Donald Trump Jr. Tries & Fails To Defend His Dad

Experience was a hot button issue for Donald Trump at the Oct. 19 debate, and one of his surrogates didn't do the best job of addressing that problem. After the final presidential debate, Donald Trump Jr. tried to defend his dad on his inexperience in the political sphere, but what he ended up doing was reminding viewers that Trump isn't where he should be. "If he was doing this for his whole life, he'd be the greatest politician in the history of the world," said Trump Jr., accompanying himself with some eerily familiar hand movements. "He's learning as he goes because he's a real American."

Except for perhaps the vague patriotic connection, this argument holds shockingly little weight. Presumably, Trump Jr. was trying to say that his father has innate political skill and ability that hasn't yet expressed itself, but rhetorically, it kind of backfired. The inarguable thing is that Trump hasn't been doing this for his whole life, and because of that, he does not have the intimate experience with or attitude towards the federal government that he needs in order to effectively manage the Executive Branch. All mentioning his inexperience does is remind people that Trump has absolutely no qualifications for this job.

That's also part of the reason that his attacks against Clinton's experience are so frustrating to many of her supporters. As Trump loves to bring up in the debates, Clinton has been in public service and politics for her whole career, and trying to use that against her just isn't a logical argument. According to Trump, that's the one thing Clinton has over him, but apparently it's the one that's making all the difference. Clinton has almost unanimously been declared the winner of all three debates and she's currently leading in the polls, so obviously people think that experience is pretty important.

Trump Jr.'s nonsensical assertion that his father is still learning about politics and that's why he should be elected president is certainly one of the more farfetched spin room arguments the nation has heard in this campaign season. The presidency isn't something to be taken lightly, and it shouldn't be given to someone who isn't prepared for it. The idea of a "Washington outsider" taking the highest office in the land is appealing in a Dave- kind of way, but this is the real world here — elected officials need to know what they're doing. This election is too important to give to someone who will still be learning on the job.