Clinton and Trump go after each other in heated 90-minute debate

With rhetoric ranging from bellicose to boisterous to pointed, the candidates take each other to task in the first of three televised showdowns

By AFP and ToI Staff 27 September 2016, 10:50 am

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Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump traded insults and sparred over temperament, stamina and judgment Monday, in a fiery US presidential debate that often saw the Republican on the back foot.

With six weeks until election day and polls showing a virtual dead heat, the Democrat Clinton repeatedly questioned her rival’s fitness to serve in the Oval Office throughout the 90 minute bout.

As fact checkers struggled to keep up, the two candidates put on a show of pointed political rhetoric and oh so much more for an estimated 100 million viewers.

An annotated transcript of the full debate, courtesy of The Washington Post, can be read here.

A far cry from more staid political debates of past years, the candidates traded brusque quips and often spoke above one-another as moderator Lester Holt tried to keep the clash from going off the rails.

Clinton painted the celebrity real estate mogul as fatally out of touch and willing to say “crazy things” to get elected, while Trump said his opponent’s record proved she wasn’t fit for the job.

“You live in your own reality” said the 68-year old Democrat, accusing Trump of launching his political career on the “racist lie” that Barack Obama is not American.

“Let me tell you, Hillary has experience. But it’s bad, bad experience,” quipped the 70-year-old billionaire in response, accusing the former secretary of state, first lady and US senator of being a “typical politician. All talk, no action. Sounds good, doesn’t work.”

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks as Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clintonlistens during the Presidential Debate at Hofstra University on September 26, 2016 in Hempstead, New York. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP)

Trump began the keenly awaited debate at New York’s Hofstra University with a more restrained tone, even ditching his red power tie for a more statesmanlike blue. But as the temperature rose, he quickly brought out the verbal brickbats, repeatedly interrupting Clinton and even questioning her stamina after a bout of pneumonia.

“Well, as soon as he travels to 112 countries and negotiates a peace deal, a ceasefire, a release of dissidents… or even spends 11 hours testifying in front of a congressional committee, he can talk to me about stamina,” Clinton shot back.

If they were evenly matched at first, Trump appeared to get more irritated and riled, at one point rolling his eyes and emitting a frustrated “ugh.”

In a snap CNN poll of 521 voters, 62 percent judged that Clinton had won the debate, against 27 percent for Trump.