Heading into tonight’s last presidential debate between 70-year GOP nominee real estate mogul Donald Trump and 68-yar-old Democratic nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, there’s no room for error. Recent allegations about past sexual misconduct has given Hillary a safe cushion in the polls before Nov. 8. With Trump lagging behind, he needs to do much more than Hillary in tonight’s debate. Like boxer out-scoring her opponent, Hillary needs to go the distance without sticking out her chin. Trump needs to go for the haymaker or lose the whole things on points Nov. 8. Spending the last week in more intense debate prep, Hillary finds herself torn between acting aggressive or trying to look presidential, not taking Trump’s attacks too seriously. When she debated Trump Sept. 26 at Hofstra University in Long Island, Hillary talked circles around Trump, putting him on the defensive, making him look poorly prepared.
Hillary hopes to repeat her Sept. 26 performance, getting Trump rattled, then making him look bad only 20 days before Election Day. If Trump puts on his game face like he did Oct. 9 at Washington University in St. Louis, he can continue prosecuting the case against Hillary to undecided voters. Recently released WikiLeaks offer embarrassing insights into Hillary’s campaign strategy, especially her personal views of Catholics and Christians. Trump delivers powerful talking points speaking to large crowds, something he needs to insert between answering questions by Fox News moderator Chris Wallace. If he gets bogged down in Wallace’s questions, Hillary’s going to run out the clock. Trump last shot in reversing his downward spiral involves exposing Hillary’s cash ties through the Clinton Foundation to foreign governments. Trump pointed out in the last debate that Hillary used the state department to collect cash for the Clinton Foundation.
Hillary’s bound to bring up allegations of several women claiming Trump made unwanted sexual advances. If Trump raises former President Bill Clinton’s past indiscretions, he’ll look more evasive. Trump better keep laser-focused on Hillary’s obstruction of justice, destroying some 33,000 emails connected to her work at the State Department. Trump needs to clarify what FBI Director James Comey said when he decided July 3 to not press charges against Hillary for sending-or-receiving classified emails through her private server. Trump needs to remind voters that Comey never looked into Hillary’s deliberate destruction of evidence, something known as obstruction of justice. Hillary likes to call her email problems a mistake but at least six members of her staff, including members of a Colorado-based tech firm, already took the Fifth Amendment before Congress. Hilary can’t explain the immunity deal given to her chief counsel Cheryl Mills by the FBI.
Hillary gets rattled when she can’t explain what happened with her emails and her staff. She calls Trump a liar when she can’t explain why she ordered her tech staff to delete permanently emails connected to her work at the State Department. Trump needs to ask as simple questions to voters: Can you trust the White House with someone who’s taken millions for Saudi Arabia and other foreign governments? Whatever Hillary’s ties to Wall Street, including insurance, defense, drug and energy companies, taking money from foreign government borders on treason. Trump need only point out Hillary’s strong backing of the nearly six-year Saudi proxy war in Syria, costing over 300,000 lives, displacing 12 million to neighboring countries and Europe and driving the U.K. from the European Union. Knowing that Hillary backed toppling Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak , Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi and Syria’s Bashar al-Assad should raise eyebrows.
Trump must push Hillary into explaining her logic behind how supporting the Saudi proxy war in Syria would be good for the Middle East. Beyond that, Hillary must explain how backing the Saudis and pitting the U.S. against Russian President Vladimir Putin helps U.S. national security. Hillary agrees with Sen. John McCain (R-Az.) who urged President Barack Obama to set up a no-fly zone and threaten to shoot down Russian warplanes. If Trump can show voters that Hillary has taken so much cash from the Saudis she has no sensible U.S. policy in Syria, it would impact on voters. Voters don’t want to see WWIII or, worse yet, a nuclear war with the Russian Federation over Syria. Hillary’s tough talk about Russia suggests she sees eye-to-eye with McCain on what to do in Syria. Since Hillary accused Trump of not being trustworthy with U.S. nuclear codes, voters have a right to know which of the two candidates is most likely to start WWIII.
Getting one more shot in tonight’s debate, Trump needs to relentlessly go after Hillary or face a steep mountain heading into Election Day. Already down in the polls, Trump’s last shot to influence voters must do more that rehash old news. Raising Hillary’s strong cash ties to the Saudis with her Syria policy should expose real concerns about her fitness for duty as U.S. president. No public official with cash ties to foreign governments can be trusted in the Oval Office. While it’s getting late in the game, reversing Trump’s downward spiral won’t be easy. With Democrats, Republicans and the media at war with Trump, it’s getting more difficult to get his message out. Talking recently of term limits for Congress, Trump won’t win any friends on Capitol Hill. Instead of taking on “crooked Hillary,” Trump’s tried to take on the whole system and finds himself behind the Eight-Ball. Showing how Hillary took Saudi cash in exchange for her Syria policy would say a lot.
