The First 2016 Presidential Debate

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Eric Carr (12th), Reporter

As both candidates appear to be in a dead heat, the final curtain that will determine the fate of the United States falls on the live debates between Trump and Hillary. In the prelude to election day, the first presidential debate gives voters an idea of what to expect from their candidates.

The first debate was held at Hofstra University, a university set in New York. Moderated by NBC reporter Lester Holt, each candidate had the opportunity to argue their case versus the their opponents.

Cheers and shouts were heard as both candidates walked onto the stage.

After giving some rules,Holt ashed Hillary how she plans to aid the economy. Her main points included building a stronger economy by aiding the youth, raising the minimum wage, as well as paid family leave and equal pay.

However, as expected, when presented with the same question, Trump responded by talking about the topic he knows best: the practices of big business. He wants to lower taxes on big businesses, so they can hire more employees and grow, which Hillary compared to “trickle down economics.”

The first few responses were to be expected of this debate. Hillary, much more informed and formal with her responses, answered with a sense of maturity and preparedness. Trump, in the typical Trump fashion, answered with an improvised response. They held some formality, as each candidate tried not to interrupt (minus the occasional “Wrong!” Trump would say)

Trump wasted little time to attack Bill Clinton, and his support for NAFTA. He cited that while we pay a 13% tax to sell things in Mexico, Mexico pays no taxes to sell things to us. He also attacked Clinton’s emails, but surprisingly not as much as expected.

However, Hillary responded by pointing out Trumps business practices, such as building his business “off the back of the little guy.” She mentioned workers that did not get paid, and mentioned a case of a clubhouse that was built and never paid for. A former Trump contractor that was not paid was in attendance of the debate.

The issue between Trump’s tax returns was brought up by Clinton. She claimed that it was because he did not pay taxes, and that his “audit excuse” doesn’t apply.

“Ill release my tax returns when you release your 30,000 emails,” Trump responded.

The debate then turned towards the topic of race, where Holt mentioned the recent police shootings and how each candidate would deal with the race tensions in the US. However, the issue of race began to also include the issue of crime and police issues.

Clinton responded by saying it is unfortunate that “race still determines much.” She plans to restore trust between the minority communities, as well as police officers. She wants to reform criminal justice for non violent offenders, as well as implement common sense gun reform.

Trump took a very pro-police approach. In what he claimed as “Law and Order,” he wants to target violent gangs, as well as bring back “stop and frisk,” an act where police could stop and inspect anyone.

Holt brought up that it was unconstitutional, based on the ruling that is was racial profiling.

The final topic presented was how each candidate wanted to secure America.

Clinton brought up cybersecurity, and how Russia has used computers to hack into American systems.

Trump responded by bringing up that he was endorsed by numerous Admirals, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has never endorsed a candidate before.

Trump even brought up Bernie Sanders in his debate, citing how he was practically swindled out of a fair race between Clinton, due to the leaked email scandals.

Against  worldwide security, Clinton wants to increase air strikes and and continue aiding NATO and Syrian rebels against ISIS.

She brought up Trump was against the war in Iraq and Libya, which he denied later on

Trump spoke out against his opposition of NATO, believing that we are paying too much, and receiving too little.

However, when Trump mentioned that he has a much better temperament than Hillary Clinton, a new debate sparked.

Hillary responded by claiming Trump would blow up Iranian Sailors that were taunting US Sailors, and how someone who gets so worked up over a tweet should not be able to press a button to launch a nuke.

Unfortunately, the debate was over as soon as it started. They concluded by both saying that they would support the other candidate if the other candidate won.