Hillary Vs. Trump

Last Monday, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump finally went head to head in the first presidential debate. Expectations were at an all time high, and CNN’s promo for the event definitely showed these expectations.

Even before the debate, the candidates were trying to psych each other out. Clinton invited another billionaire, Dallas Cowboys owner Mark Cuban, to sit in the front row. Trump, not to be outdone, invited a woman who had previously had an affair with Bill Clinton.

 As the debate went on, it became quite obvious that Hillary had prepared, and Trump had not. Hillary was poised, smiling, and each answer rolled off of her tongue like she’d said it a thousand times. She rarely spoke out of turn, and through the debate she had one misleading statistic and one flat out incorrect fact. Trump wasn’t the exact opposite, but he was fairly close.  He was friendlier than usual in the beginning, but he quickly resorted to getting his two cents in whenever he could. Sometimes they made Clinton look bad, but they usually made him look worse.

When Clinton said that he’d hoped that the market would crash in 2008 so that he could buy cheap property, he said, “That’s called business by the way.”

When Clinton said that he paid nothing and federal taxes, with nothing to soldiers, veterans, or education, he said, “That’s smart.”

If Trump is trying to convince the middle class that he represents them despite being a billionaire, then he’s not doing a good job. The fact that he saw the biggest economic crash in modern history, one that caused thousands of people to lose their jobs, as an opportunity to increase his wealth won’t make a good impression on voters.

Clinton didn’t stumble, and the Trump’s complete denial of things he’s done in the past made it hard to make her seem unreliable, but there were several times when her comments were misleading. For example, she compared her and Trumps economic plan and said that hers would create 10 million jobs, while Trumps would lose about 5 million. The report she based these figures on also said that the economy would grow by 7 million jobs without her, but that under Trumps plan, the country will still lose about 3 million jobs.

Trump also got one fact right about New York crime, specifically the murders. In the past two years, the murder rate went slightly up. However, the rate is still far below what it was 20 years ago, and this spike is anomaly of the overall downward trend that crime has followed since the 90’s.

A Beechwood Trump supporter who watched the debate thought that Hillary Clinton won, due to Hillary's "lack of full on attacks of Trump. However, they also think the debate was unfair. Trump wasn't asked about his policy so much as he was about his various scandals, while "Lester didn't even ask Hillary about Benghazi." People who don't like Trump can also agree that it did seem like Trump was being attacked more, but the Hillary supporter explained it away. "Trump has more scandal, more controversy, and to be fair, his policies aren't very clear either."Economically, "The wealthy are the back bone of this country, they're the ones that pay for everything." and so the trickle down plan makes sense. The Hillary supporter was happy with the debate. "Hillary got her points across, she showed her experience, and her preparation paid off."

In summary, Hillary was prepared. Her words were carefully chosen, her points were carefully made and clear. Trump, albeit the most composed he’s been, forgot to reiterate the traits that make him so popular with his base. His lack of PC, and his middle classed targeted message were lost.. Hillary was smiling, laughing, and not coughing. She was confident. Trump was frowning; he was gulping down water, and sniffling. At the end of the day, Hillary is experiences, she knows how to present herself, and if Trump wants to beat her, he’s going to have to step up to her level.

Abbi Richards, Junior