Hillary
Clinton was the closer. She pulled off a victory, but only after Trump
looked as if he might run away with that victory in the first half of
the debate. Clinton was clearly in command of the facts, but Trump was
making the simpler -- if highly inaccurate -- case for defending
American jobs. Substance aside, he initially came across as caring about
those who have lost jobs to trade. But Trump's initial strength
unraveled as the debate progressed.
Trump questions whether Russia behind hacks
By
the time it was over, Clinton unmasked Trump as a con man over his
failure to release tax returns and penchant for not paying his workers.
He all but acknowledged he doesn't pay taxes, saying "they would be
wasted," seeming more like an abusive one-percenter than a man of the
people. His birther explanation made no sense, and his claim that
Hillary has been "fighting ISIS your entire life," was as ridiculous as
his notion of stealing Iraq's oil. His denial of the well-established
fact that he supported the Iraq war was a most awkward dance.
Clinton's
decision to address America's allies, reassuring them that the United
States will abide by its treaty obligations, was a brilliant touch, a
reminder that she was the true adult on the stage, particularly after
highlighting Trump's "cavalier" claims, which he has made, that other
countries should arm themselves with nuclear weapons. First set was Trump's. But Hillary handily won the match.
Tim Stanley: A technical win for Trump
Timothy Stanley
That
was probably the first and last debate in presidential history to
include a discussion of Rosie O'Donnell's looks. As such, it was
tremendous entertainment -- pure reality TV. But it was also very hard
to pick a winner. Donald Trump won on the basis of spectacle. Hillary
Clinton's strategy was to rise above the occasion and let him talk
himself into losing. That actually allowed Trump to land one blow after
another without Clinton fighting back. She wittily put him down a couple
of times. But mostly she just smiled oddly at the camera. She was, to
use a Trumpism, low energy. That was a mistake.
Clinton's straight talk on Trump and alt-right
Yes,
Trump sunk to new lows when discussing the birther issue -- claiming
that he helped put it to rest when he actually stirred it up. Yes, he
was barely coherent on defense, taxes etc. There was a three-minute
section when he detailed a phone call with Sean Hannity about Iraq. Yes,
The Donald was low on specifics, too. But he did have clear themes that
he rammed home. After 90 grueling minutes, I looked down at my pad and
read back the key words that I'd jotted down. "Law and order." "Country
doing badly." "Bad experience." "Emails." Clinton's policies on solar
panels and equal pay did not cut through. It could not compete with his
passion, his articulation of populist anger.
So
I give this a technical win to Trump because he understood the format,
he blew it apart, and he dominated the evening. But that will alienate
as many people as it will attract. Moreover, I'm not even sure it'll
make that big a difference. Objectively deducing who won or lost is
almost impossible when partisan tensions are this high. Most viewers
either agree with him or with her. And a small minority watched it and
thought, "How the hell did things come to this?" The debate will likely
harden impressions, not soften hearts. The impression is that Trump has
matured into an effective champion of the working class. But Clinton
looks like a president-in-waiting.
Roxanne Jones: Note to Trump: Talking loud a losing strategy
Roxanne Jones
Out
of control. That's how I'd describe the first presidential debate
between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. What a train wreck for any
voter who wanted to hear details about policy. Instead, we got Trump
shouting insults and one-liners, interrupting Clinton, trying to take
over the conversation. Shockingly, Trump admitting to the world: He was
"smart" not to pay his federal income taxes; he supported a return of
"stop and frisk" policing, even though it was ruled racial profiling and
unconstitutional by the courts; and he defended his family's housing
discrimination practices against blacks and Latinos, essentially saying
it was just something everyone did back then.
Trump and Clinton spar on trade, taxes, emails
Clinton's
sit-back-and-watch-him-implode strategy was frustrating at times but it
worked. She could, however, show more passion when discussing her
policies. On the issue of race, Clinton missed a perfect opportunity to
talk more about her plan for law enforcement reforms and systematic
racism in our justice system. Still for me, Trump lost the debate
tonight. Talking loud and saying little shouldn't be a path to the White
House.
Julian Zelizer: Debate unlikely to have dramatic impact
Overall,
it is unclear that Monday night's debate will have a huge impact on the
direction of the polls. The best moments for Donald Trump came in the
first half hour, where he baited her into defending unpopular free trade
deals.
There were many reasons
that Hillary Clinton supporters could be pleased with her performance.
At several points, Trump was irritated and angry. He delved into some of
his more controversial claims. He referred to Sean Hannity as evidence
to support his claims about the Iraq War.
Donald Trump: We have to take the guns away from 'bad people'
Clinton
consistently appeared poised and attacked with methodical precision.
The most effective part of Clinton's attacks was to connect him to a
kind of trickle-down economics and raise questions about his business
record. Clinton's best moments came when she attacked him on birtherism.
In the final half hour, Trump was mired deep in his Trumpian statements
about women's looks and more.
But
Clinton's greatest advantage remains the dynamics of the Electoral
College and the continued doubts about his capacity to be president. It
is very hard for a single debate to change the game. And it is unclear
that this debate had the kind of dramatic moment that will fundamentally
reshape public opinion -- overwhelming all of the other factors that
have caused her lead to shrink. The most unfavorable moments for Trump
are not worse than anything he's done before -- and those moments have
not undercut his campaign thus far.
Haroon Moghul: Trump lost, but so did all of us
Haroon Moghul
Near
the end of Monday night's debate, Hillary Clinton looked straight into
the camera to address America's allies. She wanted our friends and
partners in NATO, and allies like Japan, South Korea, and others to know
that we meant to honor our obligations. In that moment, Donald Trump
entirely disappeared, and Clinton no longer looked like a candidate for
President. She sounded like she was already President.
Trump?
He managed to incorporate his very large portfolio into nearly every
comment he made. Eventually I expected him to announce he knew best how
to defeat ISIS because he built a hotel in Mosul. So, yes, Trump lost.
But we lost, too. All of us, as Americans. It's a disaster for any
democracy when there is only one responsible candidate running for
office, let alone the highest in any land.
Trump's
language over the campaign has been racist and authoritarian; he has
indulged anti-Semites and winked at white supremacists when he was not
busy with plans for mass deportations or Islamophobic bans. It's not a
good thing that 100 million people are watching these two candidates
debate, because 100 million people shouldn't take a would-be fascist
seriously enough to debate his case for the White House.
One of my favorite new shows is Netflix's "Stranger Things." Unfortunately, we're the ones living in the upside down.
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