At a minimum, as Pat Buchanan said, you just have to cover the spread, Trump did that. Had his facts straight.
I felt that he left a lot on the table but he did enough. Let’s face it, folks. There is only one sound bite/theme that will define this debate - she called every American racist!
I think Trump did okay, but I expect (I did before the debate) that based on their scoring system the media will declare her the winner. She had her points memorized and she got them out (with no interruptions miraculously /sarc). Trump left a TON of great points on the floor and he rambled too much at times. Trump stayed on the defense throughout the debate in response to Lester and Hillary. He really did not say anything that spoke to optimism (neither did she) and I expected that, but it went by the wayside. Trump could have mentioned that she cackled and said “we came, he died” talking about killing the leader in Libya as the Sec of State and he could have looked at the camera and asked the American people “why don’t the media spend time discussing that when they talk about my temperament?”
Hillary was full on memorized script and Donald could have easily deflected many of the things that put him on the defensive. I was screaming (probably many of us were) at the television to the annoyance of my family on almost every topic. He did not even mention her foundation? Are you serious? Perfect easy comeback for the discimination topic? Donald should have simply asked the American people to listen to the Haitian people who are still waiting for the money donated to help them in their hour of need. Where did that money go? Why don’t the media see that in the same light of racism they throw everywhere else?
On the other hand - my wife (not exactly political) thought Hillary reeked of smugness. I tend to agree, but I am not very objective about the Clintons. Overall, I wanted Trump to be prepared with shorter non-rambling answers that did not talk about his business - sorry, that is just the way I feel.
This won’t decide the election, and on the plus side - he did land some good shots and on one topic throughout the debate (by far his STRONGEST score of the night) he continued to say “he was the agent of change.”
With that said, I think Donald is a quick study and I expect him to be better prepared to illustrate her corruption and the fact that she has become VERY wealthy selling access and influence instead of running an actual business. This was his first rodeo “one on one” so let’s hope he goes into the next one and does not leave so many easy points laying on the floor.
Yes, I am a 100% Trump supporter and I really don’t like the Clintons. I am disappointed in some of the venom around here to some reasonable observations by posters who will also vote for him. It’s not “anti-Trump” to point out things we think he could have or should have done. That is what this board is for. It does not mean folks are voting for her - it just means they want him to defeat her.
Biggest criticism from me was talking about Bill’s history with women and Hillary’s smearing of women involved with Bill in response to the “attack on women” crap. Trump spent at least a minute thinking out loud that he was not going to go there. He could have politely pointed it out. That was his worst moment because he really said NOTHING. I was out in the garage, but wife said Trump mentioned what he was going to say in an interview afterwards. If he spent the time on it, why not simply say it?
Biggest cheer for me was that he finished it and I believe most who watched will feel like he was the most attacked of the two by the moderator. Don’t know that it will change much, but fully expect the media to bump the polls for her anyways.
Just my .02