Presidential Debate Takeaways
Jobs and Prosperity:
The debate started in a very cordial and composed manner with little hiccups for either candidate. On the question of Jobs and Prosperity Hillary talked about the liberal bread and butter; equal pay for equal work, minimum wage, profit sharing and corporate tax loopholes. Trump quickly went negative with the economy, immediately turning to the “disastrous trade deals”. He talked about specific companies that were leaving the U.S. and he said that the corporations can leave but when they sell stuff to America their will be a tax in order to punish them for leaving America and firing American workers for foreign manufacturing. However, he failed to mention how that would affect the American consumer on the average price of goods, like an air conditioner.
Hillary, a practiced and great debater tried to bait Trump by questioning his success and the massive “multi million dollar” loan he got from his father, hoping an affront to his success would lead him on a rant but it did not. Hillary demonized Trump on his businesses by saying he failed to pay the little guys, specifically mentioning one architect who did a great job on a Trump clubhouse but was not paid. She contrasted his family and upbringing with her own father’s humble background as a factory worker in an effort to humanize herself as an everyday American.
Wealth and Taxes:
When they returned to the concept of wealth and tax policy, Trump had a great message. He mentioned lowering the carried interest rate, a bipartisan effort as well as lowering the tax on foreign profits so that American corporations will feel more obligated to bring that money home. He expertly aligned Hillary with the status quo and supporting “bureaucratic red tape”, citing her as the type of politician to block laws that would really help the economy. In this section of the debate Trump was able to paint himself as a changemaker in sharp contrast to Secretary Clinton, as well as citing policy and staying on message.
Trump continued to hammer the Obama administration for a stagnant and slow revival from the great recession, calling it one of the “worst revivals ever”. He also spoke of how strangled small businesses are by constant regulations in addition to slow economic revival, both of which are core arguments of Republicans this election season. In response, Hillary pointed out that the recession happened under Bush and was a direct result of Republican tax policies and lack of oversight on Wall Street. She cited “independent experts” saying that Trump’s policy would lose three and a half million dollars and hurt the middle class while her plan will create 10 million jobs. However, it was a weak point because she was quoting generic experts with little evidence to back up her ‘great’ plan, while Trump seemed more in touch with the economy as a “successful” businessman.
When Lester pressed Trump on his tax returns, saying that he could release them despite being under “audit” he turned the argument against Clinton and her emails. He declared that when she released those 30,000 emails he would release his tax returns and slammed Hillary for having her staffers take the fifth amendment. Hillary, however responded well stating that she wouldn’t make up excuses and that she should not have done it. Like removing a band aide, she quickly ripped it off, accepting it and not letting Trump drag out the issue, despite his best efforts.
Although Trump seemed to concede that he hadn’t paid his federal income taxes saying, “Maybe it makes me smart” that he didn’t pay the federal taxes and that the money most likely would have been “Squandered”. Trump also called the debt outrageous because despite it our infrastructure and airports were a disaster. He went on a slight rant on the poor quality of our airports but it was one of his better rants.
Race:
On the issue of race Hillary tried to bridge the divide saying that there needs to be more community policing and gun control as well as mental health. Trump on the other hand cited his Law and Order theme, mentioning how dangerous the inner cities were, especially for minorities. He also slammed Hillary and the status quo for talking up the black community during election season before abandoning them after they got elected. This tactic will likely not win him black votes but it will help him with more moderate white voters who will view him as less racist after comments like those. It will also further characterize him as a changemaker who won’t be just another Washington Politician.
Birther Myth:
One of Hillary’s greatest successes of the debate was the Obama birther myth. She described how much the birther myth bothered Obama, trying to showcase her close relationship with Obama in attempt to use his massive popularity to her advantage. She also quoted Michelle Obama, associating herself with both of the Obama’s in an attempt to encourage millennials drifting towards third party candidates. She quoted Michele’s speech with, “When they go low, we go high,”, tying the quote to Obama’s moral actions and refusal to take the low road, further praising his actions in an effort to woo millennials. Trump, in response went on a long rant about how he had found Obama’s certificate and how Hillary’s campaign had tried to but failed in the 2008 Democratic Primary.
Foreign Policy:
Hillary successfully distanced Trump on foreign policy. She first talked about how the U.S. had to work with Muslim majority nation in order to gather intelligence and fight terrorists, hinting that Trump’s anti muslim proposals would not go over well with them. In response, Trump called the Middle East a “hot mess” and the ‘disastrous’ Iran Deal that would become a superpower without any sanctions. However, Trump was in Hillary’s arena and she quickly and eloquently described details of the deal and how hard the coalition of countries that imposed sanctions was to form, making Trump look naive and stubborn. Hillary then turned to commonly used scare tactic in this election season, mentioning Trump’s temperament. She expressed concern for his flippant attitude towards nuclear weapons and how quick he would be to use them, citing nuclear war as the greatest threat to our national security, using her practiced line of anyone provoked by a tweet should not get access to our nuclear weapons.
Trump, in turn, looked at NATO through a business lense and with “common sense”, expressing his frustration with NATO members payments to the alliance and how expensive it was to defend countries like Germany and Japan. Hillary continued to showcase her foreign policy experience though, brought up the NATO motto, “if one is attacked, all is attacked”, pointing out that the only time it was used was during 9/11, when countries offered aide in the Iraq invasion. As she continued her eloquent foreign policy speech, she stated how important American Presidential Candidates rhetoric is because the world watches them for hints at America’s future. She said, “I want to assure global leaders that America will keep its word and uphold our Mutal Defense Treaties”, (Treaties that ensure non nuclear countries like Japan will be defended by the U.S. in an event of an attack). The statement allowed her to lift herself from the fray, appearing presidential and smart while Trump appeared rash and unpresidential.
Gender:
When Trump criticized Hillary for taking a break on the campaign trail she smiled, “Donald, it seems like your accusing me of preparing for this debate, and you know what, I did. You know what else I prepared for. Being President of the United States”, which was followed by loud applause. Lester questioned Trump on what he meant when he said Hillary doesn’t have the Presidential look. He then, in a practiced move mentioned her stamina and the stamina a President needs to have in order to do the job, hoping to paint Hillary as a sick woman who is too weak to lead but Hillary was ready. She turned to Donald and said that if he can travel to 112 countries, negotiate peace deals and testify in front of a congressional hearing for 11 hours, then he can talk stamina, to more roaring applause. Hillary also mentioned how much Trump belittled women, especially in beauty contests were he called a latina women Miss Housekeeper. “She has a name Donald,” said Hillary, boasting about how she had just gained her U.S. citizenship, “And you can bet she will vote on November 8th. However, Trump got the last word, saying that despite Hillary’s 100 million dollar budget for ads the polls are tied, which was followed by applause. For Trump, it was a successful last ditch effort to throw her in the status quo as someone who feels entitled to the job because of her resume.
