among world leaders. However, many persons attend his rallies and close to half of the American electorate likes what he represents.

America is still an evolving democracy, which killed and attempted to kill presidents in my lifetime, had segregation and assassinations of political and religious leaders in my lifetime, and only grudgingly gave universal adult suffrage to black voters when I was in basic school.

He has a strong following, and Harris and her backers need to recognise that they have not won anything yet.

YET TO ELECT

This is a country, unlike Jamaica, that has never had equitable representation of women on its Supreme Court, and unlike many Third World and other democracies, has yet to elect a female head of state. This is virgin territory for Americans, and who knows if they are ready for a female president, especially one that is a minority. Barack Obama was half-white, and his mother was American.

Underestimate Trump at your own risk. There is a reason why he grabbed the puss and dog reference and declared that in Springfield, Ohio, Haitian immigrants are abducting pet canines and felines. This follows earlier rumours that ducks in the parks were being captured, and now, the domestic pets are getting what the ducks got.

Of course, this is nonsense although I will not stick my neck out that some people of African descent do not literally eat cats and dogs to supplement their scarce supply of animal protein. And it is not too far-fetched because if Jamaicans can eat pigs, that season and marinate their flesh with stagnant water, garbage and carrion, then cats are a cinch.

For American voters, immigration is a major issue. Springfield has a population of just under 60,000. However, it has seen a reported influx of close to 20,000 immigrants. Coming out of the debate, 53 per cent of Americans said that they think Trump would manage immigration well compared to 33 per cent for Harris.

Remember, people vote on beliefs not facts. There is no evidence that Haitians are any overall threat to American safety or way of life. Haitian illegal immigrants have an incarceration rate that is 38 per cent below that of native-born Americans. Birthed Americans have a 3.5 per cent higher rate of imprisonment.

And Haitians who are properly documented have an imprisonment rate of 80 per cent below that of Americans born on their soil.

Another interesting statistic: Harris has not yet fully endeared herself to black Americans. One in five black men in America responded that they would vote for Trump.

Dr Orville Taylor is senior lecturer at the Department of Sociology at The University of the West Indies, a radio talk-show host, and author of ‘Broken Promises, Hearts and Pockets’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and tayloronblackline@hotmail.com.