Trump loses his temper, Clinton stays calm

In their first 2016 Presidential Debate, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump fought over many of the issues facing the United States of America.

While Trump did not change his past tactics and stuck with an aggressive approach during the 90-minute discourse, Clinton stayed calm and fought the Republican with facts. The seemingly under-prepared Trump was forced on the defensive when Clinton charged him with racism, sexism, and avoiding his taxes.

“He has a long record of engaging in racist behavior. And the birther lie was a very hurtful one”. The former secretary of state is referring to Trump raising the question about Obama’s citizenship. The Republican didn’t apologize for questioning if Obama was eligible to be President of the United States but instead praised himself for making the president produce his birth certificate.

The exchange between the two candidates got fiery when Trump pledged to finally release his tax return as soon as Clinton released the 33,000 emails that were deleted from her private home server. The attention did not stay on Clinton's emails but quickly shifted again to Trump refusing to release his tax returns. When Trump did not give an answer to the question of why, he gave Clinton the opportunity to speculate that he might not be as rich or charitable as he claims to be or that he is hiding something.

Clinton kept the agitated Trump on his heels when she attacked him because of his past controversial statements about the support of the Iraq war and climate change. The Republican nominee claimed that he was against the war back in 2002, even though he expressed support for the invasion of Iraq at the time. When Clinton called Trump out on thinking “climate change is a hoax by the Chinese,” he denied this past skepticism.

At times, moderator Lester Holt was challenged to control Trump. As the meeting wore on, the Republican repeatedly interrupted Clinton and raised his voice as he frequently launched into tirades.

In particular, Trump went after Clinton's record on trade. He pointed out that her husband Bill Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in the 1990s. “NAFTA is the worst trade deal maybe ever signed anywhere, but certainly ever signed in this country,” Trump said aggressively. Moreover, he brought attention to Clinton previously supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Even though Obama brokered the trade agreement, Clinton clarified that she no longer backed it. Trump then intervened again and began shouting repeatedly: “Is it President Obama’s fault?” Through this outbreak, Clinton stayed calm and just said, smiling wryly: “Donald, I know you live in your own reality.”

Donald Trump has already drawn a lot of attention to himself during his campaign. In the first Presidential Debate, he did not change his approach as he re-litigated many of his previous controversial comments. The Republican nominee seemed unprepared and thin-skinned as he often reacted aggressively. Hillary Clinton seized on her opponent’s uneven performance and loss of focus, as she stayed calm during Trump's frequent outbreaks and was able to force him back with her well-prepared facts.