Did you see the debate? Well look for it on YouTube. If you were expecting a reality show with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump screaming insults at each other, you can be very disappointed. One of the surprises of the night came from the Republican presidential nominee with his ability to respond and argue with details, without running away and getting ahead from generalities lacking any sense.
Trump was prepared, but of course, not as much as the heavy weight he had a few meters away, a courteous and calm heavy weight that did not miss the occasion to ridicule her opponent before looking at the camera and explaining with executive precision why he was wrong and she was right.
Between mischievous laughs and jokes to minimize her rival, Democratic Party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton presented almost effortlessly, for a bit over an hour and a half, the arguments to show Trump was a liar.
Trump had a tougher job in his diatribe, hunting for the opportunity to interrupt her or add a footnote to any comment from his opponent.
Clinton triggered most of the night’s laughter at the expense of her opponent, although she got a bit of help.
“The consensus among political scientists is that during a great deal of the 90-minute debate Clinton showed a better dominion and preparation of the subjects, while Trump looked worked up and on the defensive,” María Peña, correspondent for Washington’s Hispanic daily La Opinión, summed up the debate.
“In the midst of world expectation, none of them made gross mistakes that can bring about an imbalance in a neck and neck campaign. There was no major out of tune by Trump, who made an effort to contain himself. But Clinton was able to put him on the defensive when questioning his credentials as a businessman, accusing him of racism and doubting his temperament to be commander-in-chief,” commented Marc Bassets in Spain’s El País.
“It was a battle between the lawyer and the seller, and for the major part of the first debate of the two nominees to the U.S. presidency, the lawyer came out victorious,” said BBCMundo.
“It was a commanding performance from the Democratic nominee. Clinton delivered a series of detailed answers on subjects ranging from race to the Middle East to tax policy…. The Republican, on the other hand, was erratic, vague, and frequently appeared rude. Where Clinton offered sometimes dull policy prescriptions, Trump stuck to description, diagnosing problems—offshoring of jobs, violence in Chicago, the decay of American infrastructure—but providing nearly nothing in the way of solutions to them, even when pressed by Holt (the moderator),” pointed out David A. Graham of The Atlantic.
That’s how the more or less 90 minutes went by of the first televised presidential debate in the 2016 electoral campaign in the United States.
Hillary Clinton looked more like a president than a nominee.
On Tuesday November 8, 2016 the U.S. people will elect Barack Obama’s successor to the White House Oval Office. There’s already an idea of who deserves the job.
Authors
OnCuba Staff,
OnCuba editorial staff
Hillary looked presidential as always. Trump collapsed, did not have the stamina, was at times incoherent, was rude, looked disheveled, took the bait, and what is worse, stayed with it the week that followed. It is more clear than ever that Trump does not have the temperament, let alone experience and knowledge, to be president of the US.