First Presidential Debate: Trump Crumbled Under Pressure

Release:  Thursday, September 29, 2016                                                                

Atlanta, GA – The reviews for Monday’s debate are in. Hillary Clinton delivered.

Donald Trump lied, came unglued, and crumbled under pressure.

AJC: UGA debate guru: Donald Trump faltered, Hillary Clinton didn’t

Performance of Hillary Clinton

She effectively spoke to younger voters and African-Americans in the debate when addressing climate change, student loans, the birther issue and stop-and-frisk policy. Substantively, she delivered better answers than Donald Trump on a full range of issues in the last hour of the debate. For example, when pressed, she was far stronger than Trump in explaining the value of the Iranian nuclear agreement.

Performance of Donald Trump

Viewers who watched the full debate were left with the impression of a debater who was not able to sustain a set of coherent and full messages on issues ranging from gender to nuclear policy to race relations.

The New Yorker: The Problem with Trump Isn’t His Debating Skills

Talking, again, about President Obama’s birth certificate, he displayed not only the usual pathological inability to admit to an error—any error, ever—but an underlying racism so pervasive that it can’t help express itself even when trying to pass as something else. 

…Again, this wasn’t a problem of how he chose to present his beliefs; the problem is with the beliefs. This wasn’t a question of preparation. It was that the things he actually believes are themselves repellent even when coherently presented. This was not a bad performance. This is a bad man.

LA Times: Hillary Clinton was the matador to Donald Trump’s bull in first presidential debate

Claiming that Clinton “doesn’t have the stamina” to lead the nation reeks of sexism and is plain ridiculous. “To be president of this country,” he said, “you need tremendous stamina.”

But Clinton has been campaigning across the country for more than a year, often enduring 16-hour days barnstorming and speechmaking before strangers.

And despite being diagnosed with pneumonia, she had enough stamina — mentally and physically — to do her homework for the debate. Something Trump didn’t. And it showed.

Washington Post: What does it mean that Donald Trump lost the debate?

We also already knew that Trump is the most dishonest and least transparent presidential nominee in recent memory, refusing to release his tax returns even though every presidential nominee for 40 years has done so and betting that a visit to Dr. Oz relieved him of responsibility for releasing more information on his health. We already knew that he was an uncommon liar. The Post has only been the latest outlet to attempt to record the full panoply of deceptions Trump tells on a daily basis, such as his recent claims that Clinton has “been silent about Islamic terrorism for many years,” and that he “never” proposed targeting Muslims.

New York Magazine: Ranting Bully Donald Trump Came Unglued in First Presidential Debate

The final exchange of the debate was the most devastating. Clinton lacerated Trump for his dehumanization of women — the kind of sexualization that offends social conservatives and social liberals alike. She brought up his abuse of one of his beauty-pageant contestants — noting, as an aside, his fondness for hanging around them — and that he called one contestant “Miss Piggy” and, because she is Latina, “Miss Housekeeper.” When Trump fell for the trap by demanding her name, Clinton supplied it: Alicia Machado, driving home the justifiable impression that Clinton sees her as a human being, unlike her opponent, who sees her as a piece of meat. His response consisted of whining that her campaign was spending money to attack him in advertisements.

NYT: The Lies Trump Told

He lied about the loan his father once gave him.

He lied about his company’s bankruptcies.

He lied about his federal financial-disclosure forms.

He lied about his endorsements.

He lied about “stop and frisk.”

He lied about “birtherism.”

He lied about New York.

He lied about Michigan and Ohio.

He lied about Palm Beach, Fla.

He lied about Janet Yellen and the Federal Reserve.

He lied about the trade deficit.

He lied about Hillary Clinton’s tax plan.

He lied about her child-care plan.

He lied about China devaluing its currency.

He lied about Mexico having the world’s largest factories.

He lied about the United States’s nuclear arsenal.

He lied about NATO’s budget.

He lied about NATO’s terrorism policy.

DPG Chair DuBose Porter: There was only one Commander-in-Chief on that debate stage

Tonight was a tale of two visions for our country. The Republican candidate offered to take us down a path paved with fear and division and hate to a truly dark and dangerous destination. A place where lies and insults are used to divide communities and tear people down.

Hillary Clinton challenged the American people to take a higher road tonight. A road that we travel together, leaving no one behind. Her vision for our great country is based on the simple yet powerful belief that we are stronger together when we lift each other up.

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