Hillary Clinton was today projected as the winner of the first presidential debate against Republican Donald Trump for being more confident and knowledgeable, though not without flaws, against an "ignorant" non-politician.
"The first debate proved again that only one of the candidates is fit to be president," The Washington Post Editorial Board wrote after the 90-minute debate here that attracted millions of viewers.
"Monday night's debate told the story of this year's presidential race. The Republican primary process failed, producing a nominee who cynically or ignorantly sells a warped view of reality, disqualifying himself with practically every overheated sentence.
"The Democrats, meanwhile, nominated a flawed but knowledgeable, confident and even-tempered politician," the influential daily commented.
Trump seemed "incapable of moving beyond his slogans which, as ever, were based on his bleak view of the United States", the Post said.
New York Times said Trump frequently showed "impatience and political inexperience" as Clinton pushed him to defend his past denigration of women and President Barack Obama.
"Trump repeatedly interrupted Clinton and at times talked over her throughout the debate, making slashing attacks that surely pleased his Republican base but may have been off- putting to women and undecided voters," it said.
The report said that Trump's strongest moments came early in the evening, when he put Clinton on the defensive over her support for free trade agreements that he argues have cost Americans jobs. "But on issues of race and gender, Trump was less sure-footed."
CNN said Clinton delivered a "strong performance in which she demonstrated a command of policy and a sense of humour, smiling through some of Trump's strongest attacks. She delivered the best zinger of the night in response to criticism from Trump for staying off the campaign trail recently".
The first of a series of three presidential showdowns, which was anticipated to have watched by a record 100 millions people, was also the most-tweeted debate ever, exceeding 2012's 10.3 million mark.
The Silicon Valley-based social media company said the number of tweets exceeded the 10.3 million messages sent about 2012's first presidential debate. As many as 62 per cent of the conversation was about Donald Trump (@realDonaldTru,p), while another 38 per cent was about Clinton (@HillaryClinton).
Meanwhile, Facebook said 79 per cent of the conversation was about Trump and 21 per cent was about Clinton. The social networking giant said the "top social moment" of the debate was when Trump said his strongest asset is his "temperament."
Campaigns for both Clinton and Trump also clashed over his preparedness for the debate, with the latter's campaign manager saying he had come prepared and showed "great restraint in the face of fire and lies".
Clinton campaign criticised Trump for being "unprepared" for the debate and having "no real plans" for the future.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
