One came with an attack plan and executed
Sep 27, 2016 17:53:39 #
BY CATHLEEN DECKER
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Donald Trump left the protective bubble of his partisans on Monday and learned a well-established truth about campaigns: The rhetoric that draws rapturous applause at rallies doesn’t play as well in the outside world.
The Trump onstage Monday was the Trump seen every day in his campaign. He used the same language, told the same stories, decried the same disasters. But he did not do what a 90-minute debate gives candidates an opportunity to do: flesh out an explanation of how he or she would run the country, and invite voters who aren’t already committed to come along for the ride.
Instead, Trump flinched under Hillary Clinton’s tough criticism.
Worse, he made off-the-cuff remarks that lent credibility to her critiques of him. He defended saying the housing crash was a good business opportunity. He said that not paying federal income taxes “makes me smart.” He insisted that not paying contractors according to their contracts was another business decision.
He insisted over and over that he had not said things about women and the Iraq war that, because of millions of dollars of ads aired already in this campaign, American voters have already seen and heard him say.
He also did little to prosecute his case against Clinton. He did hit her repeatedly for being part of the political status quo. But her biggest liability — the fact that a majority of voters don’t trust her — went almost unmentioned. Another negative for Clinton, her use of a private email system while secretary of State, was barely touched. When Trump did bring it up, it was as an attempt to change the subject from his unreleased income tax returns.
Clinton, for her part, offered a more thorough explanation of what her presidency would entail, ticking off multi-part plans for improving the economy and race relations and fighting terrorism at home and abroad. But she also needled Trump on both policy and personal matters.
Early on, in a segment about the economy, she said Trump’s business empire had been salted with $14 million from his father — a reflection of the $1-million loan the Republican acknowledges and other loans that came to light recently. Trump seemed unnerved and afterward defended his business practices repeatedly, taking time that he could have spent crafting an argument for voters not already on his side.
Clinton’s performance — which Democratic analysts and some Republicans as well regarded as dominant — probably will not result in a massive shift to her side of the electoral ledger; Republicans have rallied around Trump lately, and polarization more than anything suggests a continuing close race.
But Clinton certainly quelled concern among her supporters about her recent slip in the polls. And — particularly when the debate turned to Trump’s past references to women, Latinos and African Americans — Clinton laid the groundwork for improvement among voter groups that she needs to gain the White House on Nov. 8.
The debate, the first of three presidential meetings within the next month, occurred as a host of national surveys showed Clinton and Trump locked in an extremely tight race for the presidency. Clinton has held on to an edge in the low single digits nationally, but Trump has mounted a surge in the battleground states that will decide the winner in November.
That had suffused his campaign with confidence. But none of the new polling has changed the rough dynamics of the race.
Clinton has a strong lead among women, nonwhite voters and the college-educated. Trump has a strong hold on rural and non-college-educated voters. The two have been tussling over suburbanites who usually lean Republican, and younger voters who have not warmed to the Democratic nominee as they did to the predecessor in that role, President Obama.
Those were the voters each campaign should have targeted Monday night. But at times it appeared only Clinton had her eye on them.
The suburban voters have backed away from embracing Trump because of his history of coarse comments about women, the disabled and other groups, and because of concerns about his lack of experience navigating a treacherous world of nuclear-armed opponents.
He could have mitigated at least some of their worries by coming out with a calm recitation of the steps he would take, for example, to diminish the reach of Islamic State. But he offered little but an indictment of Clinton and Obama for allowing that militant group to grow.
If viewers were looking for an explicit path forward on that brand of terrorism, increasingly a domestic concern, it did not present itself.
Clinton, whose studying for the debate was mocked by Trump, pointed out the complicated origins of Mideast troubles and ticked off elements of her plan.
With an eye to those suburban voters, Clinton also listed, at one time or another, almost every gibe Trump has made that ruffled them; Trump did not always disagree.
At one point, she reminded viewers of a lesser-known Trump line, in which he promised to blow out of the water Iranian sailors who taunted U.S. troops. That, Clinton said, would beget war.
“That wouldn’t start a war,” Trump replied, essentially confirming her recap of the comments.
The upside to Clinton among younger voters came with her explication of Trump’s five-year campaign to disqualify as president Barack Obama, for whom those voters were much of his base. But she also took pains to reach out on other fronts.
From the first answer, she repeatedly talked of investing in American jobs, increasing income equality and raising the pay of women — all subjects of concern to young voters.
“I want us to invest in you. I want us to invest in your future,” she said.
Typically, one party’s pitch for a third successive term is an uphill battle, given the usual desire for change, especially notable this year in a nation whose economic recovery has been mottled and uneven.
Trump made a stab late in the debate at framing Clinton’s succession of Obama in a negative way.
“Let me tell you, Hillary has experience, but it’s bad experience,” he said.
He added: “And this country can’t afford to have another four years of that kind of experience. “
The tenor of the night might have changed had Trump opened the debate with that argument and pressed it throughout. But he did not seem to have spent time crafting a plan of action for the debate, which is a basic step expected of candidates.
And so the debate, repeatedly, shifted on to terrain more helpful to Clinton.
Then, too, Trump has made so much of this campaign about him — and drawn so much support for doing it that way — that it was not surprising that he might have had trouble shifting his focus away from his favorite lines.
The extent to which he has dug a hole for himself by not delivering a more promising performance was evident when he was trying to deny that he supported the Iraq war, as did Clinton.
“Why is your judgment — why is your judgment any different than Mrs. Clinton’s judgment?” moderator Lester Holt asked.
“Well, I have much better judgment than she does. There’s no question about that. I also have a much better temperament than she has, you know?”
At that, the audience in the Hofstra University debate hall laughed, as if his view was not theirs.
Trump has two more debates in which he can attempt to broaden beyond his loyal supporters toward a plurality of voters casting ballots in November.
But the first debate, both because it occurred as he was rising in the polls and because it is likely to be watched by the most Americans, served as his best shot at opening a significant lead over Clinton.
The race is not over, not for 42 more days. But Trump’s opportunities are certainly diminishing in number. cathleen.decker
@ latimes.com
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Donald Trump left the protective bubble of his partisans on Monday and learned a well-established truth about campaigns: The rhetoric that draws rapturous applause at rallies doesn’t play as well in the outside world.
The Trump onstage Monday was the Trump seen every day in his campaign. He used the same language, told the same stories, decried the same disasters. But he did not do what a 90-minute debate gives candidates an opportunity to do: flesh out an explanation of how he or she would run the country, and invite voters who aren’t already committed to come along for the ride.
Instead, Trump flinched under Hillary Clinton’s tough criticism.
Worse, he made off-the-cuff remarks that lent credibility to her critiques of him. He defended saying the housing crash was a good business opportunity. He said that not paying federal income taxes “makes me smart.” He insisted that not paying contractors according to their contracts was another business decision.
He insisted over and over that he had not said things about women and the Iraq war that, because of millions of dollars of ads aired already in this campaign, American voters have already seen and heard him say.
He also did little to prosecute his case against Clinton. He did hit her repeatedly for being part of the political status quo. But her biggest liability — the fact that a majority of voters don’t trust her — went almost unmentioned. Another negative for Clinton, her use of a private email system while secretary of State, was barely touched. When Trump did bring it up, it was as an attempt to change the subject from his unreleased income tax returns.
Clinton, for her part, offered a more thorough explanation of what her presidency would entail, ticking off multi-part plans for improving the economy and race relations and fighting terrorism at home and abroad. But she also needled Trump on both policy and personal matters.
Early on, in a segment about the economy, she said Trump’s business empire had been salted with $14 million from his father — a reflection of the $1-million loan the Republican acknowledges and other loans that came to light recently. Trump seemed unnerved and afterward defended his business practices repeatedly, taking time that he could have spent crafting an argument for voters not already on his side.
Clinton’s performance — which Democratic analysts and some Republicans as well regarded as dominant — probably will not result in a massive shift to her side of the electoral ledger; Republicans have rallied around Trump lately, and polarization more than anything suggests a continuing close race.
But Clinton certainly quelled concern among her supporters about her recent slip in the polls. And — particularly when the debate turned to Trump’s past references to women, Latinos and African Americans — Clinton laid the groundwork for improvement among voter groups that she needs to gain the White House on Nov. 8.
The debate, the first of three presidential meetings within the next month, occurred as a host of national surveys showed Clinton and Trump locked in an extremely tight race for the presidency. Clinton has held on to an edge in the low single digits nationally, but Trump has mounted a surge in the battleground states that will decide the winner in November.
That had suffused his campaign with confidence. But none of the new polling has changed the rough dynamics of the race.
Clinton has a strong lead among women, nonwhite voters and the college-educated. Trump has a strong hold on rural and non-college-educated voters. The two have been tussling over suburbanites who usually lean Republican, and younger voters who have not warmed to the Democratic nominee as they did to the predecessor in that role, President Obama.
Those were the voters each campaign should have targeted Monday night. But at times it appeared only Clinton had her eye on them.
The suburban voters have backed away from embracing Trump because of his history of coarse comments about women, the disabled and other groups, and because of concerns about his lack of experience navigating a treacherous world of nuclear-armed opponents.
He could have mitigated at least some of their worries by coming out with a calm recitation of the steps he would take, for example, to diminish the reach of Islamic State. But he offered little but an indictment of Clinton and Obama for allowing that militant group to grow.
If viewers were looking for an explicit path forward on that brand of terrorism, increasingly a domestic concern, it did not present itself.
Clinton, whose studying for the debate was mocked by Trump, pointed out the complicated origins of Mideast troubles and ticked off elements of her plan.
With an eye to those suburban voters, Clinton also listed, at one time or another, almost every gibe Trump has made that ruffled them; Trump did not always disagree.
At one point, she reminded viewers of a lesser-known Trump line, in which he promised to blow out of the water Iranian sailors who taunted U.S. troops. That, Clinton said, would beget war.
“That wouldn’t start a war,” Trump replied, essentially confirming her recap of the comments.
The upside to Clinton among younger voters came with her explication of Trump’s five-year campaign to disqualify as president Barack Obama, for whom those voters were much of his base. But she also took pains to reach out on other fronts.
From the first answer, she repeatedly talked of investing in American jobs, increasing income equality and raising the pay of women — all subjects of concern to young voters.
“I want us to invest in you. I want us to invest in your future,” she said.
Typically, one party’s pitch for a third successive term is an uphill battle, given the usual desire for change, especially notable this year in a nation whose economic recovery has been mottled and uneven.
Trump made a stab late in the debate at framing Clinton’s succession of Obama in a negative way.
“Let me tell you, Hillary has experience, but it’s bad experience,” he said.
He added: “And this country can’t afford to have another four years of that kind of experience. “
The tenor of the night might have changed had Trump opened the debate with that argument and pressed it throughout. But he did not seem to have spent time crafting a plan of action for the debate, which is a basic step expected of candidates.
And so the debate, repeatedly, shifted on to terrain more helpful to Clinton.
Then, too, Trump has made so much of this campaign about him — and drawn so much support for doing it that way — that it was not surprising that he might have had trouble shifting his focus away from his favorite lines.
The extent to which he has dug a hole for himself by not delivering a more promising performance was evident when he was trying to deny that he supported the Iraq war, as did Clinton.
“Why is your judgment — why is your judgment any different than Mrs. Clinton’s judgment?” moderator Lester Holt asked.
“Well, I have much better judgment than she does. There’s no question about that. I also have a much better temperament than she has, you know?”
At that, the audience in the Hofstra University debate hall laughed, as if his view was not theirs.
Trump has two more debates in which he can attempt to broaden beyond his loyal supporters toward a plurality of voters casting ballots in November.
But the first debate, both because it occurred as he was rising in the polls and because it is likely to be watched by the most Americans, served as his best shot at opening a significant lead over Clinton.
The race is not over, not for 42 more days. But Trump’s opportunities are certainly diminishing in number. cathleen.decker
@ latimes.com
Sep 27, 2016 17:55:08 #
A TESTY OPENING ROUND
Clinton and Trump engage fiercely over their pasts and their plans They underscore their sharp differences in experience and views on the economy, taxes and race relations.
BY MARK Z. BARABAK, EVAN HALPER AND MICHAEL FINNEGAN
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Hillary Clinton accused Donald Trump of self-dealing and racism and he attacked her long political record as empty and ineffectual as the two rivals bared their deep personal dislike Monday in a slashing and sharply pointed first presidential debate.
The two differed — among many issues — over taxes, the state of the economy and how to mend the country’s fraught race relations.
Mostly they clashed over the virtues of a career spent in public service, as Clinton has done, versus the role of a political neophyte, like Trump, who has devoted himself to building a personal real estate fortune and fame as a reality TV star.
Clinton accused Trump of favoring massive tax cuts for the well-to-do, such as himself, in a return to the kind of trickle-down economics that led to the Great Recession.
“I call it Trumped-up trickle-down,” she said, suggesting his plan would add trillions of dollars to the national debt and pitch the economy back into recession.
Trump asserted that she was wrong and said his plan would have a galvanizing effect, creating millions of good-paying jobs and contrasting that with Clinton’s “all-talk” approach to economic policy.
“Typical politician,” he scoffed.
The 90-minute session on the campus of Long Island’s Hofstra University was testy from the start. Within moments, the candidates began talking over each other as they argued about their past, their future plans and comments each has made over the course of the rancorous campaign. In his eagerness to one-up Clinton, Trump made some unforced errors that Democrats were certain to jump on, including a possible concession that he paid no taxes.
Trump deflected persistent questions about whether he would release his tax returns by saying he is under audit; he has repeatedly said that prevents him from disclosing the records. NBC’s Lester Holt, the moderator, pointed out, however, there was no prohibition on releasing the returns during an audit.
“I think you’ve just seen another example of bait-and-switch here,” Clinton said. “I have no reason to believe he’s ever going to release his tax returns because there’s something he’s hiding.”
She then suggested a number of possibilities: Trump is not as wealthy as he says, he is not as charitable as he claims, he has financial conflicts of interest he does not want to disclose, or he is not paying any income taxes.
“That makes me smart,” Trump said, interrupting Clinton.
But he said he would violate his attorneys’ advice to keep his returns private — and instead release them — if Clinton would put out the 33,000 emails she deleted from the private server she used when she was secretary of State.
“I made a mistake using a private email,” Clinton tersely stated.
“That’s for sure,” Trump interjected.
“And if I had to do it over again, I would, obviously, do it differently,” she said.
“That was more than a mistake,” Trump replied. “That was done purposely,”
He called her actions disgraceful.
Trump also repeated his assertions that foreign trade has gutted America’s working class, singling out the North American Free Trade Agreement signed into law by Clinton’s husband, President Bill Clinton, and painting his Democratic opponent as a hapless bureaucrat who watched as China and Mexico stole the country’s jobs.
Clinton suggested Trump would say anything, true or not, to personally get ahead.
“I have a feeling by the end of this evening I am going to be blamed for everything that’s ever happened,” she said through a broad smile.
“Why not?” Trump responded.
“Join the debate by saying more crazy things,” Clinton fired back.
Clinton, who has spent the better part of four decades in public life, was better-versed in matters of policy and substance, and it showed as she offered multilayered plans that contrasted with Trump’s vagueness .
But he repeatedly sought to turn her many years in public office against her, ticking off repeated problems and suggesting she had done nothing during her long political career to help solve them.
“It’s politicians like Secretary Clinton that have caused this problem,” he said at one point, discussing the nation’s crumbling infrastructure.
Clinton went after Trump’s business record, noting reports that he has filed for bankruptcy multiple times and that he has repeatedly stiffed contractors as he built on the handsome financial stake his father handed him starting out his career in Manhattan.
She accused him of being “one of the people who rooted for the housing crisis” last decade because it would help his bottom line.
“That’s called business,” he shot back.
Trump repeatedly recounted his financial success, including what he said was hundreds of millions of dollars in income he made last year as he ran for president.
“The reason I say this is not in a braggadocious way,” he said. “It’s about time that this country had somebody running it that has an idea about money.”
Trump, who spent much of the night on the defensive, did not shy away from some of the more colorful and controversial things he has said during the campaign and throughout his well-documented history in business.
Asked about race relations, he repeated his depiction of inner-city life as a living hell for Latinos and African Americans. “You walk down the street, you get shot,” Trump said.
Clinton said her rival greatly exaggerated the level of violence and downplayed the success and dignity of minority communities. She faulted Trump for advocating “stop-and-frisk” policies that were seen as racial profiling by critics and ruled unconstitutional by courts.
“We’ve got to address the systemic racism in our criminal justice system,” Clinton said. “We cannot just say ‘law and order.’ We have to come forward with a plan.”
Clinton also jabbed at Trump by saying he believed that climate change was a “hoax” perpetrated by the Chinese government. “I do not say that,” Trump responded sharply, though he has.
Much of the pre-debate focus fell on Holt and whether he would fact-check the candidates in real time or leave the two to point out each other’s falsehoods or hyperbole.
He largely receded to the background, though at one point he corrected Trump during a discussion of the “birther” issue — the falsehood he perpetuated that President Obama was not born in the United States.
Trump said he solved the problem in 2011 by forcing Obama to release his long-form birth certificate. But Holt pointed out that Trump continued to question Obama’s place of birth as recently as January of this year.
Clinton noted that early in his real estate career Trump was sued for allegedly refusing to rent New York City apartments to black tenants and suggested that was a part of a pattern. “He has a long record of engaging in racist behavior, and the birther lie was a very hurtful one,” Clinton said.
Holt interceded again when Trump falsely denied his early support for the Iraq war, which Clinton also backed at the time.
“Donald supported the invasion of Iraq,” Clinton said. “That is absolutely proved over and over again.”
“Wrong. Wrong. Wrong,” Trump interrupted. “I did not support the war in Iraq. That is mainstream media nonsense put out by her.”
Holt pushed back, pointing out that Trump was, indeed, on the record with his initial support.
The first debate of the fall general election campaign was preceded with a Super Bowl-level of hype, and the audience for the 90-minute session was expected to approach that of the nation’s biggest annual television gathering, with perhaps as many as 100 million viewers tuning in.
Less certain was how many minds would change based on what the Democratic and Republican rivals said and did during their time on stage.
History shows that debates tend to reinforce preexisting perceptions rather than move a mass of voters or cause a significant number to change their minds and switch support.
Still, in a competitive contest between two candidates who evince passionately held views — both positive and negative — the prospect of a direct, face-to-face confrontation produced one of the most widely anticipated political events in memory. The event was held just more than six weeks before election day, Nov. 8.
Adding to the drama was the asymmetric nature of the confrontation.
Clinton is by far the more experienced debater, having participated in more than three dozen going back to her first run for U.S. Senate in New York in 2000, and it often showed.
For Trump, the session was his first one-on-one encounter with a political opponent, and he often vented his frustration by interrupting Clinton with glib remarks or appealing to Holt to allow him to continue speaking beyond his allotted time.
Clinton entered the debate in the stronger political position, holding a consistent lead in most national surveys and, more significant, an edge in the route to 270 electoral college votes.
The two most notable third-party candidates, Libertarian Gary Johnson and the Green Party’s Jill Stein, were excluded from the debate stage, having failed to meet the level of support in polls that was set by the debate organizers as a threshold to participate.
Clinton and Trump are scheduled to debate twice more, on Oct. 9 in St. Louis and Oct. 19 in Las Vegas. mark.barabak
@ latimes.com evan.halper@latimes.com michael.finnegan
@ latimes.com
Barabak reported from San Francisco, Halper from Washington and Finnegan from Hempstead. Times staff writer Noah Bierman in Washington contributed to this report.
JUSTIN LANE European Pressphoto Agency
DONALD TRUMP and Hillary Clinton before their debate at Hofstra University, at which their deep personal dislike was on full display.
JOE RAEDLE Pool Photo
THE CANDIDATES face off as debate moderator Lester Holt looks on. Holt remained largely in the background, but confronted Trump about some misstatements.
WIN MCNAMEE Getty Images
TRUMP DISMISSED as “all talk” his opponent’s economic plans. “Typical politician,” he scoffed. He also stumbled into some unforced errors.
DREW ANGERER Getty Images
CLINTON DERIDED her rival’s economic plan as “Trumped-up trickle-down.” She also found herself apologizing again for her use of a private email server.
Clinton and Trump engage fiercely over their pasts and their plans They underscore their sharp differences in experience and views on the economy, taxes and race relations.
BY MARK Z. BARABAK, EVAN HALPER AND MICHAEL FINNEGAN
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Hillary Clinton accused Donald Trump of self-dealing and racism and he attacked her long political record as empty and ineffectual as the two rivals bared their deep personal dislike Monday in a slashing and sharply pointed first presidential debate.
The two differed — among many issues — over taxes, the state of the economy and how to mend the country’s fraught race relations.
Mostly they clashed over the virtues of a career spent in public service, as Clinton has done, versus the role of a political neophyte, like Trump, who has devoted himself to building a personal real estate fortune and fame as a reality TV star.
Clinton accused Trump of favoring massive tax cuts for the well-to-do, such as himself, in a return to the kind of trickle-down economics that led to the Great Recession.
“I call it Trumped-up trickle-down,” she said, suggesting his plan would add trillions of dollars to the national debt and pitch the economy back into recession.
Trump asserted that she was wrong and said his plan would have a galvanizing effect, creating millions of good-paying jobs and contrasting that with Clinton’s “all-talk” approach to economic policy.
“Typical politician,” he scoffed.
The 90-minute session on the campus of Long Island’s Hofstra University was testy from the start. Within moments, the candidates began talking over each other as they argued about their past, their future plans and comments each has made over the course of the rancorous campaign. In his eagerness to one-up Clinton, Trump made some unforced errors that Democrats were certain to jump on, including a possible concession that he paid no taxes.
Trump deflected persistent questions about whether he would release his tax returns by saying he is under audit; he has repeatedly said that prevents him from disclosing the records. NBC’s Lester Holt, the moderator, pointed out, however, there was no prohibition on releasing the returns during an audit.
“I think you’ve just seen another example of bait-and-switch here,” Clinton said. “I have no reason to believe he’s ever going to release his tax returns because there’s something he’s hiding.”
She then suggested a number of possibilities: Trump is not as wealthy as he says, he is not as charitable as he claims, he has financial conflicts of interest he does not want to disclose, or he is not paying any income taxes.
“That makes me smart,” Trump said, interrupting Clinton.
But he said he would violate his attorneys’ advice to keep his returns private — and instead release them — if Clinton would put out the 33,000 emails she deleted from the private server she used when she was secretary of State.
“I made a mistake using a private email,” Clinton tersely stated.
“That’s for sure,” Trump interjected.
“And if I had to do it over again, I would, obviously, do it differently,” she said.
“That was more than a mistake,” Trump replied. “That was done purposely,”
He called her actions disgraceful.
Trump also repeated his assertions that foreign trade has gutted America’s working class, singling out the North American Free Trade Agreement signed into law by Clinton’s husband, President Bill Clinton, and painting his Democratic opponent as a hapless bureaucrat who watched as China and Mexico stole the country’s jobs.
Clinton suggested Trump would say anything, true or not, to personally get ahead.
“I have a feeling by the end of this evening I am going to be blamed for everything that’s ever happened,” she said through a broad smile.
“Why not?” Trump responded.
“Join the debate by saying more crazy things,” Clinton fired back.
Clinton, who has spent the better part of four decades in public life, was better-versed in matters of policy and substance, and it showed as she offered multilayered plans that contrasted with Trump’s vagueness .
But he repeatedly sought to turn her many years in public office against her, ticking off repeated problems and suggesting she had done nothing during her long political career to help solve them.
“It’s politicians like Secretary Clinton that have caused this problem,” he said at one point, discussing the nation’s crumbling infrastructure.
Clinton went after Trump’s business record, noting reports that he has filed for bankruptcy multiple times and that he has repeatedly stiffed contractors as he built on the handsome financial stake his father handed him starting out his career in Manhattan.
She accused him of being “one of the people who rooted for the housing crisis” last decade because it would help his bottom line.
“That’s called business,” he shot back.
Trump repeatedly recounted his financial success, including what he said was hundreds of millions of dollars in income he made last year as he ran for president.
“The reason I say this is not in a braggadocious way,” he said. “It’s about time that this country had somebody running it that has an idea about money.”
Trump, who spent much of the night on the defensive, did not shy away from some of the more colorful and controversial things he has said during the campaign and throughout his well-documented history in business.
Asked about race relations, he repeated his depiction of inner-city life as a living hell for Latinos and African Americans. “You walk down the street, you get shot,” Trump said.
Clinton said her rival greatly exaggerated the level of violence and downplayed the success and dignity of minority communities. She faulted Trump for advocating “stop-and-frisk” policies that were seen as racial profiling by critics and ruled unconstitutional by courts.
“We’ve got to address the systemic racism in our criminal justice system,” Clinton said. “We cannot just say ‘law and order.’ We have to come forward with a plan.”
Clinton also jabbed at Trump by saying he believed that climate change was a “hoax” perpetrated by the Chinese government. “I do not say that,” Trump responded sharply, though he has.
Much of the pre-debate focus fell on Holt and whether he would fact-check the candidates in real time or leave the two to point out each other’s falsehoods or hyperbole.
He largely receded to the background, though at one point he corrected Trump during a discussion of the “birther” issue — the falsehood he perpetuated that President Obama was not born in the United States.
Trump said he solved the problem in 2011 by forcing Obama to release his long-form birth certificate. But Holt pointed out that Trump continued to question Obama’s place of birth as recently as January of this year.
Clinton noted that early in his real estate career Trump was sued for allegedly refusing to rent New York City apartments to black tenants and suggested that was a part of a pattern. “He has a long record of engaging in racist behavior, and the birther lie was a very hurtful one,” Clinton said.
Holt interceded again when Trump falsely denied his early support for the Iraq war, which Clinton also backed at the time.
“Donald supported the invasion of Iraq,” Clinton said. “That is absolutely proved over and over again.”
“Wrong. Wrong. Wrong,” Trump interrupted. “I did not support the war in Iraq. That is mainstream media nonsense put out by her.”
Holt pushed back, pointing out that Trump was, indeed, on the record with his initial support.
The first debate of the fall general election campaign was preceded with a Super Bowl-level of hype, and the audience for the 90-minute session was expected to approach that of the nation’s biggest annual television gathering, with perhaps as many as 100 million viewers tuning in.
Less certain was how many minds would change based on what the Democratic and Republican rivals said and did during their time on stage.
History shows that debates tend to reinforce preexisting perceptions rather than move a mass of voters or cause a significant number to change their minds and switch support.
Still, in a competitive contest between two candidates who evince passionately held views — both positive and negative — the prospect of a direct, face-to-face confrontation produced one of the most widely anticipated political events in memory. The event was held just more than six weeks before election day, Nov. 8.
Adding to the drama was the asymmetric nature of the confrontation.
Clinton is by far the more experienced debater, having participated in more than three dozen going back to her first run for U.S. Senate in New York in 2000, and it often showed.
For Trump, the session was his first one-on-one encounter with a political opponent, and he often vented his frustration by interrupting Clinton with glib remarks or appealing to Holt to allow him to continue speaking beyond his allotted time.
Clinton entered the debate in the stronger political position, holding a consistent lead in most national surveys and, more significant, an edge in the route to 270 electoral college votes.
The two most notable third-party candidates, Libertarian Gary Johnson and the Green Party’s Jill Stein, were excluded from the debate stage, having failed to meet the level of support in polls that was set by the debate organizers as a threshold to participate.
Clinton and Trump are scheduled to debate twice more, on Oct. 9 in St. Louis and Oct. 19 in Las Vegas. mark.barabak
@ latimes.com evan.halper@latimes.com michael.finnegan
@ latimes.com
Barabak reported from San Francisco, Halper from Washington and Finnegan from Hempstead. Times staff writer Noah Bierman in Washington contributed to this report.
JUSTIN LANE European Pressphoto Agency
DONALD TRUMP and Hillary Clinton before their debate at Hofstra University, at which their deep personal dislike was on full display.
JOE RAEDLE Pool Photo
THE CANDIDATES face off as debate moderator Lester Holt looks on. Holt remained largely in the background, but confronted Trump about some misstatements.
WIN MCNAMEE Getty Images
TRUMP DISMISSED as “all talk” his opponent’s economic plans. “Typical politician,” he scoffed. He also stumbled into some unforced errors.
DREW ANGERER Getty Images
CLINTON DERIDED her rival’s economic plan as “Trumped-up trickle-down.” She also found herself apologizing again for her use of a private email server.
Sep 27, 2016 18:42:42 #
A Democrat In 2016 wrote:
BY CATHLEEN DECKER br HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Do... (show quote)
It seems the voters didn't check with the mainstream media.
12 hours after the debate,
Time Clinton 45% Trump 55% 1,586,065 votes
http://time.com/4506217/presidential-debate-clinton-trump-survey/
cnbc Clinton 33% Trump 67% 1,000,871 votes
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/26/vote-who-won-the-first-presidential-debate.html
Need more Good News?
According to new polling data out from Gallup, the lack of voter enthusiasm is expected to bring
Democratic voter turnout to a 16-year low in November.
Only 65 percent of American Democrats say they will definitely vote in the presidential election.
That’s compared to 75 percent of Republicans.
Among young voters, often seen as a major help in electing Democrats, the showing is expected to be even worse.
Only 47 percent of 18-34-year-olds say they will definitely show up to help Clinton get elected.
http://personalliberty.com/bad-news-hillary-youre-looking-less-inevitable-every-day/
Sep 27, 2016 18:56:27 #
Give it time-the numbers will change:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/27/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-debate-poll/
http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/27/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-debate-poll/
Sep 27, 2016 19:02:38 #
Sep 27, 2016 19:33:03 #
A Democrat In 2016 wrote:
Give it time-the numbers will change:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/27/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-debate-poll/
http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/27/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-debate-poll/
Yes, they will get better for Trump!
Drudge Clinton 17.6% Trump 82.4% 709,660 votes
http://drudgereport.com/flashnyd.htm
Sep 27, 2016 19:44:30 #
Gatsby wrote:
Yes, they will get better for Trump!
Drudge Clinton 17.6% Trump 82.4% 709,660 votes
http://drudgereport.com/flashnyd.htm
Drudge Clinton 17.6% Trump 82.4% 709,660 votes
http://drudgereport.com/flashnyd.htm
drudge? why don't check rush Limbaugh for his opinion while you are at it...........
Sep 27, 2016 19:53:06 #
A Democrat In 2016 wrote:
drudge? why don't check rush Limbaugh for his op... (show quote)
Hey, you cited CNN.
Sep 27, 2016 20:02:53 #
Breitbart post-debate poll: Clinton won 48/43
http://hotair.com/archives/2016/09/27/breitbart-post-debate-poll-clinton-won-4843/
Credit Breitbart for conducting a scientific poll whose outcome would be in doubt instead of taking the easy route and posting a Drudge-style online poll widget. The latter are fine if all you want is a broad sense of what your own readers think; if you want to know what the country thinks, scientific is your only reliable option.
**Hilarious**
http://hotair.com/archives/2016/09/27/breitbart-post-debate-poll-clinton-won-4843/
Credit Breitbart for conducting a scientific poll whose outcome would be in doubt instead of taking the easy route and posting a Drudge-style online poll widget. The latter are fine if all you want is a broad sense of what your own readers think; if you want to know what the country thinks, scientific is your only reliable option.
**Hilarious**
Sep 27, 2016 20:28:55 #
A Democrat In 2016 wrote:
Breitbart post-debate poll: Clinton won 48/43 br ... (show quote)
Breitbart Clinton 24.25% Trump 74.75% 268,410 votes
http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/09/26/poll-won-first-presidential-debate/
And don't forget, Hillary was favored to win by 10 points.
Sep 27, 2016 20:37:20 #
Gatsby wrote:
Breitbart Clinton 24.25% Trump 74.75% 268,410 votes
http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/09/26/poll-won-first-presidential-debate/
And don't forget, Hillary was favored to win by 10 points.
http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/09/26/poll-won-first-presidential-debate/
And don't forget, Hillary was favored to win by 10 points.
man, you think Obama had you all going coo coo...this will be even greater.........
Sep 27, 2016 20:38:02 #
Credit Breitbart for conducting a scientific poll whose outcome would be in doubt instead of taking the easy route and posting a Drudge-style online poll widget. The latter are fine if all you want is a broad sense of what your own readers think; if you want to know what the country thinks, scientific is your only reliable option.
Sep 27, 2016 20:38:57 #
Gatsby wrote:
Breitbart Clinton 24.25% Trump 74.75% 268,410 votes
http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/09/26/poll-won-first-presidential-debate/
And don't forget, Hillary was favored to win by 10 points.
http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/09/26/poll-won-first-presidential-debate/
And don't forget, Hillary was favored to win by 10 points.
online visited mostly by cons...liberals very seldom go to con polls....ask and see..........
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