Bass: Trump’s refusal to promise acceptance of election outcome a highlight

The third and final presidential debate between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump didn’t live up to the hype and probably won’t change the results, but the defining moment was Trump’s refusal to declare he would accept the election’s results.

That’s according to Dr. Hal Bass, professor emeritus at Ouachita Baptist University.

“We were primed to see a real knock-down and drag-out, and I thought that at least in the early moments of the debate, it was remarkably composed on both sides,” Bass said.

Bass said the debate’s big moment was when Trump declined to say he would accept the results of the election. Trump had been speaking for weeks about the election being rigged, but this was a direct answer in response to a direct question, and it followed statements to the contrary by Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and his running mate, Gov. Mike Pence.

“I will look at it at the time,” Trump said, saying the media was piling on him. He later added, “What I am saying is I will tell you at the time. I will keep you in suspense.”

Clinton called that response “horrifying” and listed previous times that Trump had said the system was rigged against him. Bass questioned Trump’s strategy of complaining about rigged elections, saying it could depress turnout among his own supporters.

He said the debate, occurring less than three weeks before the election and after millions of people have already voted, probably won’t change the results. Trump’s supporters will like his assertiveness, while Clinton’s supporters will like her composure and command of the facts, Bass said. He said the dynamics of most elections do not change at this point – an exception being 1980, when support broke late for President Reagan. However, an economic collapse or a terrorist attack could change things.

A CNN/ORC poll gave the debate to Clinton, 52-39%. A focus group led by consultant Frank Luntz narrowly picked Trump as the winner, 14-12.

The bad feelings between the two candidates were on display from beginning to end, as Trump and his former wedding guest did not come close to shaking hands either before or after the debate. In between, the two did offer competing visions of the country from the first question, which was about the Supreme Court. Clinton touted her support of women’s rights, LGBT rights, and abortion. Trump said he would appoint conservative justices and expressed his support for gun rights as well as his opposition to abortion – particularly very late-term abortions, which he said Clinton supports. Clinton said very late-term abortions occur in very difficult circumstances and must be left up to the mother. She said she supports gun rights with reasonable restrictions.

On immigration, Trump said he supports strong borders while Clinton supports amnesty and open borders. He said he had invited four mothers to the debate whose children had been murdered by illegal immigrants. Clinton said she favors border security but would focus resources on very dangerous illegal immigrants, and she supports a path to citizenship. She pointed to families where legal children are separated from their illegal parents. The discussion pivoted to Russia after Clinton accused Trump of being too cozy with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump said Putin has outsmarted Clinton.

Asked about jobs and the economy, Clinton said her plan would support families and small businesses by raising the national minimum wage, providing equal pay for women, and offering free college for most Americans. Trump said her plan raises taxes; she said his plan would add to the national debt.

Asked about each other’s fitness to be president, Trump defended himself regarding the recently released 2005 recordings of him boasting about touching women, saying, “Nobody has more respect for women than I do.”

Clinton criticized Trump for the comments. He criticized Clinton for the lack of separation between the Clinton Foundation and the State Department, which she headed. She defended the Foundation, saying it had done good, highly rated work.