The first of three debates between GOP’s Donald Trump and Democrat’s Hillary Clinton will begin at 7:30 p.m. Here are some things worth paying attention to:
1. Who will Trump be?
The mogul’s unpredictability may affect him in the first presidential debate. | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The biggest question of this debate is which version of Trump will show up. Clinton will be the same person we’ve seen since the 1990s. Trump, on the other hand, is a different beast.
During the primary debates we saw a completely unhinged Trump, a man who said whatever he wanted. We’ve also seen him act statesmanlike at times.
No one is sure who he is going to be. We’ll see if he was coached to behave orderly, or if he’ll be the Trump with no filter.
2. Strategy
New national Bloomberg poll just released – thank you! Join the MOVEMENT: https://t.co/3KWOl2ibaW. #TrumpTrain #MAGA pic.twitter.com/4kQX4pmt0I
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2016
Trump is entering this debate looking to make an impact and continue his rise in the polls. But what will be his strategy? Will he attack Clinton or will he let Clinton go on the offense?
There are a lot of questions about what he will do and it will be interesting to see what Trump, or his team and he, has come up with. His strategy is integral to how he will be treated during and after the debate.
3. Agenda
It’ll be interesting to see if Trump focuses on policy. Since the primary debates, he has released a slew of policies that he never discussed in his first debates. During the primaries, he mostly relied on using language to provoke and not much on elaborating policies.
For tonight, repeatedly saying to build a wall is not going to cut it. The question is whether he’ll reference his policy in order to win supporters or if he’ll keep saying the right things.
4. Lester Holt
NBC’s Lester Holt announces the topics for the 9/26 presidential debate:
America’s Direction
Achieving Prosperity
Securing America— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) September 19, 2016
No one in their right mind wants to be Holt tonight. Trump has an interesting relationship with moderators: He will either let them be or continuously go after them to show how “unfair” they are.
I expect Trump will be pretty civil toward Holt, seeing that as the “NBC Nightly News” host is a registered Republican. However, with Trump, nothing is certain.
5. Nicknames
ABC News wrote an article May detailing all the nicknames Trump has branded on his opponents. | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Trump, for all his faults, is amazing at inventing nicknames and using them to a sometimes annoying degree. Throughout the primaries, he never went too long without saying “Little Marco” or “Lyin’ Ted.”
It’s not a question of whether he’ll be saying “Crooked Hillary” or “Corrupt Kaine,” but how many times he’ll use them.
6. Clinton’s pedigree
Clinton has more political experience than Trump thanks to her five years as secretary of state. | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Expect Clinton to be confident. She will cite her long history in politics and prove that she has more knowledge in the field more than Trump.
But this method may not be effective against Trump. This is not because I think Trump will be cool under pressure, but rather because he will talk his way around the issues.
Then again, Clinton could do a repeat of the night when then-Democratic nominee Barack Obama faced and lost to Mitt Romney. Pedigree doesn’t equal success in debate stage.
7. Push toward policy
Clinton will definitely push Trump to talk actual policies, asking him to dissect the issues or elaborate on what he would do instead. Unless something drastic has happened in the last few hours, this will not work in Trump’s favor.
I am not sure how he managed to do this during the GOP debates, but he will have a hard time avoiding questions and spewing rhetoric when this is expected to be the most-watched debate in history.
8. Emails, again
Expect Trump to remind the audience of Clinton’s failure as secretary of state to properly handle classified information.
Despite how often people defend Clinton’s actions, she was reckless with her emails and wanted to assume the most powerful position in our government. Trump would be smart to push this issue in the debate.
9. Moderator/fact checker
With so much buzz for this debate it seems that everyone is being scrutinized, including host of “NBC Nightly News” Lester Holt who will be the moderator.
Democrats have pushed the idea that Holt should fact-check Trump since he is known for his less-than-factual rhetoric. We will see how Holt handles both candidates tonight, but I wouldn’t hold your breath for any major clashes.
https://twitter.com/twitter/status/780396679535005696
10. Large audience
Tonight’s debate is expected to bring in more than 100 million viewers and that’s with Monday Night Football on at the same time. The debate itself will be 90 minutes without commercials and the candidates’ first true test in front of the nation.
The stage is set for what may be a pivotal night in the election as Trump and Clinton are polling within one or two points nationally. Don’t forget to tune in and be a part of history tonight at 7:30 p.m.
Senior staff columnist Jorden Smith and opinion editor Frank Campos can be reached at [email protected]
Hillary Clinton looked healthy tonite. Looks like the Anti-Seizure medications are working … at least for 90 minutes.
Hillary Clinton looked healthy tonite. Looks like the Anti-Seizure medications are working … at least for 90 minutes.