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Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton clash in first presidential debate

 
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton laughs with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump after their presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., on Monday. [Associated Press]
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton laughs with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump after their presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., on Monday. [Associated Press]
Published Sept. 27, 2016

With a blockbuster matchup drawing worldwide interest, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump clashed over the economy, policing and national security Monday in their first debate, Trump repeatedly put on the defensive for controversies he has stirred while he attacked Clinton's use of a private email server and questioned her stamina for the presidency.

"Hillary has experience. But it's bad experience," Trump said. "And this country can't afford to have another four years of that kind of experience."

Clinton blasted Trump for sexist remarks, including that she did not have the look or "stamina" to be president. "This is a man who has called women pigs, slobs and dogs," she said.

It was one of the most intense exchanges of the debate and came in its closing moments. But what began cordially quickly devolved into a fight that provided distinctly different visions and styles for the job.

The 90-minute debate from Hofstra University in New York was expected to draw as many as 100 million viewers, a record spurred by the first-time meeting of two widely known and intensely polarizing figures. It came amid racial unrest across the country and a fresh reminder of the threat of domestic terrorism.

The early focus was on the economy. "I will bring back jobs. You can't bring back jobs," Trump jabbed, presenting his business background as his chief credential and vowing to get tough on companies going overseas. He outlined a plan to cut the corporate tax rate to 15 percent from 35 percent.

"That's going to be a job creator like we haven't seen since Ronald Reagan. It's going to be a beautiful thing to watch," Trump said. He also said he would seek to crack down on companies that take jobs overseas.

Politifact: Fact-checking the Trump-Clinton debate

Clinton charged that his plans amounted to a give-away for the wealthy. "I call it trumped-up trickle-down, because that's exactly what it would be," said Clinton who said she would focus more on the middle class and poor and touted gradual improvements under President Barack Obama.

Minutes later Trump blasted Clinton over trade deals. "Your husband signed NAFTA, which was one of the worst things that ever happened to the manufacturing industry," invoking an issue that has helped him make gains with blue-collar workers.

He accused Clinton of flip-flopping on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a pending deal he rallied against as did Clinton's Democratic primary rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders. Clinton did support it early on but said the specifics did not measure up.

She landed an early blow by saying how Trump had bragged about making money off the housing collapse. "He said, back in 2006, 'Gee, I hope it does collapse, because then I can go in and buy some and make some money.' Well, it did collapse."

He offered little in defense: "That's called business, by the way."

Trump was more forceful than Clinton, interjecting repeatedly, raising his voice and swinging his hands. Clinton sought to portray herself as more steady and calm and prepared. "At least I have a plan to fight ISIS," she said.

Your watercooler recap of the first presidential debate

"You're telling the enemy everything we want to do," Trump shot back.

"I have a feeling that by the end of this evening, I'm going to be blamed for everything," Clinton said.

"Why not?" Trump said. "Yeah, why not."

The audience, instructed not to make noise, broke into laughter when Trump boasted he had a better temperament: "I have a winning temperament. I know how to win." Clinton paused for effect. "Whoo. Okay," she said, shaking her head and laughing.

Clinton raised Trump's loose talk of arming other nations with nuclear weapons and then made a direct appeal to international leaders, seeking to reassure them in the face of the tumultuous election. "People around the world follow our presidential campaigns so closely," she said, adding she would lead with strength and by putting U.S. values on display.

The candidates worked game plans throughout the debate. Trump repeatedly cast Clinton as a typical politician, all talk and no action, and sought to capitalize on voters who feel things have gone astray under Obama, from a lack of "law and order" to the spread of ISIS.

Clinton's over-arching plan was to expose Trump as unprepared for the job as president, devoid of specifics. She conceded that she had spent time preparing for the debate, then added: "You know what else I prepared for? I prepared to be president."

Trump was put on the defensive when moderator Lester Holt of NBC News asked why he hasn't released his tax returns, as past presidential candidates have done. Trump insisted he would but only after an IRS audit was over, though there is no prohibition from doing so. He said he would release them early if Clinton released deleted emails, reminding the audience of controversy surrounding her use of a private email server while at the State Department.

Clinton seized the moment to raise doubts, suggesting Trump may not be as wealthy as he says or is saddled with debt to "Wall Street and foreign banks" or that he hasn't paid federal taxes. "It must be something really important, maybe terrible, that he's trying to hide," she said. "There's something he's hiding."

Trump also faced heat for his stance on the Iraq War, insisting he was against it from the start. Holt reminded him that the "record shows otherwise."

Insisted Trump: "The record shows that I'm right."

Clinton came under pressure, too, with the email issue which has entrenched public sentiment that she is not trustworthy or operates under her own rules. "I made a mistake. I'm not going to make any excuses. It was a mistake and I take responsibility for that."

Replied Trump: "That was more than a mistake. That was done purposely."

The candidates showed clear differences on racial issues and policing. Clinton tried to straddle the unrest with calls for respect for laws. She said police needed better training and said she had advocated for criminal justice reform from the start of her campaign. Trump took a tougher approach, saying "law and order" was necessary. He defended advocating for "stop-and-frisk" policies that came under attack for disproportionally targeting minorities.

"Right now, our police, in many cases, are afraid to do anything," he said. "We have to protect our inner cities, because African-American communities are being decimated by crime, decimated."

Clinton in return called for gun control measures, including comprehensive background checks and preventing people on terrorism watch lists from obtaining weapons. Trump said he agreed with that last point but quickly pivoted to the past, saying that Clinton in a 1996 speech called young black men "super-predators."

That segued into a discussion about Trump's longtime suggestion that President Obama was not born in the United States. This month, Trump said he no longer had that question but placed blame on people connected to Clinton for starting the rumor. He insisted Monday that was the case. Holt pressed him about what the comment said to people of color.

"I say nothing," Trump replied, crediting himself for forcing Obama to release his long-form birth certificate from Hawaii.

"It can't be dismissed that easily," Clinton said. "He has really started his political activity based on this racist lie that our first black president was not an American citizen. … He persisted year after year."

National polls show the race has tightened to a virtual dead heat, Clinton's moderately comfortable lead from a month ago gone.

Crucial battleground states are also close. In Florida, the biggest of them all and vital for Trump, Clinton had a 0.6 percent lead Monday according to the RealClearPolitics.com average of polls. Trump, 70, has been drawing big crowds in the state and returns today for fundraising in Orlando and Miami and a rally in Melbourne. Clinton, 68, is back Friday with stops in St. Lucie and Broward counties. Bill Clinton will make a sweep across North Florida on Friday and Saturday.

Two more debates are scheduled between Clinton and Trump: Oct. 9 in St. Louis and Oct. 19 in Las Vegas.