by Alec Williams
The most-watched presidential debate in American history was aired Monday, Sept. 26, between the most unfavorable candidates, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, in American history.
The debate, moderated by NBC’s Lester Holt, was streamed live and viewed on multiple platforms and outlets by an estimated 81.4 million Americans at home; surpassing the previous record of 80.6 million from the Reagan-Carter debate in 1980.
The debate began with the two candidates meeting on stage before the audience at Hofstra University in New York, shaking hands with wide smiles.
“Donald, it’s good to be with you,” Clinton said.
The topics weaved between economy and military, where Trump criticized Clinton for publishing her plan to defeat ISIS on her website.
“I don’t think Gen. Douglas MacArthur would like that,” Trump said.
Clinton, who served as secretary of state for the Obama administration was questioned on only a few occasions concerning her email controversy, in which she had used a private server, possibly endangering classified information. Holt brought the conversation towards the topic, but was not discussed for long.
“I made a mistake using private email,” Clinton said.
“That’s for sure,” Trump said.
Clinton was not the only candidate who faced questioning from Holt. Trump was asked questions concerning his tax returns, of which he has not released to the public, an action that goes against 40 years of presidential election tradition.
“That makes me smart,” Trump said when Clinton was arguing that he probably does not pay his income taxes.
“Maybe he’s not as rich as he says he is,” Clinton said. “There is something he’s hiding […] Who does he owe money to?”
The 90-minute debate was filled with blows from both sides, as the two candidates entered with a long history of controversy and complicated honesty. Both candidates are viewed as the most disliked based on the Roper Center polls.
“I had a feeling by the end of this evening that I’d be blamed for everything,” Clinton said during the debate as Trump interjected “Why not?” To a response of laughter from the crowd who had been fruitlessly asked by Holt and administrators to keep noise to a minimum.
Holt also had difficulties with interruptions between the two candidates, which FiveThirtyEight kept record of, Trump interrupted 27 times to Clinton’s five.
Political analysts following the debate have called it a victory for Clinton, but the polls have yet to determine if this has made a difference.
“I think Donald just criticized me for preparing for this debate. And, yes, I did. You know what else I prepared for? I prepared to be president. And I think that’s a good thing,” Clinton said.
Trump and Clinton will meet on stage again Sunday, Oct. 9, and will be moderated by CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
