Award-winning journalist and Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric on Tuesday led a panel of news and political experts to discuss this year’s presidential race.
James Carville (political consultant), Hugh Hewitt (author, law professor and broadcast journalist) and Rick Kaplan (chairman, Kaplan Media Partners and former President of CNN and MSNBC) spoke during the keynote session Election 2016: The Greatest Show on Earth at PromaxBDA: The Conference 2016.
Couric began by asking the panel to weigh in on the tragic shooting in Orlando, Fla., and the president’s avoidance of the term ‘radical Islamic terrorism,” which presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump’s blasted him for in a tweet.
Carville pointed to the 750,000 Muslims living in New York City alone.
“To me, I don’t want Islamic people to feel we’re at war with them or judging them based on what a guy like this does,” he said.
Kaplan agreed.
“I think the president is correct in doing what he’s doing,” he said. “We’re not at war with Islam. You want to be very careful when drawing those kinds of lines.”
Trump’s pivot away from himself and toward international issues is also a good move for his campaign, Kaplan said, but “we’ve never had a presidential candidate less precise in his arguments than Donald Trump.”
As he moves from a primary race to the presumptive republican nominee, his comments also become more damaging, Hewitt said, explaining that turning the nation against Islam “is what ISIS wants.”
Carville talked about how Trump is disenfranchising an entire generation as well as minorities, and believes there will be a serious attempt before the Republican National Convention in Cleveland to talk him out of a presidential bid.
“He confuses getting 44 percent of the vote in the Republican primary with being popular,” Carville said.
Hewitt took a step back to look at the Republican debates during the primary, saying they did not allow for a full and fair discussion, while also addressing Trump’s estimated $2.5 billion worth of free campaign coverage by the press.
“When it came to the debate, I think the media fell on its face,” Hewitt said.
Instead of fact checking, moderators acted more like ringmasters, allowing inaccuracies to build, he said.
“When someone tells you B.S., you have to call them on it,” he said to a round of applause. “If you don’t call them on it, you end up having this trail of lies that just keeps going on.
Trump also drew free advertising as the media reacted to his comments, and he brought good copy by saying “things nobody else would say, because nobody else is that irresponsible,” Hewitt said.
Carville summed it up well: “More people want to watch a train wreck than a traffic signal.”
Kaplan described Trump as “the best interview I’ve ever done, and the most difficult interview I’ve ever done.”
“He will answer any question and people love that about him—even if it’s not coherent,” he said.
Trump confuses celebrity with popularity, Carville, said, and Hewitt predicted the fact that everybody is watching him will eventually be his downfall.
Yet presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton enters the presidential campaign with low ratings on the heels of her email scandal. However, as the Bernie Sanders campaign backs off, there’s the hope among Democrats that support for her will grow.
“When Bernie stops attacking and the Democrats get their act together, and you start to listen to what Donald Trump says, you might even …” Hewitt said, turning to Kaplan as he trailed off, implying the Republican could be convinced to change his vote.
Kaplan was adamant that Clinton’s actions led to security breaches, and she would never have his support.
“I cannot vote for her,” he said. “I have family in the military. I don’t believe she’s fit to be commander in chief.”
But all agreed that the future of the Supreme Court, and the fate of the country for the next 30 years is at stake as this election plays out.
“The next five months are going to be so toxic that I can’t imagine what turnout will be,” Kaplan said. “I imagine it will be at historic lows.”
“I think it might be a higher turnout than you think,” Hewitt said. “But it will be based on fear, which is troubling for me.”
Tags: