However, among all registered voters, 59 percent would not be confident in his ability to serve as commander-in-chief of the military and just 39 percent would feel confident, the poll shows.
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NARRATOR: Forum host Matt Lauer finds himself under fire today.
With the first debate scheduled for later this month, Clinton’s campaign is trying to ensure that Trump is positioned for a tough evaluation, recognizing that expectations can matter even more than actual performance. But to many female viewers, something else leaped out: Lauer constantly interrupted Hillary Clinton throughout their exchange.
Clinton will look to draw attention to some of her policy platforms in the coming weeks by delivering a series of “Stronger Together” speeches around the new book that she and running mate Tim Kaine published this week, Jennifer Palmieri, Clinton’s spokeswoman, said Thursday. In response to an audience member asking Clinton if she would deploy ground troops to stop ISIS, Lauer interjected for her to speak, “As briefly as you can”. It was moderated by NBC’s Matt Lauer. However, he did not reign in Trump on his answers and the documented falsehoods the Republican candidate has expressed in the past.
Meanwhile, Lauer didn’t bother interrupting Trump, even when he flat-out lied to his face about his support for the Iraq War.
Trump said he was “shocked” by what he heard at the briefings. However, Washington Post reports that Trump’s claim has been refuted multiple times.
NARRATOR: In fact, Trump told Howard Stern the opposite of that in 2002.
This claim is easy to debunk.
What seems clear, however, is that Lauer and his producers blundered by not making sure that if the first questions to Clinton were going to be adversarial, Trump’s should have been as well, and that the dual interviews should have demonstrated a certain structural balance, if not equality, in tone and content. With 18 million watching, and just 25 minutes to interview each candidate, the “Today” show co-host repeatedly interrupted Hillary Clinton.
During the forum, journalists from all over the country were tweeting their outrage at Lauer’s missed opportunities and unprofessional interview style. “Seemingly unprepared on military and foreign policy specifics, he performed like a soldier sent on a mission without ammunition, beginning with a disorganized offensive, ending in a humiliating retreat”.
Naturally, the media are terrified what Clinton’s abysmal performance at the NBC forum portends for her showing in the upcoming debates.
Fifty-three percent of voters who are now serving or have previously served in the USA military said they would be confident in Trump’s ability to serve as an effective commander-in-chief of the US military, while 47 percent of these voters said No, the NBC News/SurveyMonkey Weekly Election Tracking Poll has found.
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But the Clinton campaign acknowledged she had to spend more time focussing her remarks on herself so voters could see the “aspirational” vision she hopes to enact if she becomes the first woman elected USA president.
