If you couldn’t tune into the first general election debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, moderated by Lester Holt, here are some of the key points you missed.
1. The candidates begin with two completely different tones.
The candidates begin the debate in nearly a dead heat in the polls. Hillary Clinton opens the debate with a positive message of her plan to invest in the "average American," not the top 1 percent.
She says she intends to create a fair economy by raising the minimum wage and guaranteeing equal pay for equal work.
She challenges the audience to watch the debate to choose a candidate they can trust with the massive responsibility of being a president. Clinton seems composed and extremely rehearsed, referring to the audience & viewers as "you." The first-person address initially makes her seem comfortable and personable- something Clinton often is not.
Trump immediately introduces his negative rhetoric about the downsides of America today. He says foreign nations like China and Mexico are ruining the economy by "piggybacking" the United States.
He says American jobs are being "stolen," and begins to dissolve into run-on sentences. He appears very angry. He repeats the same line about renegotiating trade deals and keeping jobs from being stolen three times in his two minute time frame.
The candidate's opening statements illustrate the extreme difference between the two overall messages: Clinton a plan to advance "together," and Trump to fix all of the things wrong with America.
2. Clinton cites Donald Trump's negative rhetoric.
Clinton invokes a direct quote from Donald Trump saying he "hopes the economy collapses" before the 2008 housing market crashed.
Trump replies "that's what business is."
Clinton also directs viewers to her website (www.hillaryclinton.com) and says all of what the candidates say is being fact-checked live, highlighting how rehearsed and statistic based her debate performance is versus how scatterbrained Trump seems to appear.
Later in the debate, Clinton directly addresses the sexist comments Trump once made about pageant contestants, calling a Latina contestant "Miss Housekeeping" and the vulgar comments he said about Rosie O'Donnell.
Trump responds, "Let's not pretend like Rosie O'Donnell doesn't deserve it. No one feels bad for her."
3. Trump loses composure.
Clinton says she has a plan that economists have confirmed will create 10 million jobs, and cites clean energy as one of the sources for these jobs. She quotes Donald Trump on saying climate change is not real and is a concept created by China. Trump begins to talk over her, repeating, "Didn't say that. Didn't say that."
Trump begins to attack the Obama administration, accusing him of doubling national debt, and saying "we need to do better at making jobs" and repeats his line about jobs being stolen for nearly the tenth time. He asks Clinton why she "just now" has started caring about jobs when she's been in office for 30 years, and when Clinton replies, she sets Trump off.
Clinton discusses how her husband, President Bill Clinton, increased jobs during the 90's. Trump begins to yell over her, citing Bill Clinton's approval of NAFTA as "the worst trade deal in history."
While Trump raises his voice further and interrupts her repeatedly, shouting about NAFTA, Clinton maintains a cool smile. This is one of many instances throughout the debate that Clinton seems almost robotic in her calmness.
The peak contrast arises when Trump brings up T.P.P, (Trans- Pacific Partnership) saying Clinton disapproved it because she was "too afraid to debate" him on the topic. Clinton accuses Trump of "living in [his] own reality," and the crowd gasps and laughs.
4. The tax returns.
Lester Holt asks Trump bluntly when he will release his IRS tax returns to the American people. Trump says they will be released when he is no longer under audit, however, Holt promptly reminds him the IRS has publicly said Trump is free to release his tax returns even during his audit.
Trump begins to yell again, saying he will release his tax returns only when Clinton releases her 33,000 deleted emails. The crowd cheers. Clinton says Trump will not release his returns because he is hiding the fact that he does not pay federal taxes.
She asks, "Who does he owe money to? He owes money to you."
5. Race-relations.
A hot topic with the recent tragedies in Charlotte and Tulsa, Lester Holt asks the candidates how to heal the divide racial tension has created. Clinton acknowledges that race unfairly determines too many aspects of life for African-Americans, including "how they're treated in the criminal justice system." Clinton also cites unfair incarceration rates for African-American men over nonviolent crimes- an ironic message, considering many attribute the source of this epidemic to be Bill Clinton's "war on drugs" and mandatory sentencing laws. Clinton does not address this.
Trump's response is an aggressive repetition of the phrase "we need law and order." He brags over the endorsement of police groups- arguably not a wise choice considering the unrest between police and many protesting for #BLM.
He endorses stop & frisk and accuses Holt of being "wrong" when he says it was ruled unconstitutional. (He wasn't wrong. Trump was.) This argument is yet another vague and angry response from Trump- he avoids the question and is still extremely visibly heated.
The last question Lester Holt asks is a powerful one: "Are you willing to accept the outcome as the will of the voters?"
Hillary says, "I support democracy. This election isn't about us, it's about you."
This line concludes the tone of lightheartedness and positivity Clinton managed to maintain throughout the night.
Trump responds, "I want to make America great again. I can do it, she can't, but if she wins I will absolutely support her."
Superficially, Clinton appears to have "won" the debate. She got Trump flustered, angry, shouting; all the while remaining cool, smiling, and even giggling at some of his more absurd remarks.
However, this rehearsed tone and complete coolness made Clinton appear robotic- a damaging blow to her campaign's constant efforts to make her more human and relatable.
Who do you think won?
