Washington: In one of the most watched, highly anticipated political showdowns in US history, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump today for the first time took the stage in the first presidential debate.
The stakes were high as Clinton and Trump are close in the polls and the debate kicked off the final, six-week leg of the general election. The two candidates are scheduled to face off for two more debates next month, while their running mates, Tim Kaine and Mike Pence, are set to meet next week.
The first presidential debate was moderated by Lester Holt of NBC News while Pence, Rudy Giuliani, Chuck Schumer, Don King, Bobby Knight and Mark Cuban were among the invited guests in the audience.
As far as the answer to the question – Who won the first presidential debate – CNN poll of debate watchers found Clinton win. CNN conducted a poll of debate watchers, which the network cautioned was a slightly more Democratic sample.
Debate watchers found Hillary Clinton well prepared. It was clear that Clinton came into the debate with policies and punchlines at her fingertips.
However, Trump’s supporters criticised her for spending weeks doing debate prep rather than talking to everyday Americans. Trump himself too dismissed Clinton during the debate as a “typical politician”.
Clinton was unapologetic however.
“Donald just criticized me for preparing for this debate. I did. You know what else I did? I prepared to be president,” she said.
Analysts are of the view that the debate performance has improved Clinton’s odds.
Trump however claimed victory after the end of debate. He spoke to reporters after stepping offstage, and said he had already seen online polls declaring him the victor.
Trump also praised Lester Holt, the moderator, and himself- for declining to bring up accusations against Bill Clinton.