US presidential debate marked by traded insults
Trump loses it on bread and butter issues
RUNNING as an anti-establishment candidate, Donald Trump took the presidential debate stage on Monday night to hammer home his call for sweeping political change and try to win over millions of undecided voters.
But the Republican nominee seemed unable to capitalise on his opportunity in front of a television audience that by some estimates may have been 100-million strong. Instead of presenting himself as a change agent, he spent most of the evening trading personal insults with his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
It illustrated the paradox that has plagued Trump’s campaign. Polls show an electorate hungry for change, with a majority believing the coun- try is on the wrong track. Yet Trump’s brash personality and his tendency to stir up controversy have made him, at times, a poor messenger.
Trump started strongly on Monday, sticking to the bread and butter theme of his campaign – the erosion of US manufacturing jobs. But he soon lost his composure, especially when Clinton questioned his success in business and his refusal to release his tax returns and accused him of racism and sexism. Victimised When on message Trump paints a bleak picture of a US that is victimised by China in trade, haemorrhaging jobs to Mexico and blighted by gangs of illegal immigrants roaming the streets of “war zone” inner cities committing crimes.
Robert Adams, 75, an undecided voter from Boise, Idaho, said he thought Trump’s dystopian view of America was correct. “I think it’s hell in the big cities,” Adams said. But after watching the debate, he viewed both the real estate magnate and Clinton as a “sad” choice for American voters.