Mutual insults fly during 1st US debate
HEMPSTEAD, New York State: Democrat Hillary Clinton accused Republican Donald Trump of racism, sexism and tax avoidance on Monday night, putting the mogul on the defensive during a 2016 US presidential debate rife with blistering insults and short on policy.
Trump, a real estate tycoon making his first run for public office, said Clinton’s long years of service represented “bad experience” with few results and said she lacked the stamina to serve as commander-in-chief.
Clinton was under pressure to perform well after a bout with pneumonia and a drop in opinion polls, but her long days of preparation appeared to pay off in her highly anticipated first 90-minute standoff with Trump.
Trump was strong early on but appeared to become repetitive and more undisciplined as the night wore on in front of a televised audience that could have reached upwards of a record 100 million people.
A CNN/ORC snap poll said 62% of respondents felt Clinton won and 27% believed Trump was the winner. Trump, 70, declared himself the winner to reporters at the debate site.
In signs that investors awarded the debate to Clinton too, Asian shares recovered from an early bout of nerves while the Mexican peso surged early yesterday. Her chances in the November 8 election improved also on online betting markets.
The 68-year-old Clinton relentlessly sought to raise questions about her opponent’s temperament, business acumen and knowledge.
Trump used much of his time to argue that the former first lady, US senator and secretary of state had achieved little in public life and wants to pursue policies begun by President Barack Obama that have failed to repair a shattered middle class, with jobs lost to outsourcing and over-regulation.
Trump suggested her disavowal of a trade deal with Asian countries was insincere. Her handling of a nuclear deal with Iran and Islamic State militancy were disasters, he argued.
Clinton suggested Trump was refusing to release his tax returns to avoid showing Americans he paid next to nothing in federal taxes or that he is not as wealthy as he says he is.
Trump fought back, saying that as a businessman, paying low taxes was important.
“That makes me smart,” Trump said, adding that he would release his tax documents after a government audit.
During the debate Trump darkly hinted at wanting to stay something but stopped short.
Afterwards he told reporters he had thought of raising the sex scandal involving Clinton’s husband, former president Bill Clinton, who was in the audience with their daughter, Chelsea.
“I just can’t do it. It’s inappropriate, it’s not nice,” he said.
Toward the end of the debate, Trump said Clinton did not have the endurance to be president.
Clinton retorted: “As soon as he travels to 112 countries and negotiates a peace deal, a ceasefire, a release of dissidents... or even spends 11 hours testifying in front of a congressional committee, he can talk to me about stamina.”