Trump fumbles as Clinton stands her ground during first presidential debate

Clinton repeatedly puts Trump on defensive, accusing him of perpetrating a ‘racist lie’ with birther movement and ‘stiffing thousands’ of blue-collar workers

Donald Trump angrily defended his record against charges of racism, sexism and tax avoidance
Donald Trump angrily defended his record against charges of racism, sexism and tax avoidance

 

Democrat Hillary Clinton accused Republican Donald Trump of racism, sexism and tax avoidance on Monday, putting him on the defensive during a debate that a snap poll said boosted her White House chances.

Goaded by Clinton and pressed hard by moderator Lester Holt, the Republican nominee angrily defended his record against charges of racism, sexism and tax avoidance for much of the 90-minute clash at Hofstra University, outside New York.

Trump hit Clinton on trade and her political record, saying her long years of service represented "bad experience" with few results and said she lacked the stamina to serve as commander-in-chief.

“It’s all words, it’s all soundbites,” he retorted after a particularly one-sided exchange, adding that Clinton was a “typical politician: all talk, no action”.

“Words matter when you run for president, and they really do matter when you are president,” Clinton retorted.

Trump was sniffing and sounded nasally congested, and quickly grew agitated, repeatedly interrupting Clinton and often shouting over her as she attempted to respond to questions.

Trump suggested Clinton’s disavowal of a trade deal with Asian countries was insincere. Her handling of a nuclear deal with Iran and Islamic State militancy were disasters, he argued.

But the Democratic nominee seized on Trump’s meandering responses and apparent loss of focus.

“I think Donald just criticised me for preparing for this debate. And yes I did. You know what else I did? I prepared to be president,” she added.

In one of their more heated exchanges, Clinton accused Trump of promulgating a "racist lie" by suggesting Obama, the first US African-American president, was not born in the United States.

The president, who was born in Hawaii, released a long-form birth certificate in 2011 to put the issue to rest. Only this month did Trump say publicly that he believed Obama was U.S.-born.

"He (Trump) has really started his political activity based on this racist lie that our first black president was not an American citizen. There was absolutely no evidence for it. But he persisted. He persisted year after year," Clinton said.

“He has a long record of engaging in racist behaviour. And the birther lie was a very hurtful one,” she added.

She also accused him of “stiffing thousands” of contractors by declaring bankruptcy as a businessman, suggesting that Trump was refusing to release his tax returns to avoid showing Americans he paid next to nothing in federal taxes or that he is not as wealthy as he says he is.

In a closing argument Clinton also highlighted Trump’s record of sexism, noting that he had called women pigs and slobs and, in one case, called a beauty contest Miss Housekeeping “because she was Latina”.

In turn, Trump attacked Clinton’s suitability as president based on her endurance. “She doesn’t have the look and she doesn’t have the stamina,” he said. “I’ve been all over the place. You decided to stay home,” he added.

To this, Clinton replied: "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."

Trump aggressively went after Clinton’s record on trade, interjecting as she spoke, by pointing to her husband Bill Clinton’s signing of Nafta in the 1990s. Clinton immediately jabbed at Trump, making reference to the $14 million that the Republican nominee got in a series of loans from his father, Fred, to start his business empire.  Trump immediately fired back, insisting that “it was only a small loan” from his father.

Trump then knocked Clinton for previously supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the landmark 12-nation trade pact brokered under the Obama administration. When Clinton sought to clarify that she no longer backed the agreement, Trump intervened again and began drowning her out with shouts of: “Is it President Obama’s fault? Is it President Obama’s fault?”

Moderator Lester Holt appeared to struggle to remain on topic as Trump and Clinton traded barbs that wavered between policy and the personal.

Trump campaign spokesperson Boris Epsheteyn criticised Holt, claiming bias. “Lester Holt interrupted Trump more. He followed up with Trump more. He was much harder on Trump.” However, Trump himself said that he thought Holt did “a great job”.

According to reports by the Guardian, aides to Clinton said they had expected Trump to showcase a more subdued demeanour, citing his efforts in recent weeks to stick to a teleprompter on the campaign trail and tone down his pomposity.

“We thought we’d see a more disciplined Trump tonight – maybe someone who’d try to steal an early headline with a gesture of grace and show some magnanimity,” a spokesperson for Clinton, Brian Fallon, said. “Instead, this was the same Donald Trump in the primary. Which, of course, is the true Trump.”