Many Americans doubt legitimacy of Clinton, Trump: Pundit

Press TV has conducted an interview with James Jatras, a former US Senate foreign policy analyst, and Randy Short, a US civil rights activist, both from Washington, to discuss a new poll showing US presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as the most unpopular candidates in 30 years.

The recent survey revealed the American society does not believe in the legitimacy of either the Republican or Democrat nominees of the 2016 presidential election in 2016, Jatras told Press TV’s Debate program on Thursday night.

“Whoever wins this election, I think essentially half of the population will say that I don’t accept that person’s legitimacy, I don’t accept that person’s authority,” the analyst said.

According to him, the rigged campaign system in the US pushed Bernie Sanders in the Democratic camp out of the presidential race, but Trump managed to overcome inter-party challenges and secure his nomination for the Republican Party.

A poll released by Suffolk University/USA Today on Thursday showed that Clinton, a former US secretary of state, is viewed negatively by 51 percent of American voters and the New York billionaire by 59 percent. About 20 percent of likely voters say they do not like either major-party nominee.

Jatras further said Trump has been targeted by a “vicious” media campaign connected with the government, big corporations and banks because the Republican nominee is calling for changes in US policies.

The analyst said there have been attempts by mainstream media to cover up the background of the Democrat nominee, noting, “If the truths about how bloodthirsty and how corrupt this person is actually were carried by the media, she would be 10 times more unpopular than she is already.”

According to the Suffolk University/USA Today poll, Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by seven points in the run-up to the 2016 US presidential race. She is favored by 48 percent of likely voters to Trump’s 41 percent. Another nine percent are undecided.

In PressTV’s Debate program, Short said such opinion polls should not be trusted because Trump is “honest” about what he says, while Clinton hides her true intentions.

Short further touched on Trump’s stance on US migration policies, which he said are supported by many Americans, adding that people lose their jobs because of low-paid illegal immigrants.

The activist also said the Democrat nominee is a “war hawk” and a “notorious female politician,” adding, “She has hands covered in blood” in Libya and Syria.

Clinton favors attacking Iran, Russia and North Korea, while Americans are “tired of war,” Short says. 

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