The first presidential debate was one of the most important events of the 2016 presidential election. It was the first opportunity for a majority of Americans to see Donald Trump up close outside of the plethora of soundbites and out-of-context quotes. Despite dropping in the polls, I believe that this debate was instrumental in his election as president. For that reason, I chose the first section of the first debate (approx. first 20 min) for this blog.
Trump’s high points
Overall, I found that Trump performed very well. Even though the question that started the sequence of debate was to Hillary, I thought he did a very good job of controlling the pace and demanding attention. The highest point of the debate for Trump was when he outlined his plan for increasing taxes to foreign countries that will help keep jobs in America. This has been an issue that he has garnered a lot of support from the normally democratic voting uneducated white voters. Another overall plus from this section is the fact that he showed the American voters that he isn’t always just spewing racist or misogynistic statements. This made him seem like a much more legitimate candidate at the time. The next aspect that he did a very good job of was rebutting Hillary’s comments regarding the loan his parents gave him. He turned the negative into a positive. Trump did that by discussing how he turned that loan into a multi-billion dollar company and how he plans to do that with the United States Economy
Trump’s Low points
In the section of the debate that I studied, Trump had only one very weak point. He was visibly flustered (no shocker here) when Hillary pulled out a quote of his regarding the housing crisis. When she pulled out the quote, "I sort of hope that happens because then people like me would go in and buy,”, he cut her off by saying, “That’s business”. By cutting her off, he showed weakness and the bad temper that many of his opponents are fearful of. Aside from this gaffe, I didn't see any other major issues with his debating style in the first section of the debate.
Suggestions?
If I was Trump’s advisor,e I would tell him a couple of things to try. For one, stick to the red power tie! It was his marquee look, and it really did demand attention and respect. The second suggestion I would make to him would be to know that you're going to get attacked and sometimes you need to brush it off. By brushing off some attacks it would change ideas about him in the electorate and place him in a position of control. The final suggestion that i would make to Donald Trump is more of a critique on his speaking style. I would tell him to ease off the constant hand gestures and limit them to points that need extra emphasis.
Possible talking point issues?
In the section of the debate that I studied, the issues in discussion was narrowed to closing the wage gap and maintaining more jobs. The talking point issue that Trump could have fit into this section would be bringing jobs to the inner cities, and doing so not just by saying we’re going to clean up the gangs. This could have been a huge opportunity to present a plan to help minorities. A half decent sounding plan could have helped gain at least a small section of African-American voters. Just in general, if a Republican candidate can find a way to tap that voter block, it would end any chance of a Democratic victory.
Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/19/politics/donald-trump-2006-hopes-real-estate-market-crashes/index.html
Dan, I agree with your interpretation of Trump's high points during the first 20 minutes of the debate. In certain instances he does a great job of going into detail on how trade deals and taxes on imports work in our country. Also his rebuttal to Hillary's attack on his $14 million dollar loan received from his dad was also very strong, and seemed to work in his favor. However, I remember watching this debate back when it aired, and unfortunately for Trump the rest of the debate didn't go this well. Great blog post Dan!
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