TORONTO, Sept. 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Tonight in
Toronto some of the biggest names
in U.S. politics and media debated Donald
Trump's candidacy for President of the United States. The result was a surprise
victory by Trump's defenders at the debate, Newt Gingrich and Laura Ingraham over their Democratically
minded opponents Robert Reich
and Jennifer Granholm.
(PHOTO: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160930/414115)
The three thousand audience members attending the debate were
polled at its start as to whether they agreed or disagreed with
resolution be it resolved Donald
Trump can make America great again. Initially, only 14%
of attendees agreed with the debate motion.
After an hour and a half of heated on-stage debate, the audience
voted again on the resolution. This time 20% were in favor of the
motion – a shift of 6%.
Rudyard Griffiths,
moderator of the debate, comments: "Given that Canadians recently
elected as their Prime Minister, the progressive, Liberal,
Justin Trudeau, this result is
surprising. Interestingly, Newt
Gingrich and Laura Ingraham's
arguments for a Trump presidency were able to sway opinion among an
urban, urbane Toronto
audience."
Arguing for the resolution was former Speaker of
the United States House of
Representatives, Newt
Gingrich. He was joined by Laura Ingraham, nationally syndicated radio
talk show host and the most-listened to woman in America.
Speaking against the resolution was Robert Reich, who served in three U.S.
administrations, including as Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton. His debating partner was the
former two-term governor of Michigan, Jennifer
Granholm.
The Munk Debates are Canada's
preeminent forum for leading thinkers to discuss the pressing
issues of our time. Two debates are held each year in Toronto, one in the spring and one in the
autumn. Previous Munk Debate participants include Tony Blair, Henry
Kissinger, Christopher
Hitchens, Samantha Power,
Paul Krugman, Fareed Zakaria, Malcolm
Gladwell, Nigel Farage,
Simon Schama, and Glenn Greenwald.
The Munk Debates are a signature initiative of the Aurea
Foundation, founded in 2006 by Peter and
Melanie Munk to support Canadian institutions involved in
the study and development of public policy.
The entire debate proceedings are available free on Internet at
www.munkdebates.com.
SOURCE Munk Debates