It presents a major opportunity for them to appeal to voters who have yet to commit to a candidate after a mostly negative race in which Clinton and Trump have sought to brand each other as untrustworthy and risky for the country.
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But Democrats worry the first debate will give Trump a chance to show a more moderate, controlled side, while millions of people watch, possibly for the first time. Monday’s audience could even come close to the 115 million Americans who saw the 2015 Super Bowl, the most-watched sporting event in U.S. history, CBS news reported on Friday.
Reminding women of Trump’s sexism is a strong strategy for the Clinton campaign.
Voters appear to take Republican nominee Donald Trump at his word, and the majority believe that race relations nationwide will suffer as a result of his election to the presidency, according to a new Lincoln Leadership Initiative poll released Friday. He will be doing something no one else has done before: debating the first female candidate for president.
“The first debate is huge, and whoever is viewed as the victor of the debate will be viewed as the favourite to win the election”, Valliere said.
“Trump hasn’t been running for president for 24 years, he’s spent his career as a successful businessman”.
Just 42 percent say Clinton is at least somewhat compassionate, but Trump fares worse, at 25 percent.
He has also called television personality Rosie O’Donnell a “fat pig” and made fun of former presidential rival and ex-Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina’s face, saying, “Would anyone vote for that?”
To prepare, candidates often hold full-length mock debates in hotel conference rooms, set up to replicate the actual stage and prepare for every move, even the handshake. “It’s the general impression I make, ‘” said Republican strategist Dan Senor. But as Matt Yglesias reminds us, Clinton and her team are likely saving their most devastating attack ads on Trump for later in the campaign season.
Clinton’s campaign acknowledges the debate will be an important night for the candidates – and is putting pressure on the moderator to ask equally as tough questions.
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Will Clinton highlight her plans on making public college education free for most students, or spend her efforts trying to attract right-leaning voters frustrated at Trump’s sharp rhetoric? The working-class white voters are really getting behind Trump over Clinton and upping his numbers considerably. The poll enjoyed a 4 percentage point margin of error. Holt can use the balance of the time in the segment for a deeper discussion of the topic, according to the debate commission.
