Business Standard

Friday, December 27, 2024 | 12:52 AM ISTEN Hindi

Notification Icon
userprofile IconSearch

US presidential debate: Poll says 62% viewers think Clinton won, only 27% say Trump did better

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump sparred over jobs, taxes, IS, among other issues

US Presidential Debate Photo: Reuters

US Presidential Debate Photo: Reuters

Agencies New York

 
Democrat Hillary Clinton is held to have won the first presidential debate held on Tuesday against her Republican rival Donald Trump, according to a new CNN/ORC poll.
 
According to the poll of debate watchers, 62 per cent of voters who watched the debate thought Clinton won, while only 27 per cent said that Trump came out on top.

Clinton and Trump took to the stage on Tuesday to begin their first-ever presidential debate and immediately sparred over jobs, taxes, the Islamic State (IS), guns and the former secretary of state's undisclosed emails, media reports said.

Here is what both candidates had to say on various issues:
 

On prosperity, taxes and jobs

Moderator Leslie Holt of NBC News opened the 90-minute debate at Hofstra University, Long Island, New York, with the first topic being "Achieving Prosperity", where the first question about putting money back into Americans' pockets and creating jobs was directed to Clinton, CNN reported.

Clinton, the first woman to represent a major US party in the presidential race, mentioned her granddaughter's birthday, and talked about everything from gender pay gaps, to paid family leave, to presidential temperament.

She started her speech by defending the idea of creating "an economy for all" and stressed that she intends to do so "by having the wealthy pay their fair share", EFE news reported.

"I also want to see more companies do profit sharing. If you help create the profits, you should be able to share in them, not just the executives at the top," she said, and stressed that "the central question in this election is really what kind of country we want to be in".

Clinton insisted she would work to achieve equal pay between men and women, paid paternity leave and debt-free college.

Clinton accused her rival for being one of the real estate tycoons who benefited from the economic crisis that hit the country in 2008.

Trump conceded the point saying, "It's called business."

Trump claimed that the US is being used as a piggy bank to rebuild China.

"Our jobs are fleeing the country. They're going to Mexico. They're going to many other countries. You look at what China is doing to our country in terms of making our product," Trump said.

"They're devaluing their currency, and there's nobody in our government to fight them. And we have a very good fight. And we have a winning fight," added Trump.

"Because they're using our country as a piggy bank to rebuild China, and many other countries are doing the same thing," Trump said.

The real estate tycoon from New York said there is need to stop jobs from being stolen from the US.

"We have to stop our companies from leaving the United States and, with it, firing all of their people," he said.

"We cannot let it happen. Under my plan, I'll be reducing taxes tremendously, from 35 per cent to 15 per cent for companies, small and big businesses," he added.

"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.

For her part, Clinton said, "I think that trade is an important issue. Of course, we are five per cent of the world's population; we have to trade with the other 95 per cent. And we need to have smart, fair trade deals."

"We also, though, need to have a tax system that rewards work and not just financial transactions. And the kind of plan that Donald has put forth would be trickle-down economics all over again," Clinton argued, adding, "In fact, it would be the most extreme version, the biggest tax cuts for the top per cent of the people in this country than we've ever had."

"I call it trumped-up trickle-down, because that's exactly what it would be. That is not how we grow the economy," she said.

On Trump's business practices

Clinton also called on Trump to apologise to people who have worked on the real estate mogul's properties and who have not been paid in full, Politico reported.

Do "the thousands of people that you have stiffed over the course of your business not deserve some kind of apology from someone who has taken their labour, taken the goods that they've produced and then refused to pay them?" Clinton questioned her rival.

"I can only say that I'm certainly relieved that my late father never did business with you," she added.

Trump went on to suggest that he had only taken that route four times, and that he was within his legal rights to do so.

On Trump's tax returns and Clinton's emails

Regarding his tax returns, Trump said, "I will release my tax returns – against my lawyer's wishes – when she releases her 33,000 emails that have been deleted."

Clinton responded by saying that there was something "really important, maybe even terrible that he's trying to hide," Politico reported.

"Maybe he doesn't want the American public, all of you watching tonight, to know that he's paid no federal taxes," Clinton said.

Clinton also admitted that she "made a mistake" about her use of a private email server while at the State Department.

On the Islamic State

Trump went on to blame Clinton for the the rise of the IS by noting that the Democrat had laid out some of her plans on her website.

"You're telling the enemy everything you want to do," Trump said as Clinton shook her head in amusement. "No wonder you've been fighting IS your entire adult life," added Trump.

On police shootings

Moderator Holt brought up the recent fatal police shootings of African-American men and asked about healing along lines of race and racism.

"Unfortunately, race often determines too much," she said, adding, "We have to restore trust between communities and the police... everyone should be respected by the law and everyone should respect the law."

Trump said the country needed law and order. "African Americans and Hispanics are living in hell because it's so dangerous. You walk down the street you get shot," he added.

On gun control

Clinton has called for restricted gun control in the US, saying, "We've got too many military-style weapons on the streets. In a lot of places, our police are outgunned... We need to keep guns out of the hands of those who'd do harm."

On the 'birther' issue

However, one of the most powerful moments of the debate came when the conversation focused on the "birther" issue following Trump's recent acknowledgement that President Barack Obama was born in the US — a fact that has been evident for years.

Clinton blasted Trump for perpetuating a "racist lie".

Trump hit back noting Clinton's tough critiques of Obama during their bitter 2008 primary battle.

"You treated him (Obama) with terrible disrespect and I watch the way you talk now about how lovely everything is... It doesn't work that way," he said.

On supporting the result of the elections

Moderator Holt in the final question of the night asked both Trump and Clinton if they would accept the will of the voters on Election Day, NBC News reported.

Clinton said, "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but I certainly will support the outcome of this election."

Trump pointed that he would "... want to make America great again. We are a nation that is seriously troubled... If she wins, I will absolutely support it."
 
The debate is divided into 6 segments with 15 minutes given to each nominee. Two minutes will be allotted to answer a question asked by the moderator, two minutes to reply and the remaining time for the nominees to debate.

This is the 20th US presidential debate and is being organised by the Commission on Presidential Debates.




Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel

First Published: Sep 27 2016 | 11:40 AM IST

Explore News