Tag: presidential debates

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The Two Moments From The 3rd Presidential Debate Everyone Is Talking About

Instead of recapping the entire third presidential debate last night, I’ll just get to the two moments that grabbed everyone’s attention.

The first was Donald Trump’s attempt to treat the debate like the finale of a reality TV show when he announced he would decide at a later date whether or not he would accept the results of the election.

From CBS News:

On the University of Nevada debate stage in Las Vegas, Trump was asked point-blank whether he would “absolutely accept” the result of this election.

His response: “I will look at it at the time. I’m not looking at anything now. I’ll look at it at the time.”

The statement came just hours after his own vice presidential nominee, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, told CNN in a pre-debate interview: “I’ve said before that we’ll certainly accept the outcome of this election.”

Debate moderator Chris Wallace, of Fox News, pressed Trump on the “tradition in this country” of the election loser conceding, allowing for a “peaceful transition of power.”

“Are you saying you’re not prepared now to commit to that principle?” Wallace asked.

“What I’m saying is that I will tell you at the time,” Trump replied. “I’ll keep you in suspense. OK?”

The second moment came near the very end when Trump interrupted Hillary Clinton to say she was “such a nasty woman.”

Here’s how folks in the political world scored the two candidates:

“She devastated him. He melted down. His refusal to accept the results of this election disqualifies him automatically from any office in the United States. There were several areas where he was utterly incoherent, grasping at ‘facts,’ without any understanding of policy. His personal foulness emerged.” – Andrew Sullivan for New York Magazine

“He should have said he would accept the results of the election. There is no other option unless we’re in a recount again.” – conservative pundit Laura Ingraham

“This was the Democratic nominee’s best debate performance. She finally figured out the right calibration of ignoring and engaging Trump.” – Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post

“Clinton really is doing well tonight. Again and again, she’s taken Trump apart.” – James Astill of The Economist

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Bill Clinton & Melania Trump Will Not Cross Paths Before Tonight’s Presidential Debate

According to the New York Times, the spouses and children of the two presidential candidates will not cross paths as they enter the third and final debate tonight in Las Vegas.

You’ll remember at the last debate, the Trump campaign attempted to seat past accusers of Bill Clinton in the Trump family VIP seating meaning he would have been face to face with the women at the top of the evening.

The Clinton side is not taking any chances at the final presidential debate, on Wednesday night in Las Vegas, and has apparently gained approval of a different protocol for the entry of the candidates’ spouses and families into the debate hall.

The new arrangement calls for the candidates’ spouses to enter the hall closer to their seats, rather than crossing the room, and each other’s paths. That would avoid any potential for confrontations, given Mr. Trump’s penchant for dramatic stunts.

On Tuesday, an aide to Mrs. Clinton declined to comment on the change, and aides to Mr. Trump did not respond to an email seeking comment. It is possible, of course, that further negotiations could result in a different arrangement, if both sides agree, by the time the debate begins at 9 p.m. Eastern.

But the unease over how the candidates’ families interact echoes that of the candidates themselves. At the debate in St. Louis, in a striking departure from tradition, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump did not shake hands at the start, though they did at the conclusion of the 90 minutes.

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Hillary Clinton Wins 2nd Presidential Debate 57% – 34%

Debate watchers gave the win to Democrat Hillary Clinton for last night’s 2nd presidential debate.

The CNN/ORC poll taken right after the 90 minute face-off showed 57% felt Hillary was the victor, while 34% thought Donald Trump came out on top.

According to YouGov’s post-debate poll, Hillary Clinton won the debate against Donald Trump by 47% to 42%.

She was also considered “more Presidential” by a 57% to 31% margin.

Check out how the viewers broke it down via gender:

 
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Donald Trump’s #PussyGate Scandal Will Be First Topic At Tonight’s Presidential Debate

According to CNN, debate moderators Anderson Cooper and Martha Raddatz will bring up Donald Trump’s scandalous #PussyGate controversy right out of the gate tonight.

Hillary Clinton won the coin toss, so she will get the first question.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Trump campaign adviser and surrogate, told political news shows this morning that Trump will most likely apologize again for his crude language on the tape.

However, Trump has begun to resurrect via Twitter the allegations of Juanita Broaddrick (who has asserted then denied that Bill Clinton raped her in 1978)  in an attempt to deflect responsibility.

During the 90 minute town hall style debate, the moderators get to to choose the topics and audience participant’s questions. According to the Commission on Presidential Debates, all 40 of the voters attending the debate (chosen by Gallup) are described as “uncommitted voters.”

CNN also notes that the moderators will look to “to include topics that were not covered during the first debate, plus campaign storylines — like the Trump tape fallout — that have happened since then.”

The debate will air on all major networks beginning at 9PM ET/6PM PT.

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Vice-Presidential Debate Recap: Pence Wins On Style, Kaine Wins On Substance

Last night, voters got to see their vice-presidential candidates – Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Republican Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana – face off for the one and only time this election cycle.

While Kaine had some issues with style (the interrupting from the get-go was a bit off-putting), he did what he needed to do. And that was bring up all the distasteful things Trump has said throughout the campaign, which Pence tried to deny.

Pence was successful in looking calm and presidential, hoping to tamp down some of the fallout from last week’s first presidential debate where his running mate Donald Trump ran off the rails a bit.

As an LGBT advocate, I was disappointed that Kaine didn’t take an opportunity to highlight Pence’s virulently anti-LGBT record, which I’ve documented many times here on The Randy Report. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow felt the same way.

It did seem Kaine got under Pence’s skin a bit by bringing up Trump’s anti-Mexican comments. At one point Pence turned to Kaine and said, “You whipped out that Mexican thing again,” which immediately became an Internet meme.

The CNN/ORC poll right after the debate showed Pence won by a narrow margin. A CNN focus group of undecided voters, however, felt Kaine was the victor.

However, when it came to who defended their running mate better, Kaine won by a wide margin.

In the end, I don’t think the debate will move the needle much in either direction. As others have said, Pence helped Pence while Kaine helped Clinton. Kaine knew exactly what he was doing.

Kaine’s pugnacious performance made it possible to produce videos like the two below, which are devastating to the Trump/Pence campaign.