Who won the first Clinton-Trump presidential debate? Depends who you back.
“You’d be forgiven for thinking you witnessed two separate conversations side by side,” said MSNBC debate host Brian Williams as soon as the debate between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton finished on Monday night.
Those who are anti-Trump see him as an offensive bigot, while his supporters regard him as a straight-talker who says what others fear to say. Anti-Clinton types say she’s a liar with a history of scandals, while her supporters say she’s suffered years of a sexist media who claim she changes her opinions for political advantage.
That theme of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde appeared on Twitter. The Guardian followed well-known conservatives and well-known progressives to see how they viewed the debate in real time.
As suspected, each debate moment was viewed differently depending on the viewer.
It started with the outfits – Clinton in a bright red pantsuit (the traditional Republican color), while Trump dumped his red tie for a blue one.
Obama’s former speechwriter Jon Lovett:
Look at that power red next to that beta blue.
— Jon Lovett (@jonlovett) September 27, 2016
Conservative columnist – but #neverTrumper – Ben Shapiro:
Hillary wears Communist red. Trump wears the Serious Face. https://t.co/p1BZLeg4EQ
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 27, 2016
Then, the focus turned to trade deals. One of Trump’s key arguments is that he is against trade deals such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Nafta, and that Clinton only withdrew her support of TPP because she realized the popularity of Trump’s policy. Their discussion of trade in the debate tonight created one the most aggressive moments between the two.
Trump backers saw it as a great moment, with the Republican nominee pushing back against Clinton. Justin Raimondo, the author of Reclaiming the American Right: Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement, tweeted: “He’s slaughtering her.” Conservative commenter AJ Delgado declared: “Trump is ON FIRE!!!!!” and John Hayward, a Breitbart News reporter, saw it as Trump “killing” Clinton:
Wow.. Trump killing Clinton on NAFTA. She has no idea what to do except repeat B.S. talking points.
— John Hayward (@Doc_0) September 27, 2016
On the progressive side, the exchange was viewed as an example of Trump interrupting and attacking Clinton in an aggressive, sexist manner. Reporter Julia Ioffe asked: “How many women watching now are remembering men in their lives who yelled at them wouldn’t let them talk?”
“Donald Trump can’t help himself. He’s drunk, ractist[sic] uncle at Thanksgiving,” tweeted progressive Russell Drew. Franklin Foer, a former editor at the New Republic who’s spoken actively against Trump, saw Clinton’s calm demeanor as a win for her:
I'm becoming a better parent tonight learning from Hillary Clinton's patience and even demeanor.
— Franklin Foer (@FranklinFoer) September 27, 2016
Trump relishes describing himself as a businessman and a billionaire, but Clinton pointed out that his businesses have filed for bankruptcy on six occasions. In response, Trump remarked that he’s just opened a hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC, on the same street as the White House.
Charlie Kirk, director of conservative action group Turning Point USA, saw that as a win for Trump:
Trump got rich by creating phenomenal buildings and structures.
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 27, 2016
Hillary got rich by selling out America to foreign adversaries.
The president of the Center for American Progress, Neera Tanden, did not:
He's hocking his hotel.
— Neera Tanden (@neeratanden) September 27, 2016
This whole thing is a take on all of us.
Towards the end, Trump questioned Clinton’s stamina. She retorted that she’d travelled to hundreds of countries, organized significant world deals and testified in front of Congress for 11 hours straight. For anti-Clinton types, her answer was exactly what they wanted, since it referenced Benghazi.
“Did Hillary just brag about having to testify for a long time?” asked the head writer of Glenn Beck’s program.
“Oh, goody, the worst SecState in modern history is going to brag about her frequent flyer miles as a resume point,” added Heyward from Breitbart News.
But her supporters saw it as the perfect answer, explaining all her experience in one short sentence.
“Don’t tell American women they don’t have stamina,” wrote Karen Hinton, former spokeswoman for New York City mayor Bill de Blasio.
“Trump saying HRC doesn’t have stamina to be POTUS. She’s certainly showing the vigor & stamina to take it to him in this debate,” said Democratic senator Corey Booker of New Jersey. Shortly after the debate, Clinton addressed a debate-watch party, giving her supporters even more reason to tweet about her “stamina”.
As film-maker Michael Moore tweeted:
While they're trying 2 load Old Man Donald into his car,Hillary is now in Westbury at a debate watch event giving a rousing speech #stamina
— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) September 27, 2016
But who won the night?
Easy – assuming you’ve got your allegiances organized already.
@realDonaldTrump wins. Period.
— Jeff Lord (@realJeffreyLord) September 27, 2016
Clinton won the debate. I'll happily accept the award for "stating the obvious"
— Michael Cohen (@speechboy71) September 27, 2016
