Top Moments From Trump and Clinton's First Presidential Debate 3:44
Analysis: Hillary Clinton's Studies for Debate With Donald Trump Pay Off
Politics 2016 Presidential Debates Sep 27 2016, 8:00 am ET
Analysis: Hillary Clinton's Studies for Debate With Donald Trump Pay Off
by Benjy Sarlin and Alex Seitz-Wald
In a battle of preparation versus instincts, preparation won in a major way.
For weeks, Democrats worried that a newer, more disciplined, more effective Donald Trump might emerge during their first debate and benefit from low expectations to steal a win from the more experienced Hillary Clinton.
Instead, Clinton gained the upper hand early as Trump grew defensive over personal attacks, dissembled or contradicted himself on key issues, and reopened old wounds on gender and race along the way.
He sniffed and huffed his way through the debate, calling Clinton's treatment of him "not nice" and insisting of her attacks, "I don't deserve that."
Put-Downs and Comebacks: The Best Zingers From Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton 1:25
Afterwards, Trump backers in the spin room derided Clinton's performance as canned, playing up Trump's unscripted authenticity. Spokesman Jason Miller called her "very programmed." Former "Apprentice" contestant Omarosa Manigault called Clinton "robotic and prepared." Several surrogates said she was "willing to say anything."
They had a point. It was easy to spot the seams stitching together Clinton's answers, which were clearly the product of a lot of time and research and designed to get under Trump's skin.
The coached approach was clear from her very first answer, which simultaneously served to set the stakes ("the central question in this election is really what kind of country we want to be"), connect them to her personal story ("today is my granddaughter's second birthday, so I think about this a lot"), give a litany of policy proposals designed to appeal to key demographic groups (debt free college for millennials, work-life-balance for suburban women, etc.), and draw a sharp contrast with Trump ("You have to judge us, who can shoulder the immense, awesome responsibilities of the presidency").
Trump Mocks Clinton As Fighting ISIS Her 'Entire Adult Life' 0:32
Things worsened during an exchange over taxes, in which Clinton baited him with speculation that he was hiding something damaging in his unreleased returns and noted that he had not paid any federal taxes in two years that he disclosed several decades ago.
It was an exaggeration: The same report she cited also said he paid taxes in three other years. But Trump's response quickly overtook her argument.
"That makes me smart," he said.
When Clinton added he was keeping his taxes private "maybe because you haven't paid any federal income tax for a lot of years," Trump interrupted again.
"It would be squandered, too, believe me," he said.
Clinton Lists Reason Why Trump Is Not Releasing Taxes 1:10
In another notable exchange, Trump strongly defended his years-long crusade to prove President Barack Obama had lied about his birthplace, insisting he had nothing to apologize for while offering a garbled accusation that Clinton's 2008 campaign — which never publicly raised the issue — spread it in secret.
When moderator Lester Holt asked Trump what he would say to people of color offended by his actions, he responded: "I say nothing. I say nothing, because I was able to get him to produce it. He should have produced it a long time before. I say nothing."
His defiant response undermined whatever message of sincerity or contrition it hoped to achieve by having Trump acknowledge Obama's birthplace earlier this month.
On substance, Trump also tangled with Clinton over his assertion that he opposed invading Iraq in 2003 despite a lack of any public record of him doing so and a 2002 interview with Howard Stern in which he supported it.
READ MORE: http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2016-pres...
Analysis: Hillary Clinton's Studies for Debate With Donald Trump Pay Off
by Benjy Sarlin and Alex Seitz-Wald
In a battle of preparation versus instincts, preparation won in a major way.
For weeks, Democrats worried that a newer, more disciplined, more effective Donald Trump might emerge during their first debate and benefit from low expectations to steal a win from the more experienced Hillary Clinton.
Instead, Clinton gained the upper hand early as Trump grew defensive over personal attacks, dissembled or contradicted himself on key issues, and reopened old wounds on gender and race along the way.
He sniffed and huffed his way through the debate, calling Clinton's treatment of him "not nice" and insisting of her attacks, "I don't deserve that."
Put-Downs and Comebacks: The Best Zingers From Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton 1:25
Afterwards, Trump backers in the spin room derided Clinton's performance as canned, playing up Trump's unscripted authenticity. Spokesman Jason Miller called her "very programmed." Former "Apprentice" contestant Omarosa Manigault called Clinton "robotic and prepared." Several surrogates said she was "willing to say anything."
They had a point. It was easy to spot the seams stitching together Clinton's answers, which were clearly the product of a lot of time and research and designed to get under Trump's skin.
The coached approach was clear from her very first answer, which simultaneously served to set the stakes ("the central question in this election is really what kind of country we want to be"), connect them to her personal story ("today is my granddaughter's second birthday, so I think about this a lot"), give a litany of policy proposals designed to appeal to key demographic groups (debt free college for millennials, work-life-balance for suburban women, etc.), and draw a sharp contrast with Trump ("You have to judge us, who can shoulder the immense, awesome responsibilities of the presidency").
Trump Mocks Clinton As Fighting ISIS Her 'Entire Adult Life' 0:32
Things worsened during an exchange over taxes, in which Clinton baited him with speculation that he was hiding something damaging in his unreleased returns and noted that he had not paid any federal taxes in two years that he disclosed several decades ago.
It was an exaggeration: The same report she cited also said he paid taxes in three other years. But Trump's response quickly overtook her argument.
"That makes me smart," he said.
When Clinton added he was keeping his taxes private "maybe because you haven't paid any federal income tax for a lot of years," Trump interrupted again.
"It would be squandered, too, believe me," he said.
Clinton Lists Reason Why Trump Is Not Releasing Taxes 1:10
In another notable exchange, Trump strongly defended his years-long crusade to prove President Barack Obama had lied about his birthplace, insisting he had nothing to apologize for while offering a garbled accusation that Clinton's 2008 campaign — which never publicly raised the issue — spread it in secret.
When moderator Lester Holt asked Trump what he would say to people of color offended by his actions, he responded: "I say nothing. I say nothing, because I was able to get him to produce it. He should have produced it a long time before. I say nothing."
His defiant response undermined whatever message of sincerity or contrition it hoped to achieve by having Trump acknowledge Obama's birthplace earlier this month.
On substance, Trump also tangled with Clinton over his assertion that he opposed invading Iraq in 2003 despite a lack of any public record of him doing so and a 2002 interview with Howard Stern in which he supported it.
READ MORE: http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2016-pres...
