The quest to run the world’s largest economy shifted into fifth gear last night as the two candidates, Hillary Clinton in the Democratic corner and Donald Trump the Republican hopeful battled it out in the first televised presidential debate. Clinton was strong on policy explanations and implications – with the possible exception of how to turbocharge the United States economy. Both slogged it out though as Trump said Clinton did not have the stamina to be president. While Clinton said Trump dubbed women ‘pigs, slobs and dogs’. Donwald Pressly reports… – Stuart Lowman
By Donwald Pressly*
Hillary Clinton was most definitely the hot item in the first televised presidential debate this morning, appearing to get Donald Trump rattled on his attitude to women, racial minorities and policing but appeared to be less successful in her arguments about how to turbocharge the American economy.
Hillary Clinton says Trump calls women “pigs, slobs and dogs”, but Trump said Clilnton did not have the stamina to be president.
Trump was, however, trumped on a key issue of appearing not to be paying federal taxes, but his showing in the first half hour of the hour-and-a-half debate – focused on the domestic and international economy – was strong, certainly stronger than on international issues, such as world policing. He was also weak on how to improve domestic policing.
Trump – who made great play on the fact that he had turned a small inherited business into a global player – appeared to have Clinton on the defensive during the economy debate arguing that she had 30 years of political involvement but international trade deals struck during this time had the consequence of exporting capital and jobs from America.
He said Clinton had been part of trade deal negotiations which had led to layers and layers of bureaucratic red tape for businesses in the United States. Business people were exporting their money and companies and leaving their money abroad. “They are leaving our country to get their money.”
Yellen is political says Trump
Clinton countered that “trickle-down economics” did not work. “Slashing taxes of the wealthy doesn’t work … a lot of smart wealthy people know that.” She said her type of America would be one in which there was investment “in the middle class”. This would be done by making college (university) study debt free or helping refinance “debt from college at a lower rate… broad based inclusive growth is what we need in America.. not more advantages for people at the very top”.
Trump said Clinton’s sound bites sounded good, but the country was suffering. “People like Secretary (of State) Clinton have made such bad decisions. We have the worst revival since the great depression, we are in a bubble right now.” The only thing that was good in the economy “is the stock market,” he said, suggesting that if interest rates were raised by the Federal Reserve Governor Janet Yellen that picture could change.
Read also: How Donald Trump seduces crowds: Top 5 techniques
He suggested that the Fed was doing “political things … keeping interest rates at this level”, implying but not saying that Yellen was protecting the Obama administration. “The Fed is not doing their job… it is more political than Secretary Clinton,” said Trump. ”The country is doing so badly… (it is) being ripped off by everybody. We have a trade deficit with all of the countries that we do (business) with… 800 billion dollars a year. We have people who are political hacks negotiating our trade deals.”
Clinton said Trump was hiding something by refusing to release his taxes. “I am under a routine audit (by the IRS).. as soon as it is finished it will be released.” He later said that it would be released as soon as Clinton released the thousands of emails she had irregularly sent on her illegal server. Clinton said there was nothing stopping the release of the taxes during an audit. All presidential candidates had released their tax returns in the past, she charged. Clilnton suggested that he was probably hiding that he was paying no federal tax at all. Trump said in an interview on CNN afterwards that tax paid to the federal system was “wasted”.
Wow, did great in the debate polls (except for @CNN – which I don't watch). Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 27, 2016
Clilnton charged that Trump had welcomed the crash in 2008 saying it was a chance to make money. She said nine million people had lost their jobs, five million had lost their homes “and five trillion dollars in wealth (was) wiped out”. But she said the economy had come back from the abyss. It would be a mistake to go back to policies which had fuelled this crash and the recession. She said when her husband, ex-President Bill Clinton, was president when the budget was balanced “incomes went up for everybody… manufacturing jobs went up”.
During her time in the US senate she had supported trade deals and companies which created jobs in America. She had asked the question: “Will they raise incomes in America.” She had voted against a company where she did not believe this would happen.
Stealing US companies and jobs
On international politics, Trump lashed out on the Democratic administration’s dealings with Iran, the Nato alliance and even with Japan. “We have to stop countries from stealing our companies and our jobs,” he said. He said many nations Nato alliance were not paying for the defence shield largely paid for by the United States.
He denied ever supporting the invasion of Iraq but said Obama and Clinton had fueled Isis by taking all American troops out of Iraq. Now Isis had spread all over the Middle East. He slammed Secretary of State John Kerry and Clinton for negotiating a deal with Iran, which he said had been brought to its knees by American-led sanctions. Now it was bounding forth and looks set to become a nuclear power.
A man who can be provoked by a tweet should not have his hands anywhere near the nuclear codes. #DebateNight
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 27, 2016
“Donald never tells you what he would do… would he have bombed Iran… would he have started a war?” he said. His plan to defeat Isis was a secret plan “because he has no plan”.
“Words matter when you run for president .. and they really matter when you are president. I want to reassure our allies that …we have mutual defence treaties (with Japan and South Korea) and we will honour them. It is essential that America’s word be good.”
“Are we going to lead the world with strength in accordance with our values… I intend to be a leader of our country … that people that can count on both at home and around the world.”
US can’t be world policeman
Trump said America could not be the policeman of the world and could pay the defence of rich countries. “We defend Japan, we defend Germany. We defend South Korea. We defend Saudi Arabia. They do not pay us but they should be paying us. … because we are providing tremendous service but we are losing a fortune. We lose on everything. If they don’t pay a fair share… We cannot defend Japan.. a bohemoth selling us cars by the million. It is very important… they may have to defend themselves… or they may have to help us out… for a country (like America) that owes 20 trillion dollars.”
Trump emphasised that law and order was the priority in cities which were suffering racial strife. He said a frisking policy in New York had produced wonders. Clinton said this policy was unconstitutional. What was needed was to tackle the bias in the policing system where minorities – African Americans in particular – were treated in a biased way by the law authorities.
Trump said Clinton did not “have the stamina” to be president of the country. “You have to be able to negotiate our trade deals… negotiate with Japan, Saudi Arabia… can you imagine that we are defending them… with all the money they have.”
The guy standing in place chugging water like he just finished playing racquetball is criticizing her stamina. #debatenight
— Scott Wolf (@scottwolf) September 27, 2016
Clinton said as soon as he travels to 112 countries and negotiates a peace deal “or even spends 11 hours testifying in front of a congressional committee… he can talk to me about stamina”.
Trump said Clinton had experience “but it is bad experience … whether it is the Iran deal where we gave them 150 billion dollars back… this country cannot afford another four years of that kind of experience.”
In one of her most biting lines, Cllinton said Trump had tried to switch the debate from personal looks to stamina. This was a man, she charged, who has called women “pigs slobs and dogs”. Trump had also said, according to Clinton: “Pregnancy is an inconvenience to employers.” He had also said: “Women don’t deserve equal pay unless they do as good a job as men,” she said Trump had said.
Trump said he had planned to say something really horrible about Clinton but he had decided that was unfair.
- Donwald Pressly, editor, Cape Messenger
