Trump’s Debate Scapegoat
The second presidential debate was on Sunday, and I doubt that anyone was surprised — or informed — after watching it. Both candidates used recent scandals against the other with Donald Trump yelling “Jail!” or “Emails!” in any conversation that arises, while Clinton criticized Trump’s temperament and used P*ssygate to attack his character. This election has, unfortunately, become one long smear campaign, something that both candidates actually acknowledged during the debate.
Their tactics are hardly surprising, but there is one thing that Trump consistently uses to paint himself as a victim of the “liberal media:” in every debate setting, he accuses moderators of giving his opponents more time.
This is especially effective against Clinton, since several studies have shown that women are often thought of as talking more than men even when they talk less and are interrupted more. Trump is notorious for interrupting and talking over other candidates (especially Clinton), and yet he consistently paints himself as a victim of unfairness in every debate.
While Trump is wildly unqualified to hold any kind of public office, he isn’t as stupid as his critics make him out to be. Even though he has applied for bankruptcy four times and doesn’t seem to know how taxes work, he’s a savvy businessman and understands how to use public perception to his favor. He knows that people will believe him when he says Clinton talks too much because he and his supporters think all women talk too much. Trump plays on the myth that we are becoming a weak, “feminized” country, and it resonates with an alarming number of Americans.
The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media found that when men see a group comprised of 17 percent women, they think they’re seeing a 50-50 split. When they see 33 percent women, they see a majority. The same men who complained that the popular podcast Stuff You Missed in History Class “only” talks about women (surprise! Women don’t even make up half of their subject material) are the ones who will believe that Clinton gets to talk more than Trump.
In an election where one candidate literally advocated for sexual assault, believes that men should never change diapers, and that “the gays” love him, the subtler forms of discrimination don’t get much thought. But the types of implicit bias that Trump uses to convince his supporters that the election is “rigged” are just as important to be aware of.
