Here Are The Winners And Losers From The Second Presidential Debate

Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:19 pm

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The town hall presidential debate was a brawl, but there were winners and losers. Here are the winners and losers from the second presidential debate.

Winners and Losers:

Winners:

1).Hillary Clinton- Former Sec. of State Clinton knew that Trump had nothing to lose, so he was going to bring his full load of irrational rage to the debate. It was obvious what was coming. Clinton not only to cut through Trump’s fury and noise, but she effectively countered Trump and continued to look ready to be president.

Trump brought up his attack on Bill Clinton in the first twenty minutes, which Clinton handled with ease because she has heard the same right wing conspiracies for nearly 30 years. Clinton handled the attack about her emails. She handled the planned Wikileaks October surprise.

Best of all Clinton continued to reach out to Democratic voters, and persuadable voters. Clinton talked to Democrats may not be on board with her campaign yet. She didn’t make the mistake that Trump’s Republican opponents made. She wouldn’t play in the sewer with Trump.

Hillary Clinton only helped her campaign tonight, as the debate did nothing to obstruct her path to the presidency.

2).Anderson Cooper and Martha Raddatz- Cooper and Raddatz had a borderline impossible job given the recent implosion of Trump’s campaign and the Republican Party. The moderators had to keep the candidates from running over their time and were able to stop Trump from running wild. The proof of their effectiveness was visible in Trump’s repeated whining about the moderators and time.

Raddatz and Cooper both had their moments. Cooper got Trump to admit that he has dodged paying federal personal income taxes. Raddatz used her expertise as a foreign policy journalist to press Trump on Syria. The moderators had a difficult task, but they kept the debate from becoming an unwatchable debacle.

Losers:

1). Donald Trump- The bar was low for Trump as his campaign has been burning to the ground since the release of audio where Trump made lewd comments about women and bragged about sexual assault. Trump gave his supporters what they wanted. He tried to bully Hillary Clinton using bogus Bill Clinton conspiracy theories. He tried to bully Hillary Clinton on her emails. Trump brought up Benghazi.

Trump did what the alt-right wanted, and the debate was a disaster for him.

Donald Trump’s base supporters will be delighted with his performance, but Trump looked unhinged with his constant pacing, and unbridled rage made the case for Democrats that he is not fit to be president. Trump needed a campaign saving debate performance, but what the country got was confirmation that he should never be president.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association