Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump bickered and traded insults
in a fiery US presidential debate Monday, as they aggressively pitched
their case to tens of millions of American voters.
With the White House rivals in a dead heat six weeks before
election day, Clinton from the get-go painted her Republican rival as
out of touch and having a tenuous relationship with the truth, willing
to say “crazy things” to get elected.
“You live in your own reality” said the 68-year old
Democrat, who accused Trump of launching his political career on a
“racist lie” — the birther conspiracy theory that questioned President
Barack Obama’s citizenship.
Trump, who faces tough questions about his suitability for
the Oval Office, started out with a more restrained tone — he even
ditched his red power tie for a more statesmanlike blue.
But he quickly went on the offensive, repeatedly interrupting Clinton with verbal jabs.
The celebrity businessman branded Clinton a “typical politician. All talk, no action. Sounds good, doesn’t work.”
In feisty exchanges on the economy, Trump reprised the
themes that have catalyzed his improbable campaign, blaming Clinton and
the political class for losing jobs to Mexico and China through bad
trade deals.
“Our country is suffering because people like secretary
Clinton have made such bad decisions in terms of our jobs and in terms
of what’s going on,” he said.
He demanded Clinton — a former secretary of state, first
lady and US senator — account for her time in government: “You’ve been
doing this for 30 years. Why are you just thinking about these solutions
right now? For 30 years, you’ve been doing it.”
Clinton responded by accusing Trump of having “stiffed” small businesses throughout his business career.
Demanding Trump release his taxes, in keeping with election
custom, she accused him of backing an economic platform amounting to
“the most extreme” package of tax cuts for the wealthy in US history.
“I call it trumped up trickle-down, because that’s exactly what it would be,” she quipped.
Trump said he would release his tax returns, “when she
releases her 33,000 e-mails that have been deleted,” alluding to the
Democrat’s use of a private email server as secretary of state.
– Super Bowl of politics –
This Super Bowl of politics took place at Hofstra University
on Long Island, a mere 60-minute drive from Manhattan and chaired by
NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt.
This first 2016 presidential debate could be pivotal in
deciding whether Clinton will become the first woman president, or if
Trump can pull off the greatest upset in US political history.
When the celebrity businessman launched his campaign in June 2015, bookmakers put his odds at 100/1 and he was roundly mocked.
But the 70-year-old weathered allegations of bigotry and sexism to triumph in a vicious Republican primary campaign.
He now has a real shot at being sworn in as the 45th president of the United States on January 20.
Six weeks out from election day the polls have tightened to a virtual dead heat.
Trump’s biggest handicap may be accusations that he has a
weak grasp of policy — which he sought to counter by accusing his rival
of sowing chaos in the Middle East during her tenure as secretary of
state.
“It’s a total mess, under your direction, to a large extent,” Trump said.
But he appeared on shaky ground as he defended his refusal to reveal his plan for defeating the Islamic State group.
“You’re telling the enemy everything you want to do. No
wonder you’ve been fighting ISIS your entire adult life,” he said of the
group that only came to prominence in the last decade.
Clinton — perhaps the most qualified presidential candidate
since George Bush senior or Dwight Eisenhower — has a massive
organizational advantage, a bigger campaign warchest, a lead in the
popular vote and is in a notably stronger position state-by-state.
But she remains deeply unpopular. In a country split 50/50
between Democrats and Republicans, only 40 percent of voters say they
have a favorable view of her.
In the last two presidential elections, young, black, Hispanic and Asian-American voters turned out in record numbers for Obama.
Clinton’s campaign has struggled so far to match that level of enthusiasm.
Only 47 percent of voters aged 18 to 34 say they will
definitely vote this time round, that is down from 74 percent when Obama
was first elected.
AFP