On Monday, Sept. 26 at 9 p.m., Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump took the stage for the first Presidential debate. During the start of the live stream on YouTube, concerns were expressed on Trump’s temperament. Lester Holt, an NBC News anchor, mediated the debate. The focuses for the topics were those that voters expressed to be the biggest concerns for the country.
Segment one started with a question in regards to prosperity and jobs. Secretary Clinton spoke first on raising minimum wage (which has not been increased by Congress since 2009), providing equal pay for women, paid family leave and closing corporate loopholes, while Trump emphasized the way that our jobs have moved to other countries such as China. Although a lot of jobs have been lost to China and other countries, the unemployment rates in the states he mentioned, Michigan and Ohio , are lower than the national average. Both candidates agree that better jobs must be created and kept in America. In response to Trump, Clinton brought forward the need for fair trade and the need to break away from trickle down economics. Trump’s response urged that we must attack our issues with the mindset that he had had when building his business worth billions with a “small loan from his father.” At the end of the segment, Clinton raised the point that for the time being her site has been transformed for fact checking.
Moving into the second segment of the debate Holt was interrupted by both candidates who had more to say about each other’s comments. Segment two moved into further details in regards to the candidates’ proposed tax reforms. During the two minutes allotted for Clinton to speak, Trump continued to interrupt. In his rebuttal, he attacked Clinton for being a typical politician who is “all talk.” Holt brought up the point about Trump’s taxes being unreleased, at which time Trump turned the tables and attacked Clinton for deleting emails. He also claimed that his taxes would be squandered by the government, while Clinton raised the point that for the past 40 years, candidates have released their taxes. Later in the segment Trump made the statement “we have become a third world country” in regards to our national debt and state of airports, roads, and bridges saying that we have spent $6 trillion on war in the Middle East. While a lot of money has gone to the war, an exact number is difficult to calculate. It is reported that Iraq cost $3 trillion alone.
Segment three started with the question “How do you heal the divide [of the race gap].” Clinton started off saying that race still determines too much in this country, including the level of education students receive. Clinton called for a restoration of trust within communities and criminal justice reform. She also mentioned that gun violence must be stopped, while Trump called for law and order in the country, saying that hispanics and blacks are living in dangerous areas. Trump agrees with Clinton that America needs to construct better trust in the communities. Trump also pushed that “Stop-and-Frisk” was not the same as racial profiling, despite its having been ruled unconstitutional. Throughout the open discussion, Holt shifted the topics to past issues regarding President Obama’s birth certificate. Trump admitted that he was hesitant to accept the president’s citizenship.
Segment four concerned national security and rising cyber warfare. Clinton referenced her great concern for the recent hacking committed by Russia. Trump started off by referencing that many admirals endorse him. Holt posed a question on how the candidates plan on stopping “homegrown” attacks. Clinton emphasized the need to work with our allies, including NATO, which Trump has previously criticized. Holt then posed the question to Trump, “Why is your judgment any different that Clinton’s”. Trump responded by saying that he has a winning temperament. However, in a poll conducted by Fox, 59 percent said that Clinton has the temperament of a president compared to 38 percent for Trump. As the conversation progressed, Trump said that the countries we support and help defend should be paying us. However, figures show that South Korea and Japan help cover costs.
The final segment was in respects to the current policy on first-strike and nuclear weapons. Trump criticized the plans that have been put in place. Once again the discussion veered toward NATO. Clinton and Trump both mentioned mutual defense treaties, yet Trump criticized China for not taking action in North Korea. To close the debate, candidates said they would support the other candidate if they were to win the presidency.
This debate was filled with interrupting and accusation from both candidates. However, it’s hard to say if either candidate was better than the other. The two remain very close in the polls. Further fact checks and a transcript of the debate are available at: Live Fact Check: Trump And Clinton Debate For The First Time on www.npr.org.
