North Central College political science faculty interviewed on WGN

Oct 26, 2020

Professors William Muck and Suzanne Chod share insights on what voters can expect from the final presidential debate

As the former vice president Joe Biden took the stage for a final face off against President Donald Trump on Thursday, October 22, two North Central College political science experts prepared for a special interview on WGN ahead of the final presidential debate. Dr. William Muck, professor of political science, and Dr. Suzanne Chod, associate professor of political science, spoke with WGN political analyst Paul Lisnek on what voters could expect to hear as the election season ends.

When Dr. Chod was asked about how this debate was essentially the closing arguments of the election season, she said:

“It really does seem like there is not much more to learn about these two candidates,” said Dr. Chod. “But, it is important in these last couple of weeks; there are still some people who have not decided yet, there are people who haven’t cast their vote yet, there are some people who have decided, but haven’t cast their vote yet and these debates can mobilize certain voters to go out for someone and quite honestly to go out against somebody. So even if we don’t learn anything new necessarily about the candidates, it is an opportunity for the candidates to make that last pitch to voters, even to those that have already been persuaded to actually cast their ballot.”

When Dr. Muck was asked how viewers would know if a candidate one the debate or not, he said:

“I think a win for Donald Trump is if people are saying he did a good job,” said Muck. “The last debate for Trump, was really a disaster. He undermined and got in his own way, so I think if he is even and at the end of the day and you [the viewers] feel like he and Biden are on the same level, I think the campaign would say that’s a win.”

Click here to watch the full interview on WGN’s Facebook page.

Bill Muck and Suzanne Chod side-by-side headshots