OPINION:
Monday night’s presidential debate was unlikely to change many minds — sway white, college-educated males and women to Donald Trump’s corner, or inspire African-Americans to turn out in the way they did for President Obama for Hillary Clinton.
Yes, she had the best night — but she’s also done 34 political debates before, and it was Mr. Trump’s first time one-on-one. There was no knockout blow, so it’s time to look to round two to see where Mr. Trump can make up some significant ground.
First, he needs to better push his outsider message. Mr. Trump did this for the first 25 minutes of the debate, talking about the economy and change. He had a good line calling out Mrs. Clinton’s 30 years of nothing, and how he’s more nimble and equipped to take on the status quo. In these minutes, Mr. Trump was winning.
He needs to continue to talk about the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Mrs. Clinton’s flip-flop on it, his growth-infused tax plan, and the overregulation of business. He needs to drive home Mrs. Clinton’s Wall Street connections, paid speeches to Goldman Sachs, and cozy relationships with lobbyists and banking insiders, who are her biggest donors. He needs to make the next debate about a referendum on Washington’s business as usual.
He also needs to go more on the offensive, even if that means not answering a question or passing on the opportunity to defend himself. Mr. Trump spent too much of Monday night safeguarding his own record instead of attacking Mrs. Clinton’s. Perhaps Mr. Trump was waiting for the tough questions to come to Mrs. Clinton by the moderator — they didn’t. It shouldn’t matter. Mr. Trump should be able to do this himself.
The first debate by the numbers, as calculated by the Republican National Committee, demonstrates just how easy Mrs. Clinton got off Monday night.
She was never asked about her aides being given immunity by the FBI because of her recklessness in setting up a private email server. She wasn’t held accountable for the multiple false statements she’s made about the server. No one asked her about her “basket of deplorables” insult of millions of Americans, of the Clinton Foundation pay-to-play accusations, of her lies and failures in Benghazi, of her support of failing Obamacare. Her Wall Street connections and support never came up, nor did her comments on the Veterans Affairs scandal that she arrogantly called “not so widespread.”
Mrs. Clinton never had to defend her comments about wanting to put thousands of coal-miners out of work, or why she deceived the country with concerns about her health.
The list of unaccounted questions, and rightful attacks are, long. All went unanswered.
Instead, we heard Mr. Trump double-down defending the origin of birtherism, the “small” loan his father gave him to start his business, the legal lawsuits he’s been engaged in, and his treatment toward women. These were all traps set by Mrs. Clinton that Mr. Trump walked in. She wanted to discuss these issues, so she could deflect from her own shortcomings, and in that regard, she was successful.
To demonstrate: Mr. Trump spent 741 words defending his tax returns and business record. Mrs. Clinton only spent 45 words discussing her emails.
But she also spent more time attacking, than she did laying out a clear decisive path forward for the country. I still have no idea what her slogan “Stronger Together” even means, other than free college tuition, free child care and pushing businesses into profit-sharing.
Mrs. Clinton spent more than 17 minutes attacking, compared to 10 minutes promoting her agenda. Mr. Trump, on the other hand, spent more time defending himself, than promoting his vision for America. That’s why there are no clear winners.
In the end, Monday night’s debate can be chalked up to a learning experience for Mr. Trump. Mrs. Clinton may gain a few points in some national polls, but it will be because she shored up her base, not reached or inspired independent voters.
For Mr. Trump’s detractors, Mr. Trump proved he could stand on a stage 90 minutes interrupted and go toe-to-toe with the former secretary of state who has been doing this her entire life. He was fearless, confident and won in his supporters’ minds.
In the end, however, Mr. Trump’s going to need to expand his base to get to the White House, and that means winning over white, college-educated men and women. His performance on Monday night didn’t hurt him in this regard, but it didn’t do him any favors, either.
Round two will have to be better.
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