For most Americans, tonight’s debate was the most time they’ve ever spent with Donald Trump. With any luck, it filled them with horror.
For sheer unhinged lunacy, Trump was hard to beat. He can’t ever admit that he makes a mistake, so he doubled down on his birtherism lies. He denied saying things he was proven to have said, including about climate change and the Iraq War. He interrupted Clinton 25 times in the first 26 minutes of the debate, often by shouting over her. His answers were recognizable as English, although the words were strung together so haphazardly, you’ll have to take our work for it. He even seemed to acknowledge that he hasn’t paid federal income taxes, which is quite an admission for a presidential candidate.
Perhaps worst of all was the gallery of faces that Trump made while Clinton spoke. It was easy to dismiss the pouts, the snarls, and the eye rolls after a while, but if you watched the debate with the sound off, you’d see someone who looked like a ham actor and someone who looked like, well, a president.
Clinton, by contrast, can prepared for the fight, and she quickly got under Trump’s skin. She also played his game against him, by speculating (without any real knowledge) about why Trump won’t release his tax returns. It was a classic Trump gimmick, but delivered in a much more measured, and logical, way.
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As the presidential race tightens, the candidates are really fighting for just a handful of voters. Did Trump do himself any favors? Probably not. He’s too scattered to hammer the same message repeatedly and too enamored of himself not to rise to the bait and start yelling at anyone in his path.
Of course, what will matter is how the media play the results. It would be hard to say with a straight face that Trump scored a tie, but in their unending quest for false equivalency, the media could end up saying just that. Besides, a close race is good for the ratings and readership. Trump isn’t the only one who cares about the bottom line.
Photo credit: House of Spam
Bob LaBlah
She looked more that of a First Lady who needs to retire than some one who needs to be in the Oval Office. As for whatever that thing was she debated with I say there is the poster boy for what happens when leaders are not groomed. His taxes are going to reveal how deep in debt he is and who is the source of his financing (Russian gangsters disguised as businessmen).
Kieran
Lester was ok at the debate. He only interupted Trump and told him to be quick. Never interupted Hillary. He was good at asking questions to force Trump on the defensive. But there were times that it seemed like he expected Hillary to go one-on-one against Trump.
Xzamilloh
Yeah, it was bad… Donald was bad. Hillary was better, only because Donald was so bad.
joeyty
They were both bad. But at least Donald is specific (a little more) about his course of action. I think they broke even with the undecided voters.
Jack Meoff
Seriously does anybody at Queerty proof read these articles before they are posted online.
RIGay
This Meme photo is PRICELESS!!!! PITCH-PERFECT!!!!
Scribe38
He wasn’t prepared. She got under his skin. He yelled alot, forgetting there was a mic right in front of him. He forgot to shake hands with the Holt, which made him look small. If I took a shot every time he took a drink of water, I would have been drunk off my ass. He owned talking bad about women, when he should have explained it away or stated that it wasn’t who he really was as a person. Everyone before the debate said Hillary is bad at debates, but she seemed to be the only adult in the room. She won the night hands down. Wtf? He bragged about not paying taxes…
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
I was up in the middle of the night here (uk) listening to the first half hour and thought we was winning so turned off the radio and Iwent to bed depressed as fuck for the future of Humanity. Glad it turned But it shouldn’t be this hard …she’s a trained lawyer with logic and rhetoric and shit ..and he’s Donald ducking Trump.
Scribe38
@joeyty: CBC focus group of undecided voters called it the other way. Most of them leaned towards Clinton after the debate
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
*fucking fucking Trump the fucker
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
@PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID: thought HE was winning.
Jesus.
Ukin Blome
Was the orange anus snorting coke or meth all night?
joeyty
@PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID: You, being in the UK, will understand my worry about Hillary Clinton bringing a new version of the Rotherham rapes right here.
Billy Budd
Hillary will win and the world will be a slightly better and safer place. And america will hopefully become less bigoted and have more social justice.
Kangol
@Kieran: Lester Holt interrupted HIllary Clinton 19 times. Trump interrupted her 51 times.
She cleaned Trump’s clock. Forrest Gump half-asleep would have been more coherent than Trump. And what was up with all that sniffling and those bizarre facial expressions?
He can try to spin it all he wants, and people may despise Hillary Clinton, but she ran rings around him. She’s ready to be president. He looked like he was confused and needed to get help for serious nasal issues (or worse).
He BGB
Cringed throughout the whole thing.
Bob LaBlah
@He BGB: “He can try to spin it all he wants, and people may despise Hillary Clinton, but she ran rings around him.” That I agree with.
“She’s ready to be president.” Are you kidding?
leobaga
RIGGED: CNN POLL CLAIMING HILLARY WON THE DEBATE SAMPLED 41% DEMOCRATS COMPARED TO 26% REPUBLICANS
Survey was weighted in Hillary’s favor before the question was even asked.
NateOcean
Now Trump is complaining that the batteries in his mic were dead. Poor baby. It didn’t stop his constant loud shouted interruptions.
And he certainly made sure the batteries in his vibrator were at full power. What else could explain the strange noises, and the odd looks coming from him other than something vibrating shoved up his arse?
orjeffy
“Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.”
robho3
@joeyty: what the heck was trump specific about? The fact he doesn’t pay taxes like everyone else and how he had no respect for women or people of color?
Kangol
@leobaga: Can you provide links when you post? And not just from Breitbart. Just saying.
It’s sad to see Trump fanatics unable to deal with the fact that he embarrassed himself. He even lied today and claimed his mic wasn’t working properly and that he wasn’t sniffling, though everyone with even half a working eardrum or hearing aid could hear that loud nasal sound he could not stop making. (He’s done this before in debates but it was worse last night.) I did think he’d do a LOT better. The GOP should kick their own @sses for letting this old rich ignorant r@cist dingbat get as far as he has!
dwes09
@Kangol: It’s sad to see Trump fanatics unable to deal with the fact that he embarrassed himself.
He didn’t embarrass himself, he is too narcissistic for that, others secretly arranged for him to be embarrassed (after all he did say that someone intentionally gave him a bad mic, even though it was clearly working perfectly). And those who support him are too removed from reality to be embarrassed for him, as is clear from their comments here.
I felt bad that Hillary lowered herself and lied about NAFTA, but Trump! Good God!! He told lies he had already been called on two or three times in the past. Can he really be that clueless? Does he not understand that his actual words are there on the internet for all to see? Just wait until they begin to talk about the Trump Foundation, Trump University, his unwillingness to distance himself from white supremacists…he will literally melt down in the living rooms of 1/3 of the country. And she’ll be like “so who doesn’t have the “look” to be president now Donald?”
christine_knight
@Bob LaBlah: Actually your taxes do not show your creditors and who you owe. It’s an income tax, it shows income! To show who you owe you see a credit report and financial statements.