The > two US presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, face off in their first debate on Monday night in Hofstra University in New York. The US presidential debate is a tradition followed since 1960 to know the candidates off their campaign trails and out of convention halls. This was one of the most anticipated events as the two candidates come with certain amount of baggage. There are scandals looming over both > Clinton and Trump, weekly polls wavering in their predictions and back-and-forth negative campaigning.
The Clinton-Trump showdown was nothing short of what was expected. Both candidates weighed in on issues starting from the economy to cybersecurity. The debate overall covered areas of gun policies, the relations between the police and African American community in the wake of recent shootings and NATO agreement.
Trump repeatedly underscored his role as a political outsider, questioning the economic stewardship of President Barack Obama and the administration of former President Bill Clinton, who sat in the front row. Describing the loss of manufacturing jobs, Trump said Clinton had been in government for 30 years, asking, “Why are you just thinking about these solutions right now?”
What's also important to highlight is that Trump denied that he was in support of the war in Iraq in 2002. Many commentators in the past have fact-checked and said he was very much in support of it.
Clinton took responsibility for using a private email server as Obama’s secretary of state and gave Trump nowhere to go. When Trump said he would release his tax returns if Clinton put out what he called her “33,000 deleted” emails, Clinton said, “I made a mistake using a private email” server. Trump interjected, “That’s for sure,” prompting Clinton to respond, “I take responsibility for that.”
So far the polls have been wavering with a 2 to 6 point lead for Clinton. The presidential debates in the past have known to have an immediate impact on the polls.
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8:10 am: And that's a wrap on Debate No.1. The next two debates have been scheduled for October 9 and October 19.
8:08 am: On a final note, Trump says "if Clinton wins, I will absolutely support her."
8:05 am: In response to that, Trump says "it's not nice" that Clinton has spent millions on negative ads. He adds that he has a lot of things to say about Clinton and her family but he won't say it cause it's in appropriate.
8:02 am Clinton says of Trump this is a man who has called women "pigs, slobs and dogs".
As soon as Trump points out Hillary's health, she jokes saying: "When Donald Trump spends 11 hours testifying in front of a congressional committee, he can talk to me about stamina."
8:00 am "She doesn't have the look, she doesn't have the stamina." -Trump
Trump site is down. >pic.twitter.com/DL9zO70N6F
— Patrick McDonnell (@patrickm02L) >September 27, 2016
7:53 am "Donald Trump's attitude towards nuclear weapon is the number one threat to the nation and the world right now. A man who can be provoked by a tweet should not have his fingers anywhere near the nuclear code."- Clinton
"His cavalier attitude towards nuclear weaponry is deeply troubling" >#debates
— Arianna Huffington (@ariannahuff) >September 27, 2016
“ "Clinton has a temperament problem," says Trump ”
Clinton laughs as Trump says he's got judgement than her. "I also have a better temperament than she does." >#TrumpVsClinton>#debatenight
— Sriram Lakshman (@slakster) >September 27, 2016
7:50 am Trump denies that he was against invasion of Iraq. Says that's put out by Clinton campaign. I spoke about it in several events.
7:48 am
Trump says NATO partners not paying fair share and could become obsolete because they do not focus on terror >#TrumpVsClinton>#debatenight
— Sriram Lakshman (@slakster) >September 27, 2016
7:45 am: "Donald has consistently insulted the muslim communities. We have to be working with the muslim nations together."- Clinton
7:42 am
When Donald Trump goes low, we go high. >#DebateNight>https://t.co/5MUlOMJqWM
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) >September 27, 2016
7:40 am We are making progress. We are hoping we'll be able to push ISIS out of Iraq in a year. We have to defeat ISIS and their propoganda online: Clinton
7:38 am "Under Obama, we've lost control of our Internet. Look at what ISIS is doing with the internet. We have to secure it. We are not doing it right now."-Trump
"Bernie Sanders was taken advantage by YOUR people during the primaries." adds Trump refferring to the DNC scandal.
7:36 am Clinton points out Trump's comment on inviting Russian hackers to access Hillary's emails is just "unpresidential".
"We won't idly sit by watch others (China and Russia) access our information." - Clinton
The third topic for the night is cybersecurity.
7: 27 am "Trump just criticized me for preparing for this debate. You know what else I prepared for? Being president."- Clinton
Lessons in irony: Trump lecturing HRC on racial slurs after having called Mexicans "rapists", saying he wanted to keep Muslims out of the US
— Haley Cohen (@hco96) >September 27, 2016
7:25 am "If you're too dangerous to fly, you're too dangerous to buy a gun," Clinton says.
Gun laws and policies have been a recurring theme this years. According to a survey by Pew research centre, 72% of voters say gun policy is an issue that is very important to their 2016 vote.
7:20 am Clinton and Trump agree that better relationship between police and communities is needed.
Clinton says gun epidemic mostly to blame for deaths of black people Trump says law and order problem >#TrumpVsClinton>#debatenight
— Sriram Lakshman (@slakster) >September 27, 2016
7:15 am "Race remains a significant issue in the country. We have to restore trust between the communities and the police. Everyone should be respected by the law and everyone should respect the law." Clinton.
The debate moves on to the next topic- race, law and order.
7:08 am "It's about time this country had somebody running it who has an idea about money." —Trump
7:05 am
"Maybe he's not a rich as he says he is." - >@HillaryClinton speculating on why >@RealDonaldTrump won't release returns. >#debatenight
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) >September 27, 2016
7:04 am "I will release my tax returns when she(Clinton) releases her 33,000 emails," says Trump.
Trump basically says he'll release tax returns at end of audit and then changes position in one minute >pic.twitter.com/FSkCF3qvXW
— Colin Jones (@colinjones) >September 27, 2016
7:02 am Donald Trump is asked about his tax returns. He has not released it publicly. Trump responds by saying that what he has said before that it is going through a routine audit and that he'll release it later.
7:00 am
Clinton: "I have a feeling that by the end of the evening I will be blamed for everything." Trump: "Why not?"
— Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) >September 27, 2016
6: 55 am
. >@realDonaldTrump to >@HillaryClinton : "Secretary, you have no plan!" >#debatenight>#debates>#Debates2016>pic.twitter.com/tErBhiVS4j
— Fox News (@FoxNews) >September 27, 2016
6:49 am : I have been thinking about it for years. I think my husband (Bill Clinton) did a good job with trade deals: Clinton
“I have been a senator and I have been a secretary of state,” Clinton says when Trump says she has done nothing for the economy in 30 years.
6:48 am You've been doing this for 30 years. Why are you thinking about creating jobs only now? asks Trump to Clinton.
6:47 am "Our debt crisis is deepening. Obama has doubled the debt," says Trump.
6:45 am Clinton rebuts by pointing out the 2008 financial crash and what led to it.
6: 43 am Trump is asked how to you bring back more jobs to the US. The Republican responds by saying, "We just have to stop the jobs from leaving."
6: 40 am Clinton: More we can do for middle class, the better off we'll be.
6: 38 am Trump on economy: "We have to stop our jobs from leaving us. We can't let Mexicans take our jobs."
6: 37 am The first question is directed at Secretary Clinton. Trump will follow next. Both of them are given two minutes each to talk about the first topic which includes the economy, trade and jobs.
"The first topic of the event is Achieving Prosperity"
There's the handshake >#debatenight>#debates>pic.twitter.com/irvDqnGVL2
— Colin Jones (@colinjones) >September 27, 2016
6:35 am: The showdown begins! Both candidates have taken their place at the podium.
6: 30 am
The debate hall at Hofstra University 6: 28 am Former US President Bill Clinton is also present at the debate venue.
6:25 am There's no way one can miss this debate. It's being live-streamed on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube by various media organisations.
6:20 am We're 10 minutes away from the big event. The debate will go on for 90 minutes without any break in between.
6:15 am This debate is moderated by NBC news anchor Lester Holt for whom this is the first time handling a presidential debate.
6:10 am The Presidential debate, which is televised across the country, takes place usually at a university with a large audience of over 1500 people. The first presidential debate of 2016 will take place at Hofstra University in New York.
6:00 am If you are wondering why you’ve been hearing about the US elections, which will take place in November 2016, for more than a year now, here’s a quick lesson through the process involved.
The first-ever televised debate between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon was rated as the most-viewed TV programme then. Today, it will be televised, live-streamed, live-blogged (like this one) and live-tweeted. It may probably even be the highest-viewed programme ever and yes, that’s including Game of Thrones season finale.
5:45 am The Republican candidate Donald Trump is known for his “showmanship”. The former TV show host has enraged the public since his announcement as candidate in 2015 by calling “Mexicans rapists and murderers”. But Trump has his fervent following as he won state after state before being somewhat reluctantly crowned as the Grand Old Party’s candidate. Trump’s claim that he’s an “outsider” (meaning someone not from the political circle of Washington DC) has been his biggest pitch working in his favour.
On the other hand, Clinton may make history by becoming the first female president of America. While Trump faces flak for his over-the-top appeal and harsh stand on immigration, what’s working against Hillary Clinton is another ball game altogether. Ghosts of her private email server during her time as secretary of state continue to haunt her. It is also one of the reasons why she’s rated “untrustworthy” by democrats.
