If you were with me last night, you were on the edge of your seat waiting for the first debate to begin. In the moments leading up to its start, things felt a bit nerve wracking. What would it be like? Who would lead? How would it all go down? But, it started quickly and furiously with neither candidate hesitating to jump right in. If you didn’t get a chance to watch, here’s a quick recap to keep you up to speed.
Election Coverage: A Recap of the First Presidential Debate
The two candidates faced off at Hofstra University with Lester Holt as moderator.
- Locked in an exceedingly close White House race, the presidential rivals tangled for 90-minutes over their vastly different visions for the nation’s future. Clinton called for lowering taxes for the middle class, while Trump focused more on renegotiating trade deals that he said have caused companies to move jobs out of the U.S. The Republican backed the controversial “stop-and-frisk policing” tactic as a way to bring down crime, while the Democrat said the policy was unconstitutional and ineffective.
- The debate was heated from the start, with Trump frequently trying to interrupt Clinton and speaking over her answers. Clinton was more measured and restrained, but also needled the sometimes-thin-skinned Trump over his business record and wealth.
- The candidates sparred over trade, taxes and how to bring good-paying jobs back to the United States.
- Clinton said her Republican rival was promoting a “Trumped-up” version of trickle-down economics — a philosophy focused on tax cuts for the wealthy. She called for increasing the federal minimum wage, spending more on infrastructure projects and guaranteeing equal pay for women.
- Trump panned policies that he said have led to American jobs being moved overseas, in part because of international trade agreements that Clinton has supported. He pushed Clinton aggressively on her past support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact while she was serving in the Obama administration. She’s since said she opposes the sweeping deal in its final form.
*Key points via Seattle CBS Local
Important Quotes from the Candidates:
Hilary: “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.”
Hilary coming back at Trump’s suggestion that she “doesn’t have the look,” “doesn’t have the stamina” to be president: “As soon as he travels to 112 countries and negotiates a peace deal, a cease-fire, a release of dissidents, an opening of new opportunities and nations around the world, and even spends 11 hours testifying in front of a congressional committee, he can talk to me about stamina.”
Trump: You go to New England, you go to Ohio, Pennsylvania, you go anywhere you want, Secretary Clinton, and you will see devastation where manufacturing is down 30, 40, sometimes 50 percent. NAFTA is the worst trade deal maybe ever signed anywhere, but certainly ever signed in this country. And now you want to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership. You were totally in favor of it. Then you heard what I was saying, how bad it is.”
Trump on jobs: “Hillary, I’d just ask you this. You’ve been doing this for 30 years. Why are you just thinking about these solutions right now? For 30 years, you’ve been doing it, and now you’re just starting to think of solutions.” Clinton: “Well, actually . . .” Trump: “I will bring — excuse me. I will bring back jobs. You can’t bring back jobs.” Clinton: “Well, actually, I have thought about this quite a bit.” Trump: “Yeah, for 30 years.”
*Key quotes via Tampa Bay Times
6 key moments of the 1st presidential debate between Trump and Clinton. https://t.co/2Ewi68tTrx #debatenight pic.twitter.com/4kR9ndlE14
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) September 27, 2016
All in all it was a tough and heated debated, and the general consensus seems to be that Hilary did an excellent job at keeping her cool, but that Trump seemed to ramble. Many publications are reporting a win for Hilary, while Twitter is reporting that this was the “most tweeted debate ever.”
For a full rundown of last night’s debate, here’s a roundup of some of the most comprehensive recaps around:
Did you watch last night’s debate? What were your takeaways?
