I listened to it on the radio, and tried to hear it from the point of view of a low info / undecided voter.
Trump was woefully unprepared, allowed Hillary to goad him; he walked into almost every trap, seemed defensive and temperamental.
He blathered, was all over the place, dropped one subject and started up another-—stream of consciousness, free form.
Most voters are NOT news junkies like FReepers are, and I could see how many undecideds would have had a hard time following what he was trying to say, or the references he touched on only briefly.
Many of those voters would be left scratching their heads, thinking he’s a nut, concluding “well, gosh, maybe Hillary does know more stuff, and anyway, she’ll give me $15 hour for flipping burgers.”
He needs to better prepare for the next one.
Illegal immigration/ border security / illegals getting welfare and illegals voting -—he needs to be on message and cream her on these things. These are Hillary’s and the Democrats’ weak spots.
He can’t just keep saying “it’s a disaster.” He needs to back it up with facts, figures, economic impact, specific stories of lives impacted, tales told by border agents -—because Hillary will certainly have specifics, not just adjectives, to buttress her side, count on it.
I think you nailed it. Low-info voters are BEGGING for more socialism/free stuff, and this debate gave Shrill a forum to say, "I am your butch Santa Claus!"