From Rickey Singh

TONIGHT’S THIRD and final presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will take place amid increasing fears over the future of stable democratic governance in the world’s sole superpower.

For a start, it is to be hoped that Trump would not again be permitted, uninterrupted to display “bad manners’’ with his stalking-style behaviour against Clinton – as was quite evident during their second debate. It was a distasteful, theatrical display, quite unbefitting of a politician seeking to be the next president of the United States.

As a consequence of Trump’s wild, emotional claims about the upcoming elections being “rigged”, America’s formidable two-party democratic electoral system could degenerate into sporadic violence following the declaration of results with Hillary being proclaimed the first woman to win a US presidential election.

This may seem like typical speculative political developments in a non-white third world state? Think again.

Such doomsday speculations and fears have now crept up among Americans – Republicans and Democrats – that political violence could erupt should the expected Hillary Clinton victory be treated as confirmation of Donald Trump’s prophesy of “a rigged political system” to ensure yet another Democrat in the White House with the impending departure of Barack Obama.

Worrying factor

The harsh political reality, as the Washington Post commented earlier this week, is that while Trump “currently has the momentum” in the presidential race, his “prospects for obtaining the required 270 electoral votes are dim . . .” .

There is, nevertheless, a very worrying factor for informed thinkers – including those of mainstream media currently being abused by an angry Trump for their contemptuous dismissal of his claimed “rigged electoral system”.

This worrying factor is that the highly controversial and unpredictable Trump may have been more successful in sowing political falsehood than earlier expected.

For example, his more emotional sympathisers and defenders are talking and behaving as if they really believe that a Clinton victory could only result on the basis of Trump’s claimed “rigged electoral system”.

This billionaire politician, notorious for his gross disrespect for women, who he delights in degrading, was having much fun earlier this week in front of television cameras with his disgusting narratives regarding documented examples of his gross treatment of women.

For tonight’s final presidential debate there should be no recurrence of Trump’s stalking-like behaviour.

How it happened in the first instance probably deserves an explanation.

It would be quite interesting to learn what new political tricks, or gross untruth Trump may come forward with tonight as tension mounts over his spreading allegations that the Clintons and the Democratic party are planning for “a rigged presidential election”. After all, this is the Donald Trump who stuck to lying that Barack Obama was not an American by birth until he personally confessed his transgression just about a month ago.

• Rickey Singh is a noted Caribbean journalist.

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