Hillary Wins the First Debate
Hillary Clinton won the first presidential debate on Monday evening hands down. Hillary was aggressive, sharp, and allowed Donald Trump to dig himself into one hole after the other.
Clinton’s experience was on full display, and she overwhelmed Trump with her mastery of the facts and situation. She not only proved her knowledge on the issues but scored points with her confidence and powerful demeanor. Hillary controlled the conversation from start to finish and at the end of the evening left little doubt as to has the qualifications needed to be President of the United States.
Trump seemed confused and out of his element. He went off on long rants that appeared to wander off subject while Clinton looked on with a bemused expression. If Trump had hoped to convince America that he is prepared to become president, he failed.
Clinton attacked Trump on his business dealings. She claimed that Trump had “stiffed” contractors and noted his multiple business bankruptcies. Trump responded by criticizing Mrs. Clinton’s positions on trade deals. Clinton challenged Trump to release his tax returns, but Trump continued to talk about his IRS audit.
The debate then shifted to racial strife in the country. Clinton said the country needs to address the “systematic racism in our criminal justice system.” Trump responded by saying that the issue is law and order, not racism.
Trump defended the stop and frisk policies of New York City and repeated his position that it should become a national policy. Clinton simply noted that ‘stop and frisk’ were ruled unconstitutional.
The debate moved to national security. Clinton claimed that Trump is doing the bidding of Russian premier Vladimir Putin and repeated the claim that the Russians are behind the hacked emails of the DNC and others.
The discussion switched to ISIS. Trump attempted to argue that the policies of President Obama and Secretary Clinton over the past eight years have allowed ISIS to gain power but offered no support of his position. Clinton attacked Trump’s claim that he was always opposed to the war.
Trump then goes off on a long rant about whether or not he supported the war in Iraq and blamed the media for distorting his position. While this was going on, Hillary Clinton had a pleased smile on her face as she listened to Trump dig himself into an ever-deepening hole by attempting to fight the media.
Trump said that the biggest problem facing America today in nuclear armament, not global warming and stated that Russia had surpassed the U.S. in nuclear capability. Clinton attacked Trump’s position on NATO and took the opportunity to remind the audience that she has visited over a hundred foreign countries during her time as Secretary of State and understands how important America’s commitments to its allies are.
The challenge was on Donald Trump tonight to prove to the American voter that he is capable of being president and by all measures, he failed. Hillary Clinton was clearly in command of the evening and of Donald Trump.