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Author's note: there's no time like the present. In the spirit of this sentiment, we begin our timeline not at the POD, which will be revealed in time, but near the present. This timeline is as much a worldbuilding exercise as it is a history.
We begin our timeline on the 26th of September, 2016.
Excerpt from the transcript of the 1st Presidential Debate at Hofstra University, on 26, September, 2016.
TRUMP: The world -- let me tell you. Let me tell you. Mitt has experience, but it's bad experience. We have made so many just awful, awful deals during the last -- so he's got experience, that I agree.
(APPLAUSE)
But it's bad, bad experience. Whether it's the arms reduction treaty where we're handing over our nuclear arsenal to the Nazarbayev regime- which is a nasty, nasty regime, just an awful hateful regime-, whether it's the many bad, very bad trade deals with India, whether it's anything you can name -- you almost can't name a good deal. I agree. He's got experience, but it's bad experience. And this country can't afford to have another four years of that kind of experience.
HOLT: We are at -- we are at the final question.
(APPLAUSE)
ROMNEY: Well, one thing. One thing, Lester.
HOLT: Very quickly, because we're at the final question now.
ROMNEY: You know, he tried to switch from ethics to experience. But whenever confronted about his views on women, he ducks the question. This is a man who said in 2008 that President Warren didn’t have the ‘stamina’ to be President. this is a man who has called women pigs, slobs and dogs, and someone who has said pregnancy is an inconvenience to employers, who has said...
TRUMP: I never said that.
ROMNEY: .... women don't deserve equal pay unless they do as good a job as men.
TRUMP: I didn't say that.
ROMNEY: And some of the worst things he's said has been about our Commander-in-Chief. He has called President Warren ‘Pocahontas,’ and ‘Loser Liz.’ This is a man who said that the President looked ‘frumpy’ at the State of the Union and that she ‘didn’t have the look of a President.’
TRUMP: Where did you find this? Where did you find this?
ROMNEY: He doesn’t respect anyone other than himself, and he doesn’t respect the office of the Presidency...
TRUMP: Oh, really? ROMNEY: ...quite honestly he doesn’t seem to take the office he’s running for at all seriously
TRUMP: OK, good. Let me just tell you...
(APPLAUSE)
HOLT: Mr. Trump, could we just take a few seconds and then we ask the final question...
TRUMP: You know, Mitt is hitting me with tremendous commercials. Some of it's said in entertainment. Some of it's sad -- just very sad -- trying to defend a failed administration that's made some very wrong decisions, essentially handed our jobs to India and our security to the Soviets
But you want to know the truth? I was going to say something...
HOLT: Please very quickly.
TRUMP: ... extremely rough to Mitt, to his family, and I said to myself, "I can't do it. I just can't do it. It's terrible. It's not nice." But he spent so much time attacking and attacking me-- a lot of it's absolutely untrue. They're untrue. And they're misrepresentations.
And I will tell you this, Lester: It's not nice. And I don't deserve that.
But it's certainly not a nice thing that he's done. It's months of attacks without any ideas-- no ideas...
ROMNEY: That's not true at all..
TRUMP: ...And the only gratifying thing is, I saw the polls come in today, and with all of that money...
ROMNEY:...My campaign's website tells you all about what I have planned...
HOLT: We have to move on to the final question.
TRUMP: ... $200 million is spent, and I'm either winning or tied, and I've spent practically nothing.
(APPLAUSE)
ROMNEY: Lester I think I should be able to address his false statements...
HOLT: One of you will not win this election. So my final question to you tonight, are you willing to accept the outcome as the will of the voters? Mr. Vice President?
ROMNEY: Well, I support our democracy. And sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. But I certainly will support the outcome of this election.
And I know Donald's trying very hard to plant doubts about it, as his ridiculous claims that Chairman Nazarbayev is planting misinformation shows, but I hope the people out there understand: This election's really up to you. It's not about us so much as it is about you and your families and the kind of country and future you want. So I sure hope you will get out and vote as though your future depended on it, because I think it does.
HOLT: Mr. Trump, very quickly, same question. Will you accept the outcome as the will of the voters? TRUMP: I want to make America great again. We are a nation that is seriously troubled. We're losing our jobs. People are pouring into our country.
The other day, we gave back Sergei Yarunikov-- big Russian spy-- very bad guy. We gave him back, and he gave Russia the plans to the F-35-- we gave him back, we gave five other Soviet spies back, and we got two of our guys back in return. Two-- this Admninistration-- they just don't know what's what. We're getting creamed by these guys-- we're getting creamed by China, we're getting taken to the bank by India-- we're losing jobs to India, Mexico-- who's sending their worst people over here, by the way-- we need a leader with his head on straight.
HOLT: Will you accept the outcome of the election?
TRUMP: Look, here's the story. I want to make America great again. I'm going to be able to do it. I don't believe Mitt will. The answer is, if he wins, I don't think we're in for a good time.
(APPLAUSE)
HOLT: All right. Well, that is going to do it for us. That concludes our debate for this evening, a spirit one. We covered a lot of ground, not everything as I suspected we would.
The next presidential debates are scheduled for October 9th at Washington University in St. Louis and October 19th at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. The conversation will continue.
A reminder. The vice presidential debate is scheduled for October 4th at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia. My thanks to Mitt Romney and to Donald Trump and to Hofstra University for hosting us tonight. Good night, everyone.