The Green Papers
The Green Papers
Commentary

Monday 26 September 2016: 1st US PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE (of 3)
at Hofstra University- Hempstead, New York
scheduled for 90 minutes starting 9 PM Eastern Time US [0100 GMT]

redacted Tweets
by RICHARD E. BERG-ANDERSSON
TheGreenPapers.com Staff
Wed 28 Sep 2016

EDITOR's NOTE: All Tweets below have been redacted (where necessary) within their original sequence.


Simply waiting for the 1st Presidential Debate to start

"Scoring" the Debate using the 'Ten Point Must' system (10 points to the winner of a "round", a single digit for the other)
EDITOR's Note: A more complete explanation of this "scoring" method, as applied to these Debates, can be found here

Moderator LESTER HOLT of NBC now introduces the Debate

Now Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump each take the stage

1st question to each: Why are you a better choice for growing the number of jobs in America?

Hillary Clinton answers first: addresses job inequality and such things as paid family leave and equal pay for women

Donald Trump claims China and other countries are using the USA as "a piggy bank" killing jobs

Trump: "We have to stop our jobs from being stolen from us"

Hillary Clinton: "We need to have smart, fair trade deals [and] a tax system that rewards hard work"

Hillary Clinton criticizes what she calls "trumped-up trickle-down"

Hillary Clinton: "The more we can invest in you", the better off the USA will be

Trump: "When we sell into Mexico, there's a tax; when they sell to us, there's no tax"

Trump:"The NAFTA agreement is defective"

Trump (on how to create more American jobs): "We have to make sure the companies don't leave"

Trump: in many cases, "the Special Interests own the companies [that are leaving]"

Clinton claims Trump "rooted for" the housing crisis that helped trigger the so-called 'Great Recession'

Clinton: Trump's "tax plan would blow up the debt... we would lose... jobs"

Trump is commenting (saying he did not say what she claims he did) while Mrs. Clinton speaks

Trump: The USA "investing in a solar company" was "a disaster"

Trump to "Hillary": "I will bring back jobs, you can't bring back jobs"

Hillary Clinton: while in the Senate, "I had to consider many trade deals [and voted against a number of them]"

Trump: "NAFTA was one of the worst things that happened to manufacturing... one of the worst trade deals"

Hillary Clinton (on Trump's criticism of NAFTA): "That is not accurate"

Hillary Clinton: we need "more investment... [not] more tax cuts"

Trump:"You have no plan"; Clinton: "That's not true"

Trump: "You're going to raise taxes; I'm going to cut taxes"

Clinton: "the wealthy... have made all the gains in the economy"

Trump: "No wonder you've been fighting ISIS all your adult life" [??!!]

Clinton: "I have a feeling I'm going to be blamed for a lot of things [in this debate]"

Trump: "We've had the worst revival in the economy since the Depression... a big, fat ugly bump"

Trump: the USA is "being ripped off by every single country in the world"

Trump says he will release his income tax returns as soon as the audit is completed and Clinton releases "the e-mails"

Hillary Clinton is openly speculating on why Trump is not releasing his tax returns

Clinton: "There is something [Trump]'s hiding"

Trump: Clinton using a private e-mail server was "more than a mistake, it was on purpose"

Trump: "I could give you a list of [my] banks" (NOTE: as a former Credit Manager, *I* say 'this might work if banks are forthcoming')

Clinton claims Trump's business was built "on the backs of the little guy" whom Trump refused to pay

Trump: "Maybe I was unsatisfied with [the] work" done by those he hasn't paid and says the USA should do the same

Trump dismisses Clinton's criticism of his business acumen: "It's all words, it's all sound bites"

Trump: his company is "way under budget and way ahead of schedule" re: the Old [DC] Post Office redevelopment

Clinton (on race relations): "Everybody should be respected by the Law... this is not always the case"

Clinton: "The Gun Epidemic is the leading cause of death among young African-Americans"

Trump: "Secretary Clinton does not want to use the words Law and Order"

Trump: [in Inner Cities] "African-Americans and Hispanics are living in Hell"

Trump: "We have to take the guns away from people who shouldn't have them... bad people"

Trump: "We need Law and Order and we need Law and Order in the Inner Cities"

Clinton: Trump [at his rallies] has painted "a dire picture of the Black Community"

Clinton: young African-American men are "more likely to be arrested, charged, convicted and incarcerated"

Clinton: "We've got too many military style weapons on our streets... our police are outgunned"

Trump: "[a city getting down to] 500 murders is supposed to be good?"; Clinton: "One murder is one too many"

Trump: "The African-American community is being let down by politicans... abused and used to get votes"

Clinton: "Trump was criticizing me for preparing for this debate: yes, I did... I've also been preparing to be President"

Trump claims that Clinton allies also looked into whether or not President Obama was born in Kenya

Clinton: Trump's 'Birtherism' "cannot be dismissed" [despite Trump now trying to put it behind him]

Clinton [on the Birther issue & quoting Michelle Obama]: " 'When they go low, we go high' and President Obama went high"

Trump [on a 1970s lawsuit re: racial discrimination on his properties]: "I settled with no admission of guilt"

Clinton: Trump "is praiseworthy about Vladimir Putin" even though Russia is a threat to American cybersecurity

Clinton: "We will defend the citizens of this country and Russia has to understand that"

Trump (on his endorsements): "I will take the admirals and the generals over the political hacks"

Trump: "We don't know [that it was Russia] that hacked into the Democratic National Committee"

Clinton: "I would do everything we can to take out [ISIS] leadership"

Trump: Clinton and Obama "created a vacuum" with the way US troops were withdrawn from Iraq

Clinton: "George W. Bush made the agreement [as to when to withdraw US troops from Iraq], not Barack Obama"

Clinton: Trump "has been insulting Muslims abroad, Muslims at home when we need [Muslim] cooperation"

Trump: "I said 'NATO does not focus on Terror'... and it now does [because of what Trump had said]"

Trump: "I have much better judgment than she does, there is no question: I also have a much better temperament"

Clinton (after Trump's claim that she has "horrible temperament"): "WHEW! Okay" which draws some laughter among the audience

Clinton criticizes Trump's "cavalier attitude" toward nuclear weapons... Trump: "Not accurate at all"

Trump (after listing allied countries we defend): "They don't pay us!... they have to help us out"

Trump (on USA's long-standing policy of No First [Nuclear] Strike): "I can't take anything off the table"

Trump: the Iran nuclear deal is "one of the worst deals made by any country in history"

Clinton: "We have mutual defense treaties and we will honor them"

Clinton likens Trump's approach to Iran to his ideas on ISIS: "It's a secret plan but the only secret is that he has no plan"

Trump: "I want to help all of our allies, but...we cannot be the policeman of the world"

Clinton: "As soon as he travels to 112 countries... he can talk to me about stamina"

Trump: "Hillary has experience, but it's bad experience... our country cannot have four years of that experience"

Clinton (on whether she will accept the results of the election): "I support our Democracy"

Trump (on whether he will accept the results of the election): "If she wins, I will absolutely support her"

A tough one to 'score' because of the format (long segments allowing all too much segueing into side areas during same)

on Jobs [ostensibly the subject of the 1st segment]: Clinton 10, Trump 9 (Donald, you pay people for work they've already done-- it's not a tip!)

on Taxes [2nd segment]: Trump 10, Clinton 9 (Hillary widely speculating about why Trump hasn't released his tax returns with no data: not helpful!)

on Race Relations [3rd segment]: Clinton 10, Trump 9 (Trump settling a lawsuit without admitting wrongdoing is *not* exoneration!)

on Cybersecurity [4th segment]: Clinton 10, Trump 9 (Trump should have stayed away from using info. from hacking he had only just decried)

on Fighting ISIS [5th segment]: Clinton 10, Trump 9 (re: Trump earlier saying she has fought ISIS "her entire adult life" being rather bizarre)

on Nukes [6th segment]: Clinton 10, Trump 9 (re: Clinton pointing out that mutual defense agreements can't simply be ignored)

Final score: Clinton 59, Trump 55 *but* it surely was *not* a "slam dunk" for Hillary-- she still needs the remaining two

Modified .