Winton Dong

    dht620@sina.com

    NO game on Earth is totally fair or above board. But the U.S. presidential election this year has really shocked the bottom line of people all over the world and made itself a laughing stock.

    Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton faced off in their first presidential debate at Hofstra University in New York on Sept. 26 this year. During that debate, Trump repeatedly interrupted Hillary and even questioned her stamina after a bout of pneumonia. “Let me tell you, Hillary is a typical politician. All talk, no action. Sounds good, doesn’t work,” he accused the former secretary of state, first lady and U.S. senator.

    These antagonistic words, slightly sarcastic and sour, are acceptable in a presidential election. However, in their second debate on Oct. 9, the two candidates escalated the tension with charges and insults, thus turning the debate into an indecent and even vulgar competition. According to observers, their acrimonious exchanges could be regarded as the most personally vicious presidential debate in modern times.

    The 90-minute debate was the culmination of a stunning stretch in the race for the White House, which began with the release of a tawdry video in which Trump was heard boasting about how his fame allowed him to do anything to women. Based on the video, Hillary declared that Trump’s comments about molesting women revealed “exactly who he is” and proved that he was resoundingly unfit to serve as commander-in-chief.

    Trump denied the allegation. Two days later, a New York Times report echoed Hillary’s words and accused Trump of groping two women after allegations by the two women were released to the public. The fury over the 2005 video, in which Trump bragged about groping and seducing women, led many lawmakers to denounce him. “It is well past time to cut all ties with Trump and focus on preserving the Republican Congress and down ballot offices,” said John Weaver, a Republican strategist.

    Outspoken Trump fought back by saying that Hillary Clinton should have been criminally charged for her controversial email practices as secretary of state and the Benghazi Incident which led to the death of then U.S. Ambassador to Syria Christopher Stevens and three other embassy staff. “If I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get special prosecutors to look into your situation, because there has never been so many lies, so much deception,” Trump said. “You should be ashamed of yourself,” he continued, stabbing a finger in the direction of the Democratic nominee.

    Trump further wheeled on Hillary’s husband Bill Clinton, saying no one in American politics has ever been more abusive towards women than the ex-president, who was impeached for lying about an affair with then White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

    It seems that love affairs are the focus of their debate. Frankly speaking, many presidents in U.S history have encountered this question, such as Thomas Jefferson’s improper relationship with a female slave and their illegitimate children, sex scandals involving Grover Cleveland, Warren Harding and John F. Kennedy, just to name a few of them. However, this is the first time that a U.S. presidential debate has aroused contempt and astonishment from all over the world.

    In 1960, the United States for the first time televised the presidential debates, featuring John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Since then, U.S.-style political rhetoric, or the tactics of speech and persuasion, has become an important part of political communication all over the world.

    However, Clinton and Trump, as two household names in the United States and two presidential nominees this year, have irreversibly damaged the so-called U.S. democracy with their wanton rhetoric. No matter who will finally win the presidency, he or she has already torn off the last semblance of American democracy.

    (The author is the editor-in-chief of the Shenzhen Daily and guest professor of Shenzhen University with a Ph.D. from the Journalism and Communication School of Wuhan University.)