By Julia Berkman
The first presidential debate took place on September 27 of this year. The two participants, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, took to the stage at Hofstra University for the first Presidential debate of this election. The reason this is considered the first debate is because all the previous debates have been intraparty, meaning that this is the first debate of the season to cross party lines.
As such, the event was met with the usual amount of controversy and spectacle. The host for the evening, Lester Holt, set up the rules of the debate: 90 minutes, structured into six 15 minute sections, focusing on three main issues. The presidential nominees then walked out onto the stage.
During the first segment, the two candidates spoke about their views on the American job economy. Clinton advocated for a higher minimum wage and equal pay. Trump focused mainly on bringing jobs from American companies back to the States.
Clinton struck a nerve with Trump, a businessman, when she spoke of her plan to raise the taxes on companies such as his. Trump, on the other hand, had a different plan: reducing business taxes from 35% to 15%. This plan has been compared to Reagan’s Trickle Down Economic scheme, which would tax companies less in order to allow them to raise the wages of their employees on their own.
Tax experts have estimated that this plan would indebt the United States a further five trillion dollars.
The two debated on, but not without controversy. Trump is one of the few investors in the United States to have benefitted from the housing market crash in 2008. Trump calls his personal economic boom simply business while Hillary Clinton notes the fact that he benefitted from a national economic disaster. Trump’s attacks on his opponent mainly focused on the fact that Clinton has been unable to market change in the her 30 years in American politics. The chaos was amplified in the second and third sections.
Trump’s accusations that Clinton has been unable to broker change are met by equally fevered accusations and controversy surrounding Trump’s taxes. Allegedly, Trump has not paid his taxes in 19 years. It’s easy to see where his distaste towards business tax comes from. He says he is under an audit currently, however, the IRS has stated you are allowed to release your taxes during the audit.
According to Clinton, Trump owes billions to wall street, and hasn’t paid any federal income tax. Trump replied that that makes him a smart businessman.
Trump focused in on the scandal surrounding Hillary’s emails, telling her she had a duty to release them to the American people. Clinton acknowledged that using a private email server was a mistake, while Trump said it was done purposely.
The main points of contention in this debate brought to light the sheer differences between the two candidates. In order to glean a clear view on who you support, watch the debate for yourself and see the candidates in action. It’s rife with pivotal information necessary in making a decision in the upcoming election.
Editor’s Note: This article has been published for informational purposes only. The AS Review does not endorse any particular political candidate.
