1st DEBATE
According to a Washington Post-ABC poll last month, 53% percent of Americans say Hillary Clinton won the first presidential debate. Pundits and editorialists lambasted Trump for his supposed mishandling of the facts and mercurial temperament throughout the debate.
I must agree with the beltway and establishment type pundits that Trump definitely failed to win the first debate based on traditional conventions of debate performance.
With that said, it is important to mention Trump emerged as the winner of the first debate based on a number of web polls and online forums. Online polls ranging from Time Magazine, Drudge Report, The Hill, CBS New York, and Breitbart showed Trump as the winner. Clearly there is a big disconnect between experts and the American public.
Trump’s success in the Republican primaries and his continued appeal in the general election can be attributed to his non-scripted and layman approach when talking about complex policy issues.
While Hillary looked and sounded overly rehearsed and at times robotic during the first debate, Trump sounded genuine and approachable.
Instead of using tired out phrases, slogans, and focus group tested sound bites, Trump spoke directly to the American voter in a refreshingly straightforward manner not seen before in presidential debates.
If graded by the traditional rubric, Trump would be declared the loser of the first debate, because he did not sound like the stereotypical politician. He did not come across as scripted or overly rehearsed. I would argue that those expecting Trump to morph into Mitt Romney for the first debate do not understand Trump’s candidacy.
Based on the results of online polling, the public reacted overwhelmingly favorable to Trump’s unique debate style. Of course, the beltway and establishment pundits shunned Trump’s performance, because they don’t understand his message.
They don’t understand his message, because Trump is not speaking to their brand of voter. Trump was talking to miners in Ohio and the working class single moms in Pennsylvania, not the Harvard educated attorney working in Washington D.C. for a big lobbying firm or media pundits working in New York City for a big news or entertainment firm.
Trump was talking to the people that have been left behind. These are the people that struggle to feed their families every day, because they can’t find a good paying job in their small town.
These people are not impressed by empty titles and a long list of academics achievements that amount to little or no tangible results. They don’t care whether he delivered the key talking points or “sounded presidential,” but they do care about whether he can solve the domestic and international issues that face America today.
When evaluating Trump’s debate performance, the pundits also concentrated on the story of former Miss Universe Alicia Machado. During the debate, in an attempt to distract from the important issues, Hillary Clinton quoted insults Alicia Machado attributed to Donald Trump.
The media’s fixation on this story again proves how little they understand the needs and wants of the American electorate. Machado’s weight gain was well documented in the American and Latin American press in 1997.
Her appearance on the national stage is a self-serving attempt to revive a struggling acting career overshadowed by scandal and in decline for over a decade. Her story is a distraction from the important issues in this election cycle. Machado is allowing herself to be used as a political prop to benefit Hillary’s campaign in exchange for some free publicity.
Trump did a decent job in the first debate. Did Hillary Clinton win the debate? I would say it depends who you ask. If grading for trustworthiness and approachability: Trump won!
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