Clinton Takes the Debate

The 2016 presidential debate on Monday, September 26 was an awfully one-sided debate, as Hillary Clinton decisively beat Donald Trump because when Hillary was approached with questions, she used her extensive knowledge on worldly issues to answer them directly and provide thoughtful explanations as to how she intends to solve American problems.

While Trump often went on tirades without a destination, Hillary’s arguments were effective and to the point. An example of a well-thought out argument Hillary made was on the topic of race relations. Hillary recognized that race relations still remain an issue because of uncontrolled bias, a topic seldom talked about, and offered a plan to restore trust between communities. It was important that Hillary acknowledged her audience when making this argument because she had to appeal mainly to minority groups, such as the African American and Hispanic populations. Trump, on the other hand, while arguing solely about the importance of “law and order”, did not take into account the audience while he, unsurprisingly, made racist remarks, such as promoting the stop-and-frisk policy, a form of racial profiling.

Clinton came into the debate unsurprisingly well-prepared, using her broad knowledge not only to improve her arguments but also to slam Trump, damaging his case, while Trump had nothing in return to say but rather responded with irrelevant rants. One example of this was on the topic of tax returns when Hillary suggested that the reason Trump was not releasing his tax returns was because he was either not as wealthy as he claims, not as charitable as he claims, or overall does not pay federal taxes. Accused and defensive, Trump strayed from the topic to press Clinton on the issue of her deleted emails. Trump’s response is notable because it suggests that Hillary figured out what he was hiding.

Overall, Trump’s inexperience allowed Clinton to take the advantage in the debate. However, Clinton, herself, showcased her years experience and preparation in the 2016 presidential debate. By using her experience and Trump’s lack thereof, Clinton won the debate singlehandedly.