Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Debate Fashion Cause Question Amongst Audiences

By VICTORIA HONE

Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump kicked off their first of three debates on Sept. 26 and their choice of attire raised a few questions amongst audiences around the nation.

Essentially, the Democratic and Republican candidates wore the opposing team’s color. Clinton chose to represent designer Ralph Lauren in a bold, red power suit while Trump’s look was seen as more conservative – sporting a dark navy suit and a cobalt blue tie. In the political world, the color red represents the GOP and is an attention grabber due to it’s fiery vibrance, and it is the color that Trump has branded in the ties he’s worn throughout his campaign, except for this time.

On the other hand, the color blue represents the democratic party. In a New York Post article titled “What Clinton and Trump’s Debate Fashion Reveals,” writer Raquel Laneri goes into depth about how blue symbolizes stability, trust, strength and loyalty – which are all traits that are questionable when it comes to Trump.

In a poll conducted by Global News in which viewers can vote on whether or not they thought Clinton and Trump’s color choices were odd, 58.28 percent voted “Who cares what they wear? I want to hear what they have to say,” 26.9 percent voted “Yes, I expected them to wear their own party colors,” and 14.82 percent voted “I didn’t even notice.”

I went forth with a similar tactic to see whether or not people really care about what our presidential candidates are wearing. After surveying 15 Ramapo College students, nine students were not phased by the choice of attire and six students noticed it immediately.

While the candidate’s appearance and choice of clothing may seem irrelevant to the election, studies show otherwise. In a 2006 study conducted by Alexander Todorov of Princeton University, it states that volunteers who briefly glanced at photos of unfamiliar political candidates could predict who would win almost 70 percent of the 2006 Senate and House elections. The study was published in Psychological Science, as reported by BBC.