Today in Campaign 2016
- Ratings for the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are starting to trickle in, and while 83 million Americans watched, viewership was not quite as “yuge” as anticipated. Still, the figures are enough to break the 80.6 million viewer record set by the Ronald Reagan’s debate with Jimmy Carter in 1980.Reagan and Carter had just a few channels competing for viewers, and no internet. The latest figure is all the more impressive given the number of digital streaming options available to viewers – CBS’s digital news division, CBSN, said it had logged 2.98m streams and 1.4 million unique viewers in total. YouTube said just under 2 million people streamed video of the debate from six news outlets that officially used its platform. Facebook, too, hosted live showings of the event contributed by multiple news outlets. The total audience across the largest broadcast and cable networks had been predicted to reach 100 million viewers – the low end of the range for a Super Bowl game.
- Among late-night TV hosts, the consensus on who won Monday night’s debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton is resoundingly clear: Clinton dominated the evening, with Trump emerging as the blustering loser.
- The Daily Show, Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert all opted to air live following the first of three presidential debates, to offer comedic and pointed roundups of the chaotic clash.Trevor Noah’s Daily Show was the first up, with the host opening by taking a swipe at moderator Lester Holt, who New Yorker humorist Andy Borowitz mocked in a piece titled “CNN Launches Manhunt after Lester Holt Vanishes from Debate”. After playing a montage of the debate’s most heated exchanges, Noah said: “At that point, Lester Holt wasn’t even moderating anymore, he was just eating popcorn like everyone else.”
- Hillary Clinton drilled into Donald Trump during Monday night’s presidential debate on his treatment of women after he called a Miss Universe winner “Miss Piggy”, but the Republican nominee didn’t back away from the comment, telling Fox and Friends on Tuesday morning that “she gained a massive amount of weight”.
- Alicia Machado from Venezuela won the Miss Universe contest in 1996, shortly after Trump became executive producer of the contest. She gained weight in her year as winner – CNN at the time reported a 60-pound increase; Machado says it was closer to 15 pounds – which Trump and the Miss Universe contest viewed as a significant problem.“She was the worst we ever had, the worst, she was impossible,” Trump told Fox and Friends on Tuesday. “She was the winner and she gained a massive amount of weight and it was a real problem,” said Trump. “Not only that, her attitude. We had a real problem with her.”
Speaking to a crowd of 7,500 the day after his first presidential debate with Hillary Clinton, Trump claimed: “I was holding back. I didn’t want to do anything to embarrass her.”
He still insisted that every poll showed him winning the debates but cited only internet surveys to prove this; every scientific poll taken in the aftermath of the debate showed a majority of viewers believing Clinton had won.
The Republican nominee’s unhappiness with coverage of his widely panned performance showed. Three times in the course of the rally, Trump called out “the corrupt corporate media” and gestured towards his supporters to turn towards the press pen to boo, hiss and even, in one instance, shout “go to hell”.
Trump constantly revisited different moments in the debate and told of how, before taking the stage, “I took a deep breath and pretended I was talking to my family.” He recounted what he felt were his best lines during the debate – like, “You are experienced but it’s bad experience” – and touted how he had done well on the issue of trade and exposed Clinton’s “real positions” on Nafta, which he described as “the single worst deal you’ll ever see”.
He even bashed Lester Holt, the debate moderator, whom Trump described as “the emcee”, for challenging him when he praised stop and frisk, a controversial police tactic that involved New York police officers stopping pedestrians without a warrant, asking them questions and checking them for weapons. A federal judge ruled in 2013 that the practice was unconstitutional as it disproportionately targeted African Americans and Latinos. Trump insisted, “I also explained last night stop and frisk was constitutional. The emcee argued with me, taking up the time. Law enforcement does stop and frisk every day.”
Trump also re-litigated his false claim that he had opposed the Iraq war from the beginning, asking the crowd for approval. “And does everybody believe me, I was against going into Iraq?” he asked the crowd.
Arizona Republic endorses first Democratic presidential candidate in 126 years
The Arizona Republic has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, making her the first Democratic presidential candidate to earn the newspaper’s endorsement in its 126-year history.
“Since The Arizona Republic began publication in 1890, we have never endorsed a Democrat over a Republican for president. Never,” wrote the editorial board of Arizona’s most widely read daily newspaper. “This reflects a deep philosophical appreciation for conservative ideals and Republican principles. This year is different. The 2016 Republican candidate is not conservative and he is not qualified.”
The newspaper’s editorial board makes no bones about what it views as the temperamental deficiencies of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump: “Clinton has the temperament and experience to be president. Donald Trump does not.”
Calling Trump’s antics on and off the debate stage “beneath our national dignity,” the Arizona Republic’s editorial board dismissed Trump’s stance on immigration as inflammatory and ineffective - a potentially consequential assertion in the border state.
“Arizona went down the hardline immigration road Trump travels. It led our state to SB 1070, the 2010 ‘show me your papers’ law that earned Arizona international condemnation and did nothing to resolve real problems with undocumented immigration,” the editorial board writes. “Arizona understands that we don’t need a repeat of that divisive, unproductive fiasco on the national level.”
Former GOP senator John Warner to endorse Hillary Clinton
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has scored another endorsement from a Republican politician, this time from former Virginia senator John Warner, according to the Washington Post.
Warner, an icon in the commonwealth with strong ties to the military community, joins a long list of Republicans who have avoided endorsing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, instead attaching himself to a ticket that already features another Virginian: current senator Tim Kaine, Clinton’s running mate.
“For 30 years, Virginians trusted John Warner in the senate, and for good reason: he has dedicated his life to defending our country, from serving in the Navy in World War II to chairing the senate armed services committee, where I had the honor of working with him to support our men and women in uniform and their families,” Clinton wrote in a statement. “I am proud to have John’s support, and to know that someone with his decades of experience would trust me with the weighty responsibility of being commander in chief.”
Donald Trump: I 'held back' in last night's debate
Speaking to a campaign rally audience in Melbourne, Florida, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump declared that the only reason he didn’t get in more jabs in last night’s first presidential debate was that he “held back” because he “didn’t want to embarrass” Hillary Clinton.
“For 90 minutes, I watched her very carefully and I was also holding back, I didn’t want to do anything to embarrass her, but I watched her and she was stuck in the past,” Trump said. “For 90 minutes on issue after issue, Hillary Clinton defended the terrible status quo, while I laid our plan, all of us together, to bring jobs, security and prosperity back to the American people.”
“For 90 minutes, she argued against change, while I called for dramatic change. We have to have dramatic change. We have to get rid of Obamacare, we have to strengthen up our depleted military. It’s in such bad shape. We’re gonna do a lot of great things, folks. November 8, you have to get out there and vote.”
Oh, hey there:
1992 discussing the possibility of a minority for President. The most important cutaway in debate history. pic.twitter.com/XR6cHQ9P43
— Jesse Case (@jessecase) September 28, 2016
Donald Trump campaigns in Melbourne, Florida
Watch it live here:
Melissa Joan Hart named as Gary Johnson's Connecticut campaign chair
Actress Melissa Joan Hart - best known as Sabrina in Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Clarissa in Clarissa Explains It All - has joined Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson’s campaign, under the title of Connecticut campaign chair.
Hart has previously supported Republican candidates, tweeting in 2012 that she planned to vote for Mitt Romney:
Can't get too political in only 140 chac but for those asking, I'm voting #RomneyRyan.
— Melissa Joan Hart (@MelissaJoanHart) November 5, 2012
...but has previously announced support for Johnson’s campaign earlier this year.
“I want to break away from this two-party system and I think it’s important for people to know that there’s another candidate out there who really toes the line between Democrat and Republican,” Hart told People Magazine. “I mean, he’s libertarian, but socially he’s liberal, but fiscally conservative.”
“Governors, I love, because they already ran their state as like a little president,” Hart continued, referring to Johnson’s service as the governor of New Mexico. “So he gets the way, you know, things run. The politics of it all. He was on a border state, so if you want to talk about immigration, he’s the guy.”
Donald Trump’s rally in Florida, set to begin in five minutes, is being delayed by storms:
Per ATC, Trump plane is deviating to avoid the storms, necessitating a delay at the rally
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) September 27, 2016
Colin Kaepernick to Trump: 'America has never been great for people of color'
Colin Kaepernick has hit back at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s assertion that the quarterback “should find another country that works better for him” in response to his decision to kneel for the national anthem.
Kaepernick, whose protest has sparked a national discussion over racial injustice and inspired dozens of other professional and collegiate players to follow suit, characterized Trump’s comment as a “very ignorant statement” during this afternoon’s media availability at the team’s practice facility.
“It’s a very ignorant statement that, if you don’t agree with what’s going on, hearing that if you want justice and liberty and freedom for all, then you should leave the country,” Kaepernick told reporters in a video shared by the Bay Area News Group. “He always says make America great again. Well, America has never been great for people of color. And that’s something that needs to be addressed. Let’s make America great for the first time.”
Kaepernick’s remarks came the morning after Monday’s first presidential debate, where Trumped doubled down on his call for the national introduction of “stop and frisk”, the controversial police tactic ruled unconstitutional in 2013 when a federal judge found it disproportionately targeted African American and Latino neighborhoods.
Trump first addressed Kaepernick’s protest in an appearance last month on the Dori Monson Show, a conservative afternoon talk-radio program in the Seattle area.
“I have followed it and I think it’s personally not a good thing,” the GOP candidate said. “I think it’s a terrible thing, and you know, maybe he should find a country that works better for him. Let him try: it won’t happen.”
Ben Jacobs has more fashion reports from Donald Trump’s rally in Florida tonight:
Jeff says he is wearing this shirt because it's offensive and to get a rise out of people pic.twitter.com/uAo2fdn5W8
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) September 27, 2016
Deplorable Trump supporter pic.twitter.com/zVBBRzlqYg
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) September 27, 2016
#ClubGitmo pic.twitter.com/GG741b6GQx
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) September 27, 2016
DIY Trump swag pic.twitter.com/3JxPnOscW8
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) September 27, 2016
Shirtless Trump rides a bear pic.twitter.com/p2ecMQii6t
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) September 27, 2016
Howard Dean defends cocaine tweet
Former Vermont governor and onetime head of the Democratic National Committee Howard Dean defended tweeting that Republican nominee Donald Trump’s persistent sniffing during last presidential night’s debate indicated possible cocaine abuse, a sentence we never thought we’d have to type and yet here we are.
Notice Trump sniffing all the time. Coke user?
— Howard Dean (@GovHowardDean) September 27, 2016
“You can’t make a diagnosis over the television, but that is a signature of people who use cocaine,” Dean told MSNBC’s Kate Snow of Trump’s sniffling. “I’m not suggesting that Trump does, but ... I’m just suggesting that we think about it.”
“He sniffed during the presentation, which is something that users do,” Dean continued. “He also has grandiosity, which is something that accompanies that problem.”
“Something funny was going on with Donald Trump last night.”
Former Miss Universe's nickname for Donald Trump: #NaziRat
The former Miss Universe winner who was the subject of a Donald Trump tirade this morning about her weight and “attitude,” Alicia Machado, hasn’t held any punches in her war of words with the Republican presidential nominee.
The Venezuelan pageant queen, who was cited by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during last night’s debate as an example of Trump’s misogyny, called Trump a “Nazi rat”.
Por mi salud! Ojalá @RealOsmelSousa y @noticierovv me hubieran defendido y protegido de la rata Nazi! Miss Universe 96, con apenas 18 años!
— Alicia Machado (@machadooficial) June 19, 2015
Yesterday, Machado started the hashtag #RataNazi, declaring in Spanish that “My freedom of opinion is what I most love about being a US citizen! My position is overwhelmingly and firmly: #NaziRat you won’t be president!”
Mi libertad de opinión es lo que más amo de ser US citizen ! mi posición es contundente y firme #RataNazi no serás presidente
— Alicia Machado (@machadooficial) September 27, 2016
A real-time map of trending Twitter topics seems to show that the #TrumpWon hashtag - lauded by the candidate himself as the most popular hashtag on the internet this morning - appears to show that the hashtag’s starting location is in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The #TrumpWon hashtag starting location, that's interesting pic.twitter.com/V7SFhvEurX
— Dusty (@DustinGiebel) September 27, 2016
Granted, the campaign could just be hiding its virtual private network’s address by changing theirs in St. Petersburg - which would just mean that the campaign dropped a pretty penny on its Twitter advertising this morning - but given that hundreds of bloggers are paid by the Russian government to flood forums and social networks at home and abroad with anti-western and pro-Kremlin comments, it’s an interesting coincidence...
Trump called Machado an 'eating machine' in Stern interview
In a 1997 interview with Howard Stern, Donald Trump called the Miss Universe winner Alicia Machado an “eating machine,” revealed audio unearthed by Buzzfeed.
Machado, who won the Miss Universe contest in 1996, is in the news today after Hillary Clinton used Trump’s comments - he labeled her “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping” (she’s originally from Venezuela) - to nail him on gender issues during last night’s debate.
The new audio from Buzzfeed of the 1997 Stern interview shows exactly what the conversations around Machado were like at the time (remember, this is a 20-year-old woman who is being discussed by these men).
Stern announces the issue: “The Miss Universe, it turns out, the woman who won last year, blows up to a fat pig. I mean, like obese.”
Trump laughs in the background.
Stern: “Most people would have fired her, because she broke the rules. Mr Trump goes in there and he says “listen you, I’m not going to fire you, but you better get skinny, you better lose some weight.”
Stern adds: “You whipped this fat slob into shape. I don’t know how you did it. I see all these diet plans, everything else. God bless you. You whipped her into shape, and you held the whole pageant together. Congratulations.”
Trump responds: “Well, that was an amazing one. She went from 118 to almost 170.”
Stern: “And you got her right down again to 118, didn’t you?”
Trump: “Well, she’s going to be there. She’s probably 145 or something.”
Trump adds: “It was an amazing phenomena. She weighed 118 when she won... she was as beautiful a woman as I’ve ever seen. She gained about 55 pounds in a period of nine months. She was like an eating machine.”
“What does a girl eat in less than a year to gain [that]?” Stern asks.
“I think she ate a lot of everything,” replies Trump.
This is what Machado looked like when Trump was arranging for the media to turn up at gyms to watch her work out in order to lose the extra weight.
This is what Alicia Machado looked like when Trump took to publicly & privately humiliating her over her weight. She had just turned 20. pic.twitter.com/jfmMM3jGHW
— Garance Franke-Ruta (@thegarance) September 27, 2016
She’s now appearing in pro-Clinton ads, and spoke with the Guardian’s Lucia Graves about how Trump weight-shaming impacted her life and affected her health and psychological wellbeing.
Updated
Donald Trump surrogate Rudy Giuliani declared that Hillary Clinton was “too stupid to be president” for being unaware that Bill Clinton had cheated on her with Monica Lewinsky.
The comments came after Giuliani was asked if Trump was a feminist, and Giuliani noted that Trump didn’t mention Bill Clinton’s affairs, but he thought he should hae.
“I sure would’ve talked about what she did to Monica Lewinsky, what that woman standing there did to Monica Lewinsky, trying to paint her as an insane young woman when in fact Monica Lewinsky was an intern,” Giuliani said.
“The president of the United States, her husband, disgraced this country with what he did in the Oval Office and she didn’t just stand by him, she attacked Monica Lewinsky. And after being married to Bill Clinton for 20 years, if you didn’t know the moment Monica Lewinsky said that Bill Clinton violated her that she was telling the truth, then you’re too stupid to be president.”
I asked Giuliani if Trump is a feminist #DebateNight pic.twitter.com/xWvkgVuKXV
— Alexandra Svokos (@asvokos) September 27, 2016
Let’s just remember that Guiliani started dating his current wife Judith when he was mayor of New York City and still married to and living with his second wife, Donna Hanover.
Clinton-Trump debate gets highest ratings on record
Around 81 million viewers tuned into to watch Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton battle it out in last night’s debate, making it the highest rated debate in history, according to new figures from Nielsen.
Nielsen’s figures - which is based on viewers watching one of the 12 channels from home, and does not account for online livestreams, viewing parties in other venues or those watching PBS or C-SPAN - show on average 80.9 million people tuned in.
Those additional viewers that were not counted means the number is significantly higher than the 80.9 million figure, noted Brian Stelter on CNN Money.
Previously the highest ever watched debate was when 81 million watched Jimmy Carter take on Ronald Reagan back in 1980.
In 2012, an average of 70 million voters tuned in to Mitt Romney and Barack Obama’s first debate, says Politico. In 2008, John McCain and Obama’s debate averaged 53 million.
Clinton says she’s trying to prove that “love trumps hate,” as she thanks the crowd and walks off to the strains of Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.
Updated
Clinton is attacking Trump in Raleigh abut his comments last night that seemed to insinuate he doesn’t pay federal taxes.
“He actually bragged about gaining the system to get out of the paying his fair share,” notes Clinton.
In last night’s debate, Clinton pushed Donald Trump on why he wasn’t releasing his tax returns, suggesting that perhaps he hadn’t paid any federal income taxes.
“That makes me smart,” replied Trump.
“If not paying taxes makes us smart, what does that make all the rest of us?” asks Clinton in Raleigh on Tuesday.
“I think there’s a strong possibility he hasn’t paid federal taxes for a lot of years. And this is a man who goes around calling our military a disaster... he probably hasn’t paid a penny to support our troops, or our vets, or our schools, or our healthcare systems,” says Clinton .
She says her and husband Bill always pay their taxes, because that’s what Americans should do.
“We pay the highest marginal rate. We try and give 10% to charity. Because we believe in this country. And we believe with the blessings we’ve been given, we should do our part,” adds Clinton.
Hillary Clinton rallies in Raleigh, NC the day after the debate pic.twitter.com/pvWndH0zlK
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) September 27, 2016
Clinton is comparing her surrogate Mark Cuban to Donald Trump - “He is a real billionaire, by the way,” she quips.
She talks about how Cuban has long used profit-sharing and shared the profits of his sale of his business and turned 300 of his employees into millionaires because of it.
“That’s the kind fo business leadership I want to hold up,” she says, noting that Trump has built his business on the backs of little guys who didn’t get paid.
“I’m glad my dad never had a contract with Donald Trump when he was running his small business,” says Clinton.
Clinton’s speaks of her mother’s upbringing in severe poverty and how she was lucky to find someone that let her live in their house and attend high school.
“When I talk about us being strong together, I’m not just talking about government, I’m talking about what each of us can do to contribute,” says Clinton.
Clinton mentions last night’s debate, and gets huge applause from her audience in Raleigh.
“I got a chance to say a few things,” she laughs, a clear reference to Trump interrupting her repeatedly.
“I do have this old fashioned idea that if I’m asking for your vote, I should tell you what I want to do,” says Clinton.
Updated
In Raleigh, Clinton speaks against the “mean-spirited” transgender bathroom law, House Bill 2.
“Right here in North Carolina, the mean-spirited wrong-hearted decision to pass and sign House Bill 2, has hurt this state. And more than that it’s hurt people. It’s sent a message to so many people ‘well you’re not really one, you’re not really part of us. I think the American dream is big enough for everything,” says Clinton.
Today is National Voter Registration Day, points out Clinton, calling on people to go to iwillvote.com and register to vote. She notes that North Carolina already has issues with voter suppression.
“Everything they could to make voting harder. They were pretty blatant, make it harder for people of color, make it harder for the elderly and make it harder for the young. Some of that’s been rolled back, thankfully, because it was so wrong and i would argue, unconstitutional... we want everyone to exercise his or her right to vote,” she adds.
Updated
Clinton takes to the stage in Raleigh, North Carolina, after a sweet speech from a local nurse and working mother who notes that she’s going to cry as she introduces Clinton to the stage.
“You made me cry,” Clinton tells her, putting her hand on her heart as she thanks her.
“Did anyone see that debate last night? Oh yes, one down, two to go,” declares Clinton to the audience.
Updated
Jeb Bush gets a job at Harvard
Failed presidential candidate and former Florida governor is heading back to school, after Harvard’s Kennedy School announced Tuesday that Jeb Bush will be a visiting fellow on education policy, reports AP.
Bush - who last popped up in the public eye during a comic bit in the Emmy Awards - where he starred as an Uber driver - will be a guest speaker and teacher during the fall term.
AP says it will begin with Bush delivering the Edwin L. Godkin Lecture at Harvard this Thursday on economic and social mobility.
Hillary Clinton campaigns in Raleigh, North Carolina
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton campaigns in Raleigh, North Carolina, the day after the first presidential debate.
A Republican super PAC unveiled a new ad, using Hillary Clinton’s comments from last night’s debate against her in a new attack ad.
The new ad by Future 45 shows Clinton talking about how she has stamina to be president as proven by her years of Secretary of State travel to 112 countries.
“But beyond the flight miles, what’s the Clinton record?” asks the voice-over, before referencing Russia, Libya, ISIS and the Benghazi attack.
“Hillary has experience, but it’s bad experience,” replies Trump.
Future 45 is funded by big GOP donors, the Adelson and Ricketts families.
From the Clinton plane this morning, regarding Trump’s complaints from earlier today that his microphone wasn’t working during the debate.
Hillary Clinton to reporters: "Anyone who complains about the microphone is not having a good night."
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui) September 27, 2016
When Ted Cruz was in the race, Trump pushed a conspiracy theory that Cruz’s father was somehow involved in the assassination of JFK.
But even with Cruz gone from the race, Trump hasn’t disavowed the claim - even pushing it shortly after the RNC in July. The Weekly Standard tried yesterday to get Trump surrogates to admit the argument was baseless, but to no avail.
“I think really the fact that Senator Cruz came out and endorsed Mr. Trump I think really says a lot. I think it talks about how the party’s coming together, how it’s united,” said Trump senior advisor Jason Miller.
But Ted Cruz’s chief strategist Jason Johnson took a dig at Miller, who was a former Cruz top spokesman before taking on the Trump role.
When Donald talked about 400# 'hackers' I think he meant 'hacks' https://t.co/CCSBcw88hQ pic.twitter.com/d7Z2KLAKH5
— Jason Johnson (@jasonsjohnson) September 27, 2016
Hat tip to Ben Jacobs.
Comedian Rosie O’Donnell called Donald Trump an “orange anus” after the Republican nominee said in last night’s debate that she “deserves” his criticism, which includes him calling her a “fat pig,” “slob,” and “loser.”
During the debate at Hofstra University, Trump was quizzed on his comments about women’s bodies.
“Some of it’s said — somebody who’s been very vicious to me, Rosie O’Donnell, I said very tough things to her, and I think everybody would agree that she deserves it and nobody feels sorry for her,” said Trump.
In response, O’Donnell tweeted a video from The View where she mocked Trump’s hair and pointed out his bankruptcies, failed marriages and called him a “snake oil salesman.” She says it was this moment that resulted in Trump’s vicious attacks against her.
https://t.co/EvxYa7A4bL --- the 5 mins orange anus can't seem to get over --- tell the truth - shame the donald #ImWithHer
— Rosie (@Rosie) September 27, 2016
When one of Trump’s supporters tweeted at her that she was “burned” by “President Trump”, she replied:
HE WILL NEVER BE PRESIDENT ... @WeinerAnne
— Rosie (@Rosie) September 27, 2016
Pop star Madonna, who endorsed Clinton back in September, then came out in support of her friend:
Mess with my girl Rosie and you're messing with me!!! Cruelty never made anyone a winner. ❤️ #rebelhearts4ever pic.twitter.com/gvkF6HpU47
— Madonna (@Madonna) September 27, 2016
Cruz applauds Trump's debate performance
Ted Cruz, the former Trump foe turned reluctant supporter applauded Trump for his debate performance last night, telling a radio host he had his “strongest debate performance” so far and that the media is only saying Clinton won because they support her.
Cruz was a top college debater and he was regarded as the toughest Republican debater of the primaries.
“Anyone who is swooning at Hillary’s performance last night, that’s a pretty good indication that you’re a card-carrying member of the liberal media, especially in the first half hour. I think Donald very much had the upper hand over Hillary,” said Cruz in a radio interview with Hugh Hewitt on Tuesday.
“And the biggest thing is her answers, they sound old and tired, and I don’t mean that in a comment on her health. It mean it on a comment on her ideas. Her ideas are rehashed 1960s Great Society, big government programs. And to me, they did not rise to the occasion remotely. Now of course the media is going to hyperventilate at how terrific she is, because that’s what they do,” said Cruz.
Trump supporter Ted Cruz offers a full throated defense of Trump's debate performance to @hughhewitt: pic.twitter.com/GNxLNqVKJa
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) September 27, 2016
Mic edited together a video of 28 times Trump interrupted Clinton in last night’s debate.
Here’s what it is like to be interrupted 28 times during a debate: #Debates #debatenight pic.twitter.com/Br6c8UBMTb
— Mic (@mic) September 27, 2016
But Vox says the total is actually higher, with their count showing Trump interrupted her 51 times, while she interrupted him 17 times.
After the conventions back in July, Lauren Leatherby from the Guardian US interactive team, analyzed the post-convention bump Hillary Clinton was experiencing. She noted that debates also influence polls, writing in August:
In the past, debates have had a big influence on the number of people who say they will vote for a given candidate. After the 2004 and 2012 convention seasons, both George W Bush and Obama were able to hold onto their convention bumps for a few weeks. (For Bush, his post-convention bump lasted about a month. For Obama, his numbers stayed high for two weeks.)
But, in both cases, the candidates’ poll numbers took a hit after the first debate.
Despite trailing Bush in the polls for much of the fall of 2004, a majority of viewers polled thought John Kerry won the first debate. The candidates sparred over the war in Iraq for nearly two-thirds of the debate, and Bush’s defenses appeared weak in the face of Kerry’s persistent criticisms. Bush subsequently lost around five points of his polling lead.
A similar scene played out again in 2012, between another incumbent, Obama, and Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Despite trailing in the polls, Romney was well prepared for the first debate, and Obama – often glancing at his notes – didn’t perform particularly well. More than seven in 10 Americans told Gallup that Romney did a better job, which was reflected in post-debate polls when Obama’s lead decreased by around three points.
If Clinton’s current lead holds up by the first debate in late September (which would be a very long post-convention bump indeed), her debate performance could once again change the balance of the race.
Clinton’s post-DNC bump had disappeared almost entirely by yesterday, with the latest shows pre-debate showing the pair neck-and-neck.
But largely favorable reviews across the board for Clinton’s debate performance may now affect polls - even if that may not reflect the eventual election winner.
Mary J Blige interviews Clinton
Hip hop queen Mary J Blige interviewed Hillary Clinton for a new show to be unveiled on Apple Music Friday, with a preview showing Blige questioning Clinton about race and singing to her.
“A lot of people in my community think Obama was blocked in Congress because he was black. How are you going to do what he wasn’t able to do?” asks Blige, in an Apple music preview put on Instagram.
The 411 with Mary Blige appears to be a new Apple Music show where the R&B star interviews people, the name taken from Blige’s 1992 album ‘What’s the 411’.
In another 30-second preview available on iTunes, the camera focuses on Blige, who belts out a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s American Skin - which is about the police killing of unarmed black man Amadou Diallo in 1999 - to a rather awkward-looking Clinton.
“It ain’t no secret/No secret my friend/You can get killed/Just for living in your American skin,” she sings as she sits in front of Clinton, reaching out to grab hold of her hand.
“I just want to know where we go from here,” asks Blige. Clinton opens her mouth, and the camera cuts to show name and its September 27 release date.
Just how bizarre will this interview be?
"what will you do to fix the national epidemic of hateration in this dancerie?" pic.twitter.com/jVDy3eJBCP
— Deaux (@dstfelix) September 27, 2016
Updated
Reviewing moderator Lester Holt
Last night Lester Holt, the host from NBC Nightly News, moderated the debate, under a bright spotlight after his colleague Matt Lauer was criticized for going soft on Trump during a major interview and the Trump campaign declaring that Holt’s job was as moderator not fact checker.
Holt pushed back on Trump’s claims that he did never supported the Iraq War and his argument that the stop-and-frisk policy in NYC was a big success, and news outlets including Washington Post and Think Progress applauded him for fact-checking.
What did others think?
Holt’s a registered Republican, but Dan Gainor wrote on FoxNews.com that Holt pushed hard for Clinton:
Holt reminded viewers he’s liberal – from pushing the birther issue to harassing Trump about his tax returns to a wildly biased question about Clinton as “the first woman nominated by a party” not having “the look.” Clinton skated by with a 15-second response on her emails while Trump was asked repeated follow-up questions while Hillary was not. There was no “deplorables” question and Holt promoted the birther meme without noting its origin in the Clinton camp.
Slate’s Isaac Chotiner reckons that Holt asked good, tough questions - just in time.
Holt’s performance, like Hillary Clinton’s, was not a total knockout. But like Clinton’s, it was more than adequate. And in a year like this one, that counts as a victory for a beleaguered press corps.
Holt was good to not get too involved with the debaters, said Michael Calderone in Huffington Post:
The biggest critique of Holt one could make ― and some did on social media ― was that he was too hands-off. However, moderators try to avoid becoming the third debater on stage, and instead force the candidates to spar with one another. There were moments, especially early on, that Holt could have been more forceful in maintaining order. But he also wisely used his discretion to keep the debate going at times instead of sticking to the somewhat arbitrary 15 minutes allotted for each segment.
At the New York Times, Michael M Grynbaum called him the “minimalist moderator”:
He was silent for minutes at a time, allowing Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump to joust and bicker between themselves — and sometimes talk right over him — prompting some viewers to wonder if Mr. Holt had left the building.
But his reticence as moderator also gave viewers an unfiltered glimpse of the candidates: their views, speaking styles, and reactions under pressure.
Kyle Smith in the New York Post said Clinton got off easy compared to Trump:
In the early going, it looked like it was going to be an ideal, Jim Lehrer-style performance from Lester Holt, the “NBC Nightly News” anchor. Lehrer was so boringly nonpartisan, so unwilling to play gotcha that he was always hotly in demand to moderate debates. For the first half or so, Holt gave simple, broad, open-ended questions and let the candidates go at it. He didn’t venture into live fact-checking, didn’t much quarrel with the nominees, didn’t ask persnickety questions... But in the last half of the show, Holt started going after Trump.
Two of the country’s major publications are running campaign ads across their debate coverage this morning.
WSJ and the Washington Post right now, and the banner ads running on top. So much winning happening. h/t @sarahportlock pic.twitter.com/810K716kru
— Natalie Andrews (@nataliewsj) September 27, 2016
On the Guardian website, I’m seeing a Microsoft ad, so I think that means journalism wins.
Last night I monitored Red and Blue Twitter, noting how the same debate question and answer was viewed in two completely differently ways depending on what side the supporter was on.
For example, Trump on trade: his supporters saw it as a dominant showing where he was able to get his message across, Clinton supporters saw him constantly interrupting her in a sexist way.
Who do you think won the debate? Please share in the comments.
On Fox and Friends this morning, Trump claimed that he won the debate because online polls showed it to be true - although those poll numbers may be a little dodgy.
“I know I did better than Hillary and ever poll shows that,” said Trump.
“I won Slate, I won Drudge, I won CBS, I won Time magazine. I won every poll apart from CNN and not many people are watching CNN,” he declared.
Except, Major Garrett from CBS rebuked Trump’s claim:
On @foxandfriends @realDonaldTrump said he won a @CBSNews post-debate poll. We did not conduct a post-debate poll.
— Major Garrett (@MajorCBS) September 27, 2016
Ben Collins from the Daily Beast notes that the very polls Trump is claiming he won were gamed by Trump supporters on 4chan and Reddit.
...some users took time to attempt to game online polls soliciting opinions on who won the debate, imploring users to “abuse airplane mode toggling” to allow for more votes for Trump on websites like CNBC, Time, ABC News, and CNN.
Trump then spent the night pointing his Twitter users to those same poll numbers, which had been brigaded by 4chan and Trump’s Reddit community r/The_Donald.
Undecided voters pick Clinton as winner, reports Lauren Gambino from Philadelphia.
In a clash between the two most unpopular presidential nominees in modern history, a group of undecided voters in the battleground state of Pennsylvania declared Hillary Clinton the clear winner of Monday night’s debate; but remained deeply pessimistic about their choices in November.
“It’s like asking me to choose between a heart attack and a stroke,” said one of the 27 voters selected to participate in the focus group conducted by Republican pollster Frank Luntz in Philadelphia on Monday.
‘Clinton weaponized Trump’s words’: the reaction to the presidential debateJill Abramson, Steven W Thrasher, Christopher R Barron, Jamie Weinstein and Lucia GravesRead more
The visceral electoral anger that helped fuel Trump’s rise was felt in the room at the National Constitution Center where the mood was perhaps best encapsulated by Luntz’s opening question: “How the hell did we get here?”
The Pennsylvania voters shared some of the same entrenched views that voters across the country have expressed over the past 18 months. They described Clinton as a “liar”, “corrupt”, “secretive” and “self-centered”. They labeled Trump “scary”, “fake”, an “egomaniac” and a “shape-shifter”.
The battleground state voters watched the debate from a room inside the National Constitution Center and recorded their snap reactions throughout the 90-minute debate. On display behind the voters were large, expressionistic paintings of an American flag, John F Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Trump and Clinton by artist and GOP darling Steve Penley.
At the end of the debate, 16 of the 27 participants agreed that Clinton had won while just six believed Trump had won the debate. In near uniformity, the voters said the outcome of the debate was the result of Trump’s failure rather than Clinton’s success.
Read the rest here.
Hello and welcome to our live-wire coverage of the 2016 race for the White House.
Last night Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton battled it out at Hofstra University in the first 2016 presidential debate. This morning, we’re wading through the reviews, columns and analysis.
First a look at some Guardian stories to check out:
- Our politics team - Dan Roberts, Sabrina Siddiqui and Ben Jacobs – covered the debate from inside the room, declaring that Clinton kept her cool while Trump lost his.
- Tom McCarthy summed up what we learned at the debate – and the importance of the line “Whew, OK!”.
- Alan Yuhas fact-checked, clarifying exactly which candidates’ arguments hold up to inspection.
Trump defensive on Fox News this morning
Trump has already come out on the defensive on Fox and Friends this morning, declaring that moderator Lester Holt asked him “hostile questions” but didn’t drill Clinton on her own scandals, and said his microphone suffered audio problems possibly “on purpose”.
“I thought it went really well ... It was the debate of debates,” Trump declared at 7am.
Trump said he thought the NBC Nightly News host did a “fine” job, although he argued that he got asked much tougher questions, including about his support of the birther conspiracy, his refusal to release his tax returns and former employees’ lawsuits against him.
“He didn’t ask her about the emails. Didn’t ask her about her scandals. Didn’t ask her about the Benghazi deal she destroyed. He didn’t ask her about a lot of things ... Didn’t ask about her foundation,” said Trump.
He also echoed his claim made after the debate last night, that after Clinton grilled him on his treatment of women, including former Miss Universe winner Alicia Machado, he wanted to bring up Bill Clinton’s extramarital affairs but didn’t out of respect for their daughter Chelsea Clinton.
“I didn’t feel comfortable doing it with Chelsea in the room,” said Trump.
But he said he might mention the affairs in the next debate. “I may hit her harder in certain ways. I really eased up in certain ways because I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings,” he said.
Trump admitted that Clinton’s comments about Alicia Machado riled him up, as he tried to explain his “Miss Piggy” comments about her:
“She was the winner, she gained a massive amount of weight, it was a real problem,” said Trump. “Not only that, her attitude, we had a real problem with her.”
He noted that the comments happened years ago and says the Clinton campaign “found a girl and talked about her as if she was Mother Theresa and it wasn’t quite that way, but that’s OK, Hillary has to do what she has to.”
"She gained a massive amount of weight, and it was a real problem." —Trump just defended his attacks on Fmr. Miss Universe Alicia Machado. pic.twitter.com/HbVtaBpK3R
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 27, 2016
Trump gave both Clinton and Holt a C+ grade.
#TrumpSniffles not true?
Last night Trump appeared to sniffle his way through the debate, the #Trumpsniffles hashtag trending thanks to the irony of Trump having heath issues after he’s drilled Clinton so hard on her own.
Except ... he claims it was a microphone issue and that he wasn’t sniffling.
“I had a problem with my mic that didn’t work, I wonder if it was set up on purpose. In the room they couldn’t hear me, not exactly great ... I wonder if it was set up that way,” said Trump.
He said his mic dropped in and out. “I don’t want to believe in conspiracy theories. But it was crackling. To me, it was a bad problem,” said Trump.
When he was specifically asked about the sniffling, he replied:
No, no sniffles. No, the mic was very bad, but maybe it was good enough to hear breathing. But no sniffles. No allergies. No cold.
So this was just a microphone?
#TrumpSniffles #debatenight pic.twitter.com/fpn9bA19bd
— Mashable News (@MashableNews) September 27, 2016
Biden’s review
Vice-president and Clinton supporter Joe Biden was on Facebook last night after the debate to criticize Trump over his bragging that he hadn’t paid federal taxes:
Donald Trump all but admitted he hasn’t paid federal taxes on his income. He says that makes him smart. But what does that say to the factory worker or the nurse or the teacher earning $40,000 or $50,000 or $60,000 a year and paying almost 15% of their income to support our troops, keep our neighborhoods safe and clean, and rebuild our roads? Does he really think these patriotic Americans are not smart? He’s a guy who is proud of a phrase he made famous: “You’re fired.”
In today’s campaign movements:
Trump is off to Melbourne, Florida, for a rally tonight (reporter Ben Jacobs will be there). His VP pick Mike Pence was supposed to hold and event in Wisconsin, but that’s since been cancelled. Clinton’s hosting a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, and has her surrogates out in force today. Her VP pick Tim Kaine has a canvass kickoff in Orlando, while husband Bill is hosting events in Ohio. Joe Biden will speak at a rally in Philadelphia.
Updated
