Hillary punched Trump hard, but couldn't land a knockout punch.
The first US Presidential Election Debate for 2016, turned out to be a crackling affair with both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton bringing out their A-games at times, trying to outwit each other. Hosted by Hofstra University, the debate was a mix of wonkish policy discussions, smart one-liners, empty rhetoric and some below the belt attacks.
Hillary prevailed, but failed to give Trump the knockout punch needed to get a fillip, at a time when her numbers are steadily tapering in most opinion polls. Trump on his part avoided any major gaffe, which could have brutally exposed his frailty to become the Commander-in-chief. Of course, when we say Trump avoided any big mistakes, that’s by the low bar he has set for himself during the campaign trail and previously during the Republican primaries. Over the course of 90 minutes, viewers were subjected to several Trump gems. He implied that he was smart to have not paid federal taxes, justified cheering for the 2008 realty crash, defended not paying small businesses saying they did a ‘bad job’ and gave a spin to his businesses going bankrupt by saying they merely made use of certain laws.
The debate hosted by Lester Holt of NBC, had three broad topics. Achieving Prosperity, America’s Direction and Securing America. It was a hostile debate with a lot of cross talk, but thankfully it didn’t cross the level of civility, which many had feared. Let’s look at what worked and didn’t work for both the candidates.
Image courtesy Reuters
Trump’s strong moments:
Trump started the debate well, powerfully advocating for his economic vision. He had Hillary cornered over her flip flop over the Trans-Pacific Partnership. At one point, he nearly forced Hillary to accept that Barack Obama has signed a shoddy deal.
His repeated efforts to interlink Hillary and Obama’s legacy and blame them for the birth of ISIS is likely to go down well with Trump’s base. Trump also skewered Hillary over the Iran deal and NAFTA (signed by Bill Clinton) and other such agreements which according to the Republican candidate hasn’t been helpful to the American people. The entire emphasis was to project Hillary as part of the problem, a legacy candidate, who has nothing new to offer to treat America’s chronic ailments.
Trump (often transgressing from the theme of the debate) tried desperately to counter Hillary’s years of experience by saying she has been up to no good. Whether neutrals and fence sitters, and urban college graduates who are yet to warm up to Trump, will get influenced by his message is yet to be seen.
Trump’s weakest exchanges:
As soon as Hillary Clinton changed her tact and attacked various decisions taken by Trump as a businessman, the Republican candidate lost his composure. It started with Hillary pointing out that Trump got a $14 million dollar help from his father to start his own business, and was not exactly a self-made man as he claims to be.
Hillary successfully highlighted the points about large scale discontentment among people who have worked for Trump, and how his business has run out of money six times. Trump’s response was feeble and he tried to parry the question using street smart retorts without really clarifying his position.
Similarly, Trump resorted to ad-hominem when confronted about the question about him not filing his taxes. He also had no convincing explanation for persisting with the birther debate for so long even though Obama had submitted his birth certificate way back in 2011. The sucker punch was given by Hillary when she pointed out that Trump was sued in 1973 by the justice department for racial discrimination. It was Hillary's way of suggesting that Trump has a long brush with racism.
Trump's lack of knowledge about nuances of various policy issues was starkly highlighted during the entire debate. He advocated that USA should have taken Iraq's oil resources! At one point of time, when asked about cyber security, Trump said his 10-year-old son is really good with computers. His defence of supporting the Iraq war by saying he made the comments 'very lightly' also didn't pass much critical muster.
Image courtesy Reuters
Hillary’s strong play:
Hillary Clinton tried to appear Presidential right from the word go. She was committed to convey her message, but took a stance not to be bullied by Donald Trump. Hence right from the beginning, Hillary jabbed and counter-punched whenever Trump tried to bully her. She was like the expert mountaineer, acutely aware of all possible crevices in a treacherous path. When as a last resort, Trump accused of her of having low stamina, Hillary played the card of her vast experience of nearly two decades, including serving as Secretary of State in the Obama administration.
Hillary with clinical precision outlined her economic policy of empowering the middle class with liberal tax regime. It may earn her some brownie points from people who had allied with Bernie Sanders during the primaries. She stressed on how the Muslim community should be taken into confidence to prevent homeland terror. Hillary advocated for a second chance programme so that young African-Americans do not rot in jail. She showed a statesman-like character while assuring NATO allies that USA would stick to its promises. In the whole 90 minutes, Hillary tried to contrast herself from Trump and to show a restrained, composed side to win over her critics. Hillary also reminded voters about Trump's despicable attitude towards women, where Trump had no answer.
Hillary's weak moments:
Hillary was particularly weak when quizzed about her changing her stance vis-a-vis the Trans Pacific Partnership and NAFTA. She managed to handle the oft repeated question of deleting emails well with an unequivocal apology. About the Iraq war and growth of ISIS, Hillary tried to explain her stance, but was weighed down by the track record of the Obama administration which she was also a part of.
Image courtesy Reuters
Fact-check:
According to The New York Times, Trump clearly got his facts wrong much more than Hillary. Some of his prominent wrong assertions were that he opposed the Iraq war, USA is not upgrading its nuclear arsenal, exaggerated US trade deficit and even said that Hillary has been in public life for 30 years! In between, he peddled several half-truths and an exasperated Hillary called out for the fact checkers to take notice, thrice during the 90-minute debate
Who won the debate?
According to Vox, contrary to Trump's claims, preliminary reports show that Hillary prevailed in the first debate. Polls done by CNN, Public Policy Polling have said that Hillary was getting a favourable response. Hillary Clinton's chances have also seen a spurt in online betting markets. However hard data will only come in a few days and even if Hillary gets a post-debate bump, it will be a challenge for her to hold on to it.
Hillary and Trump will again face-off in the second debate on October 9. None of the contenders made any major gaffe like Gerald Ford's Soviet howler in 1976. Trump will come out swinging in the next debate and may grill Hillary more about things like the Clinton Foundation and Benghazi, which weren't raised on Sunday. Trump hinted that he thought about, but decided against raising issues regarding Bill Clinton's personal transgressions during the first debate. But in a closely contested election, things can go downhill very soon. The first debate is just an appetiser and things are only likely to get intriguing from here.
You can watch the full debate here:
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