A day ahead of the first of the three presidential debates in which Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump will come face to face, a Washington Post -ABC News opinion poll showed her leading by two percentage points, indicating an extremely close race. The margin of error in the polls is 4.5 points.
The debate itself appears headed for some nasty moments, as both camps have announced some unconventional strategies. Ms. Clinton first invited billionaire Mark Cuban — who has been a bugbear for Mr. Trump for years — to be in the front row during the debate. Both candidates can invite guests and choose their seating. Mr. Trump responded by inviting Gennifer Flowers — with whom Bill Clinton once had an affair — as his guest.
Inconvenient invitees “If dopey Mark Cuba… wants to sit in the front row, perhaps I will put Gennifer Flowers right alongside of him!” Mr. Trump had tweeted on Saturday. “I will be in your corner,” she said on Twitter on Sunday, setting the stage for some potentially uneasy moments.
However, later on Sunday, Mr. Trump’s campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said the tweet was meant to show that the Trump campaign has ways to “get inside the head of Hillary Clinton”.
“We’ve not invited her [Gennifer Flowers] formally and don’t expect her to be there as a guest of the Trump campaign,” said Ms. Conway.
The two-hour debate on Monday night in New York will be unlike any Ms. Clinton has faced in her primaries — in 2008 with Barack Obama and in 2016 with Bernie Sanders. Mr. Trump, who has hit out at his opponents in personal and insulting terms in the primary while skipping questions himself, has said he will respect Ms. Clinton as long as she respects him. But that red-line could be easily crossed, if what they have said about each other in public so far is any indication.
NBC’s Nightly News anchor Lester Holt will be the moderator. Divided into six 15-minute segments, the debate will cover three broad topics — America’s direction, achieving prosperity and securing America.
Responding to a Clinton ad last week that showed some girls getting upset over Mr. Trump’s statements that insulted women, the Republican said at a campaign rally that he would do more for women than the Democrat. Mr. Trump has continuously claimed that he is a woman-friendly employer. In a first for a Republican candidate, he has a woman campaign manager. Nonetheless, Mr. Trump’s popularity among women voters remains low.
What is, however, troubling for Ms. Clinton is the fact that fewer people are viewing Mr. Trump negatively, and there is more enthusiasm among his supporters than hers.
Many Clinton supporters have not registered to vote, according to the latest polls. Among registered voters, 39 per cent view Ms. Clinton favourably while 57 per cent view her unfavourably.
For Mr. Trump, the ratings are 38 per cent favourable and 57 per cent unfavourable. His unfavourably rating has improved by five points since July. Among registered voters alone, and in a two-way match-up, the two are tied at 46 per cent points each.
