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There seems to be an elephant in the room and it’s a pain in the ass. The issue is the presidential election and the negative backlash that comes with it. There have been ugly debates, personal attacks and outrageous allegations by both candidates during this process.

People are beginning to question the intentions and common ground between the candidates and the followers behind them. Can each party get along outside of the outrageous Trump and the scandalous Clinton? Can two parties sit down with coffee and donuts to have a courteous conversation

I sat down with Emilee Harris, president of the Grand View Democrat Club, and Tucker Watters, president of the Grand View Republican CWlub to see if there is a common ground or a lingering tension between the two.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE TRUMP SQUARE BEING TAKEN DOWN ON CAMPUS?

Harris: I was in support of it. A lot of people thought that I was the reason it was taken down. I painted my square, then left. When I came back, Viking Council asked me about the Trump square. I told them it was their own political belief. I don’t believe in silencing people’s political ideas, so I didn’t think anything of it. Everyone had the most elaborate reasons to why I would want it to be taken down. They literally just took red paint and wrote, “TRUMP 2016.” That’s it. So there was no big bashing. Everyone is entitled to his or her own candidate. I mean, technically we wrote “Hillary, stronger together,” we mostly did the “stronger together” because we were trying to represent for both the Republicans and Democrats. I thought it was a good message from our club because we were trying to incorporate everyone at that point to be informed and educated.

Watters: I think it was a little disappointing, but it is well within the university’s rights as a private school. I think it hinders that certain individual’s freedom of expression, and I think it’s a little disappointing that other people were allowed to express theirs. To be honest, I don’t really care about either of them. I didn’t put the Trump sign up, and nobody in my club did either. I don’t really know who did either. I am sorry for the student because he or she obviously spent a lot of time. At the end of the day, it’s not a huge issue, and I think it was blown farther out of proportion than it should have been.

When asked about tax plans and the comprehensive promises made on their platforms they both couldn’t agree with their candidate and came to an agreement that they don’t believe them or think anything is doable. They understand that presidents are not economists and a lot of what they are saying, in reality, cannot be done.

“It is one of our major flaws with the American political systems. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, please know that ninety percent the political platforms are something they cant do,” said Harris.

WHY ARE YOU A Democrat / Republican?

Harris: I guess when it comes to campaign platforms and those types of issues, social justice and social welfare mean more to me than fiscal policy. I support more of the rights of the people than restricting them.

Harris broke out in laughter, looked to Watters and said, “I don’t want to say anything that offends you.”

Watters replied: “Don’t worry, ’cause I will too. I won’t bicker. That’s not what today is for.”

“You’re right; we have debates for that,” Harris said.

Harris: I care more about the people and them having the freedoms to do what they want than I care about the deficit. Obviously the deficit is a big problem, but I feel like the heart and soul in our nation is the freedom and independence for the people. I feel Democrats represent that the best.

Watters: I chose to be Republican because I feel the government has too much of a role and too much of a say. I believe in a smaller government where people have more individual liberties I was also raised by a Democrat and Independent, so I was taught to think freely growing up, and I rebelled a little bit. I have always believed people are the most important part, and in the words of JFK, you always have to ask, what you can do for your country, not what your country can do for you.

WHY DO YOU THINK YOUR CANDIATE SHOULD BE CHOSEN FOR PRESIDENCY?

Harris: To be completely honest, I caucused for Bernie Sanders. I support Hillary Clinton all the way to the election, yes, but I am having a hard time liking her at this point. I do know that she has a lot of scandals, and those scandals are very serious. I know that the Trump campaign blows that out of proportion, but yes, this is your future president. You should have someone who is faithful, honest and truthful. At the same time though, you have to think where both candidates are coming from. You have a woman who has been closer to the presidency than any other person has been in the past. Her husband was the president; she was the first lady, secretary of state and senator. Hillary has done everything you could do in the government realm, and now she is running for president. To me, that qualifies you to be a really good president.

Watters: I think Trump will create the environment for communities to be able to run their own show and to be able to exercise their own freedoms. There are only numerated powers that the government can do. A more conservative Republican president will be much better than a dictatorial president. We are electing a president not a dictator, which is a problem America is leaning toward. We are giving more power to the federal government than state government. I think the federal government keeps taking more power, and it never gives it back, when it should be within the states and communities to govern themselves.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT HILLARY’S SCANDALS?

Harris: I mean, Hillary is Democrat, but is she a good democrat? In the past, she has done things like oppose gay marriage and has said things about blacks and Hispanics, which were very wrong to me. I think that, yes, you can grow up and change as a person, but you cannot also publically state one thing 10 years ago and then come back and say something different. A lot of her scandals scare me, but as far as policy goes, yeah I agree with most of them, and there are things that Republicans can agree with.

Watters: I think Hillary’s scandals are serious. I think they really need to be looked at. The media is starting to now, which is something they have avoided in the past, but I have always admitted Trump wasn’t my first choice. I still feel that even though Trump isn’t a nice person, what has shown a lot in the last presidential debate is as a business man he knows how to hire the right people. I think Mike Pence showed himself to be the most calm and collected person in the room among all the candidates. Hillary’s scandals are going to hurt her more than she initially thought. I think this election will be a good turning point.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT TRUMP’S OUTBURST AND HOW HE HANDLES THINGS THEN?

Harris: I don’t like him or think he is a nice person, but I do know that his fan base can agree with him because they wouldn’t be his supporter if they didn’t. I cannot, 100 percent say I have ever agreed with a single thing he has said. The way he talks about woman, blacks, Hispanics or anyone who looks at him the wrong way is so disgusting. I don’t want that to be the representation of our country. I don’t want little girls or little boys to think that it is ok that “our president talks down to minorities and women, so that means it’s ok.” I don’t want somebody with that short of a temper who can be enraged that Hillary jokingly tweeted at him, and he went off the rails. He gets upset over a joking tweet from Hillary, which obviously wasn’t serious. What is going to happen when another country’s leader says something he doesn’t agree with? Does it mean we aren’t allies, or does it mean relations are going to get worse? With someone like Trump at office, all foreign relations would be lost, and all allies that benefit us would be ruined.

Watters: I do think America gets too involved in world politics. I think America tries to be a police state over hundreds of other countries, and I think we shouldn’t. I think we should let countries rule themselves, which is a problem that America gets in a lot. In fact, Trump opposed the Iraq war, the war that Hillary was in favor of which really pushed a lot of the instability in the East in the early 2000s. America thinks that more intervention and getting involved more would help, and it really hasn’t. I think foreign trade would be something of his specialty; trade is something that he knows well and has practiced his whole life. He is worth billions of dollars and knows how to win a trade. I am not a fan of Donald Trump, but I do know that economically, he will be a very viable president.

Harris: I mean, I have to disagree with that. If you stop policing other countries and don’t offer your military to the countries that are falling apart, then that’s when terrorism ensues. When you see a country that is in unrest and in chaos, that’s when terrorist groups like ISIS take over. If America just completely stopped policing what others are doing or stopped their support when their government is crumbling, you are going to have things like ISIS and other terrorist groups setting up camps. My main point is, if you don’t take action like that suddenly, ISIS will expand outwards, and that is a big problem for America. Our allies are counting on us, and we have that obligation to make sure that these countries aren’t falling apart.

Watters: You are completely right; ISIS founded itself after the crumbling instability of the Syrian government, which the American military toppled. To be fair, I just don’t see how policing was ever our job. It has never been numerated that we should be the general police state of the world; it is actually the U.N. job rather than our own.

When asked about tax plans and the comprehensive promises made on their platforms, they both couldn’t agree with their candidate and came to an agreement that they don’t believe them or think anything is doable. They understand that presidents are not economists, and a lot of what they are saying, in reality, cannot be done.

“It is one of our major flaws with the American political systems. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, please know that 90 percent of the political platforms are something they cant do,” Harris said.

WHAT ISN’T DOABLE WITH HILLARY’S PLATFORM?

Harris: I think right now the biggest question on what isn’t doable is her second amendment right and all the gun control. I think people are looking into that in the wrong way. I think that it is a stereotype that Democrats just want to take your guns away and make sure you can’t own a gun. If you look at her plan comprehensively, it’s enforced background checks, making sure people on a no fly list or terrorism list can’t get a gun. I think that is more common sense than taking away their guns.

Watters: Most of all of it, and I am looking at that in a practical way, not a political way. With the Hillary presidency, it will be a lot like the last eight years because the Republicans do control the House and the Senate, which realistically will block 95 percent on what Hillary has planned. No matter what you think of Hillary’s ideas, nothing will get accomplished through her presidency.

WHAT ISNT DOABLE WITH TRUMP’S PLATFORM?

Watters: I think a lot of his policies are vague and not really drawn out, which worries me to an extent. But I also believe with a Trump presidency, it will give a lot more power to the people within the House and Senate like Paul Ryan and the House of Republicans. I have a lot of faith in Paul Ryan. He is one of the best economists in congress right now, which is why I think it would work well because I think they could work together even though they disagree a lot. But, there would be some compromise and something’s getting done in that presidency. Whereas, if Hillary was elected, it would be the same as the last eight years. They would both just frown at each other and do nothing.

Harris: But you can agree that a stable eight year Hillary presidency is better than a nuclear war from Trump? I would rather be complacent with Hillary, even though she isn’t my first choice, to have a stable America than to have someone as unpredictable like Trump.

Watters: I think Hillary’s America wouldn’t be any more stable than it is right now, unless you think right now is stable. In that case, I guess it would be. I think it would be the exact same thing as the last eight years; there would be no change.

The coffee and donut conversation flowed comfortably with, I agree or I don’t agree statements and respectful pauses. Harris and Watters were civil and conducted themselves like two siblings discussing their favorite television hero. Both of their heroes don’t make the best choices outside their role or save the situation the way they want them to, but at the end of the day their heroes are the ones standing up and wearing the mask for the public.

These leaders aren’t always agreed upon but there is clarity among the parties knowing that their faults are recognized and the future is up to the awareness of the public. At the end of the day, the candidates are two people living double lives of scandals and putting on a mask to protect and better our future.