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Who’s Ahead in the Presidential Debate? What You’ve Missed So Far Who’s Ahead in the Presidential Debate? What You’ve Missed So Far
(35 minutes later)
Right Now: Join us for live video and analysis of the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump.Right Now: Join us for live video and analysis of the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump.
Hillary Clinton took control of the opening minutes of the presidential debate on Monday, going on the attack to question Donald J. Trump’s credentials as a businessman and brand his tax plan as a handout to the wealthy. After a weak start in the debate, Donald J. Trump recovered his footing with a badgering onslaught against Hillary Clinton, interrupting her repeatedly and shouting over her to blast her as a career politician with bad ideas on trade.
Mrs. Clinton, who has trailed Mr. Trump in polls asking voters who they trust more to manage the economy, used barbed language to draw a sharp contrast: She attributed his success in business to “$14 million borrowed from his father” and chastised him for having “rooted for the housing crisis” because he thought it would be lucrative. With his hectoring attacks, Mr. Trump appeared to seize the terms of the debate. He brought up, unprompted, the Islamic State, and accused Mrs. Clinton of “telling the enemy everything you want to do.” When Mrs. Clinton criticized the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, Mr. Trump cut in repeatedly to ask, “Is it President Obama’s fault? Is it President Obama’s fault?”
Mr. Trump appeared off balance in several of their earliest clashes. He drew heavily from his stump speech in his opening remarks, and cut in to interrupt Mrs. Clinton repeatedly. To her claim that he rooted for an economic collapse, Mr. Trump fired back: “That’s called business, by the way.” Mrs. Clinton kept her composure but did not match Mr. Trump in volume or intensity. She threw back a barb here and there, knocking Mr. Trump for inhabiting his “own reality,” and saying dryly that he would have her “blamed for everything.”
He seemed most comfortable blasting Mrs. Clinton for her long career in politics. “She’s been doing this for 30 years,” Mr. Trump said, “without success.” But her strongest moments in the debate came earlier in the hour, when she threw Mr. Trump on the defensive by questioning his business credentials and attacking him for having “rooted for the housing crisis.”
■ Mrs. Clinton, looking toward Mr. Trump, said it was “good to be with” him on the same stage at last. “You have to judge us,” she said, in a response to a question about job creation. “Who can shoulder the immense, awesome responsibilities of the presidency?” Mr. Trump replied that “our jobs are fleeing the country.” ■ Asked about race relations, Mrs. Clinton said that race remained “a significant challenge” in the country, adding that the criminal justice system treated minorities differently. Mr. Trump said Mrs. Clinton “doesn’t want to use a couple of words” — law and order — before defending the contentious stop-and-frisk police strategy. “African-Americans and Hispanics are living in hell,” he said. “You walk down the streets, you get shot.”
■ Mrs. Clinton criticized Mr. Trump’s fiscal plans as “trumped-up trickle-down economics,” before saying he had received millions of dollars of support from his father. “My father gave me a very small loan,” he replied, before appearing to hesitate while addressing Mrs. Clinton. “Secretary Clinton? Is that O.K.?” he said of her title. “Good.” ■ Pressed on his refusal to release his tax returns, Mr. Trump repeated an oft-used line that he is facing “a routine audit” that precluded him from releasing the information. Lester Holt, the moderator, noted that the I.R.S. had said he was free to release anything he wanted. Mr. Trump said he would “release my tax returns, against my lawyers’ wishes,” if Mrs. Clinton agreed to release a cache of her emails.
■ Hitting Mr. Trump over his tax returns, Mrs. Clinton wondered if there was “something he’s hiding,” before addressing her own use of a private email as secretary of state. “I made a mistake using a private email,” she said. Mr. Trump cut in, “That’s for sure.” Mrs. Clinton added, “I’m not going to make any excuses. It was a mistake.”
■ Mrs. Clinton condemned Mr. Trump for refusing to pay contractors on several projects, saying she was grateful her father had never done business with him. She said the debate crowd included an architect whom Mr. Trump had not paid. “Maybe he didn’t do a good job,” Mr. Trump said.
■ After Mr. Trump defended his plans to lower taxes on the wealthy, mixing in jabs at Mrs. Clinton, she joked, “I have a feeling that by the end of this evening, I’m going to be blamed for everything that’s ever happened.” Mr. Trump replied, “Why not?” Mr. Holt reminded Mr. Trump that he was speaking during Mrs. Clinton’s allotted time.
■ Mrs. Clinton, seeking to portray Mr. Trump as an enemy of working people, said he had “rooted for the housing crisis” because of the financial opportunities it might afford him. “That’s called business, by the way,” he interjected.■ Mrs. Clinton, seeking to portray Mr. Trump as an enemy of working people, said he had “rooted for the housing crisis” because of the financial opportunities it might afford him. “That’s called business, by the way,” he interjected.
■ Mr. Trump — criticizing trade deals approved by Bill Clinton, among others — suggested Mrs. Clinton had failed to improve people’s lives during her decades in public life. As Mrs. Clinton defended her record, he interrupted frequently. “You haven’t done it. You haven’t done it,” he said. “Excuse me.” Mrs. Clinton shot back, “Donald, I know you live in your own reality,” before continuing her answer.■ Mr. Trump — criticizing trade deals approved by Bill Clinton, among others — suggested Mrs. Clinton had failed to improve people’s lives during her decades in public life. As Mrs. Clinton defended her record, he interrupted frequently. “You haven’t done it. You haven’t done it,” he said. “Excuse me.” Mrs. Clinton shot back, “Donald, I know you live in your own reality,” before continuing her answer.
■ Mrs. Clinton, looking toward Mr. Trump, said it was “good to be with” him on the same stage at last. “You have to judge us,” she said, in a response to a question about job creation. “Who can shoulder the immense, awesome responsibilities of the presidency?” Mr. Trump replied that “our jobs are fleeing the country.”
■ Mrs. Clinton criticized Mr. Trump’s fiscal plans as “trumped-up trickle-down economics,” before saying he had received millions of dollars of support from his father. “My father gave me a very small loan,” he replied, before appearing to hesitate while addressing Mrs. Clinton. “Secretary Clinton? Is that O.K.?” he said of her title. “Good.”