Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump was already predicted by many to be no match for Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton going into Monday night’s first general election debate and he proved his naysayers right in more ways than one.
Secretary Hillary Clinton appeared poised and prepared as she maintained a steady, but stern, speaking voice when addressing the topics provided. She also did a phenomenal job of keeping a level head in the face of Trump’s many emotionally-charged outbursts and constant interrupting throughout the course of the debate.
Trump seemed to be surprisingly holding back from taking Clinton to task on high profile campaign topics like the 2012 Benghazi attacks or the infamous controversy surrounding her use of a private e-mail server. He only emerged victorious in one area of attack, that being his mention of Clinton’s championing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (which she has since spoke out to oppose).
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On the few occasions that Clinton did entertain Trump’s verbal lashings, she quickly countered with responses that only served to do more damage to him than her. At one point,Trump attempted to criticize Clinton for her decision to drop off the campaign trail early in order to prepare for the debate, to which she responded: “Yes, I did. And you know what else I prepared for? I prepared to be president.”
Trump often came off as flustered, misinformed and easily agitated by Clinton’s unfazed demeanor despite his best efforts to get under her skin. Openly contradicting his previous statements on several issues including climate change, birtherism and his well-documented history of sexist commentary about various women, Trump never quite gained the momentum needed to appear a competent opponent for Clinton.
The two presidential nominees will meet again on Sunday, October 9 for the second round of general election presidential debates.