Debate guests pretty much used as pawns in presidential election
Just before the second debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump was about to begin earlier this month, the Commission on Presidential Debates shut down Trump's alleged plan to seat a group of particular women in his family box. The women, all with no relation to any Trump, had accused former President Bill Clinton of sexual abuse.
Ahead of Wednesday night's third and final debate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas the tactic of using strategic guests to throw off and distract the candidates seems to be alive and well -- despite efforts from the Commission to keep provocative guests out of the family seating areas.
The Associated Press reported Trump is bringing President Barack Obama's half-brother, Malik Obama, because this Obama is a Trump supporter.
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NBC's Katy Tur tweeted more of Trump's guest list, which includes the so-called "Benghazi mom" Pat Smith, whose son Sean Smith died in the 2012 Benghazi, Libya, attacks.
More surprise Trump guests have been rumored -- according to CNN, Malik Obama is "just an appetizer."
On the Clinton side, she is bringing back Mark Cuban, a wealthy entrepreneur who turned against Trump. Cuban was seated in the front row at the first debate as Clinton's guest. Clinton has also invited Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman, a Republican who has endorsed Clinton despite her party affiliation.
The Las Vegas Sun reports three local Nevada residents are also attending as Clinton's guests. One of the Nevadans is a Trump International Hotel housekeeper.
Such careful plotting about debate guests seems to be a more recent phenomenon and people are noticing.
Public policy professor Jack Glaser at the University of California at Berkeley told Mashable he hasn't previously heard of candidates overtly inviting certain guests to the debate to psych out their opponent.
It's a new tactic that Glasser doesn't think will succeed. "I don’t think it’s going to work on Hillary," he said. "She’s been under attack for decades and she’s withstood it."
Because of this new strategy, Glaser predicts the Commission will be updating rules about debate guests in the future. "This election has broken all the norms, it’s utterly different from past elections," Glaser said.
Interest in who the candidates are bringing to the showdowns has jumped dramatically. Previous election cycles in 2004, 2008 and 2012 saw small spikes surrounding debate guests. This year it seems everyone wants to know who will be used as a pawn to psych out the opponent.
Chris Wallace will moderate Wednesday night's 90-minute debate starting at 9 p.m. ET. Topics up for discussion are immigration, the economy, the Supreme Court, foreign hot spots and fitness to be president.
But all eyes will also be on who is sitting on the sidelines.
Topics Donald Trump Elections President
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
