Anxiety, excitement and uncertainty filled the air of Hofstra University on the night of Monday, Sept. 26 as students, spectators and media awaited the start of the first 2016 presidential debate.
Republican nominee Donald Trump arrived in style from his lavish NYC apartment while Democratic nominee Hilary Clinton showed up dressed in all red.
Estimated to be the most watched presidential debate in American history, the expectations were set very high. Both candidates took the stage at 9 p.m.
The first question of the debate asked each candidate why they believe they would be best at boosting the nation’s economy. Clinton stated how much of her economic plan involved creating an economy “for everyone, not just the people at the top.”
If elected president, she plans to raise taxes on the wealthy in order to decrease the national debt. Clinton also believes that her plan would gain the United States 10 million new jobs.
While Clinton wants to see a raise in taxes, Trump wants to see the opposite. If elected president, Trump stated that he would “issue the largest tax cuts since [the] Reagan [Administration].”
Trump is also a firm believer in stopping offshoring, saying, “We need to stop putting jobs overseas and stop jobs from being stolen from us.”
He stated that “it will be a beautiful thing to watch” jobs come back to the United States.
One of the next questions asked candidates to address their stance on gun use, violence and racism in our country today. Clinton’s plan involves “restoring trust and working with police to tackle the plague of gun violence.”
She believes we should only use force when necessary and that it is crucial to get guns out of the hands of the wrong people.
While Trump agreed with some aspects of Clinton’s stance on violence, he still had his own opinions. Endorsed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and a large percentage of police groups, Trump does not want to focus on banning guns, but rather on creating better relationships between communities and police.
He also wants to focus on eliminating gangs in inner cities. He stated that we need “law and order” on this issue. Both candidates agreed that the racism facing the United States today needs to come to an end and that they would each work closely to make it happen.
Overall, critics across the nation are surprised by the outcome of this debate because it did not live up to its full expectations. With the majority believing that Clinton won, many suspect that Trump did no harm.
Experts say neither candidate won many more voters from this debate and that the election will still be extremely close.
Several of the questions asked went unanswered by both candidates as their focus sometimes shifted to insulting the other.
Clinton brought up how Trump is the only presidential candidate to never have released his tax audit.
Trump responded by stating, “I will release my tax audit when she releases the 33,000 emails she deleted.”
At the end of the debate, Trump stated that he does not believe Clinton has the stamina to be president. It is presumed that the two upcoming debates may follow this one’s footsteps: little drama, therefore leaving the deciding factor in the hands of Americans.
Alyssa Palumbo is a first-year student majoing in exercise science. She can be reached at ? AP870664@wcupa.edu. Her Twitter is ? @alyssapalumbo_.