The first presidential debate, held in Hempstead, NY on September 26, was won by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. This opinion is shared by most observers who assessed the Clinton-Trump smackdown.
In particular, an express poll held by CNN, shows that 62 percent consider Clinton the winner, while 27 percent are in favor of Trump.
Analysts claim that Clinton won over her opponent hands down while staying disciplined and demonstrating her knowledge without looking a nerd. In one of her particularly felicitous remarks she said: “I think Donald just criticized me for preparing for this debate. And, yes, I did. And you know what else I prepared for? I prepared to be president. And I think that’s a good thing.”
“I have never seen a more lopsided debate. He was angry, rambling, fidgety and often simply incoherent. His bar was to look even modestly like a president, in carriage and temperament, plus a very, very low bar on fundamental knowledge. He failed on them all,” Norm Ornstein, a political analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, said in his interview to Financial Times.
In the initial three debates, which can shape the closing six weeks of the race, the candidates held a sparring over a variety of topics ranging from economy and trade to race to national security. It should be mentioned that in this duel Clinton was more disciplined, in comparison with the rambling Trump.
One of her most efficient blows dealt to Trump was her comment on the billionaire’s refusal to release his tax returns, which every presidential candidate has done since Richard Nixon.
“I think there may be a couple of reasons. First, maybe he’s not as rich as he says he is. Second, maybe he’s not as charitable as he claims to be,” Ms. Clinton told an estimated 100-million audience and went on: “Or maybe he doesn’t want the American people, all of you watching tonight, to know that he’s paid nothing in federal taxes.”
Trump’s reaction to these words seems very strange. “That makes me smart,” retorted the billionaire and added that he would release his taxes, which remain under audit, if Clinton publishes 33,000 emails deleted before the FBI investigation.
Clinton rebuked Trump for encouraging cyber attacks against American public institutions and companies which she blamed on the Kremlin. In his turn, Trump claimed that it might have been China or another country rather than Russia that stood behind the cyber attacks, and censured the incumbents for losing the information war against extremists.
“We will defend the citizens of this country. And the Russians need to understand that,” said Clinton, immediately noting that “Donald’s very praiseworthy of Vladimir Putin […]. I was so shocked when Donald publicly invited Putin to hack into Americans.”
Observers note that Trump failed to fully exploit the theme of Clinton’s correspondence. The former Secretary of State admitted her mistake and thus obstructed her opponent’s chances to develop the topic: “It was a mistake, and I take responsibility for that.”
Observers saw Clinton’s advantage also in the way she fended off Trump’s attacks at her stamina. The Democratic candidate reminded that Trump had said she “did not have a presidential look,” probably hinting at her gender. In reply to this the Republican candidate remarked that he had meant Clinton’s lack of stamina for working as a president.
“Well, as soon as he travels to 112 countries and negotiates a peace deal, a cease-fire, a release of dissidents […], or even spends 11 hours testifying in front of a congressional committee, he can talk to оme about stamina,” parried Clinton.
We would like to remind that the first televised presidential debates took place in 1960 between Richard Nixon and John Kennedy. Not only their influence on public opinion grew with time, but their audiences increased considerably as well. An estimated 100 million people will be following this year’s debates. This will break the record dating back to 1980, when 81 million viewers followed Jimmy Carter vs. Ronald Reagan. It is due to the 1960 televised debates that Senator Kennedy was able to sway public opinion in his favor and won over Nixon.
Surveys show that recently the gap between Clinton and Trump has shrunk; the former Secretary of State has a lead of a mere 2 percent. How Clinton’s victory in the first televised debate will affect her ratings, remains to be seen.
