The Clinton-Trump Debate Inspires Another In Ukraine

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Fireworks launched by protesters explode near the Russian embassy during a protest against Russian plans to hold parliamentary elections in annexed Crimea, in Kiev, Ukraine, on September 17. Nolan Peterson writes that a debate in... Gleb Garanich/reuters

Eight hours prior to, and 4,670 miles to the east of Monday night's presidential debate at Hofstra University, a group of American expatriates and Ukrainians, as well as citizens from several other countries, gathered in the basement of an Irish bar for a mock presidential debate.

The debate, which was organized by the English-language Kiev Post newspaper and the independent Ukrainian news agency, Hromadske, highlighted the high stakes of this year's presidential contest for the embattled post-Soviet country.

"Ukraine is about the highest on the foreign policy scale as I can remember in any election," said Kiev Post editor-in-chief Brian Bonner, who moderated the debate.

The event was also a living—and at times rowdy—example of American democracy in a country that secured its independence from the Soviet Union 25 years ago, and is still struggling to reform a corrupt oligarchy more than two years after protesters overthrew the pro-Russian regime of deposed President Viktor Yanukovych (who now lives in exile in Russia).

"It's an important part of being American to exercise our opinion," Bonner said during his opening remarks.

Reno Domenico of Democrats Abroad Ukraine represented Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Jonathan Roseland, a businessman living in Kiev, played the role of Donald Trump, the Republican candidate.

Bonner sat between Domenico and Roseland at a table with an American flag draped over it. Cardboard cutouts of Clinton and Trump loomed in the background. Hromadske lived-streamed the event on the internet.

As spectators drank pints of Irish beer and munched on onion rings, the two debaters presented the domestic and foreign policy platforms of their respective candidates.

"America is already great," Domenico said. "You can measure the success of a country by the direction in which people move."

"Trump's policies are pro-American," Roseland said. "It's about Americanism, not globalism."

Echoing the actual debate, however, the mock event quickly devolved into a back-and-forth of attacks on each candidate's character and temperament.

"Hillary Clinton certainly means more war for the world," Roseland said.

"Donald Trump and his campaign are embedded in this Russian project," Domenico said, referring to Russia's military interventions in Ukraine since 2014.

Unlike the comparatively placid audience at Hofstra University (under orders to refrain from applause), the approximately 50 spectators at the mock event in Kiev showed no reluctance to shout out expressions of support or disagreement as the event rolled on.

Roseland drew grumbles and catcalls from the crowd as he explained Trump's praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin for being a strong leader, and for his defense of Trump's statement that he would recognize Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, which the U.S. has condemned as illegal.

Similarly, the crowd also expressed frustration with the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama—specifically for not sending Ukraine lethal weapons to defend against Russia's military adventures in eastern Ukraine, and his decision not to visit Ukraine during two terms as president.

Similarly, Clinton's failed 2009 "Russian reset" while she was secretary of state also spurred a few catcalls.

After some questions from Bonner, the microphone was passed to the audience. Questions to the stand-in candidates offered insight into how this year's presidential election is a uniquely important one for Ukraine.

Questions touched on the U.S. obligation to support Ukraine under the Budapest Memorandum, the process to obtain U.S. visas for Ukrainian citizens, the role of the U.S. in accepting Syrian refugees, as well as the rise of nationalist parties across Europe and Russia's role in funding them.

The debate touched on Clinton's email scandal, and Trump's since-amended call to bar foreign Muslims entry into the United States. The age of both candidates also came up, with questions about the impact on relating to millennial voters and fitness for office.

Domestic issues related to the U.S. economy touched off a few fiery exchanges, although the crowd was distinctly more agitated by issues related to the credibility of U.S. power in deterring Russian aggression.

Ukrainians attending the event were relatively reluctant to speak up compared with the Americans present. However, in private conversations following the event it was apparent that most Ukrainians favor Clinton over Trump.

Such support for a Democrat is a sharp turnaround in a country where past Republican presidents like Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, and prominent Republican lawmakers like Senator John McCain are held in high esteem.

Among the American expatriates, a clear majority favored Clinton.

Christopher Atwood, a freelance copywriter from Dallas who now lives in Kiev, said he was voting for Clinton due to Trump's statements about Putin and Crimea.

"I don't plan on leaving Ukraine in the near future," Atwood said. "Any potential for more Russian aggression is scary for me and my friends."

There were, however, some vocal Trump supporters in the crowd.

Hense Ellis heads a project to provide assistance to orphans in Ukraine. The Destin, Florida, resident said he's voting for Trump because he believes a Clinton presidency would be mired in controversy.

"I don't want to see America become as corrupt as this place is," Ellis said. "You can't solve problems when your government is dominated by corruption. That's a huge issue for me."

There are about 8 million Americans living abroad eligible to vote. In the 2012 presidential election, only about 12 percent of them voted.

"The strikingly low turnout among expatriates may reflect an assumption that their votes are unlikely to have a significant impact," according to a 2016 report by the University of Oxford. "However, expatriate voters have played a decisive role in the outcomes of past elections."

"As Americans abroad, we want to feel a part of the American election," Bonner, a Minnesota native, said. "We want to help decide the fate of the country, even though we're far away."

Nolan Peterson, a former special operations pilot and a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, is a freelance correspondent based in Ukraine.

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