The Email Scandal and Credibility in American Politics

Why does Donald Trump want Hillary Clinton to release her emails if she has already deleted them?

To make it absolutely impossible for anyone to forget the email scandal, Trump is using this to his advantage. Many believe that he is deliberately trying to tarnish Clinton's credibility by emphasizing the deletion of these emails.

Sociological Perspective on Forgetting

According to my sociology teacher, it is virtually impossible for anyone to forget something on purpose, especially when they are being told to forget it. Imagine if he told you, "For the next 30 seconds, I don't want you to think about monkeys"—what is the only thing you would still think about for the next 30 seconds? This is a clear demonstration of how our minds work.

Access to Missing Emails

While some emails are missing, they are likely to be non-malicious in nature. According to the FBI, many of the missing emails have been recovered from the senders' accounts, providing little reason for alarm. Even if there were any government emails, their chances of being confidential are minimal.

Trump's Motive

Trump's motive is not to seek the truth but to discredit Clinton. He claims that the emails deletion and the use of a private server discredit her, when in reality, these actions were a result of negligence and lack of a proper email management policy. His strategy is to keep these issues in voters' minds to undermine her credibility.

For instance, in a 2006 lawsuit involving Trump Casinos, his opponent claimed that if what Trump alleged was true, there should be emails to prove it. Trump admitted to the judge that his organization had no policy in place for the handling and retention of emails. However, the judge found it difficult to believe that someone as involved as Trump, would not save any relevant emails given the scope of work involved in his business.

Discrediting Through Deliberate Emphasis

Trump's tactics are evident in his statements and actions. He is deliberately keeping the issue of deleted emails and the private server active in voters' minds. By constantly revisiting these topics, he is trying to create a perception that these actions are serious and damaging. He is rubbing it in that she cannot do it, which is a clear attempt to discredit her.

In conclusion, the controversy around Hillary Clinton's emails is more about Trump's efforts to undermine her credibility than about seeking the truth. The missing emails, while a point of contention, do not necessarily indicate malfeasance. Instead, they highlight a lack of proper email management policies that are common across many organizations.