Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton engaged in a heated exchange last night in the first presidential debate of the 2016 election at Hofstra University in New York.
Fox News notes that the candidates did not restrain themselves long before targeting each other not only on policy issues, but on issues of temperament and personality.
Trump accused Clinton of not having the stamina to be president, alluding to her recent case of pneumonia and her fainting episode.
“As soon as he travels to 112 countries and negotiates a peace deal, a cease fire, release of dissidents … or even spends 11 hours testifying before a congressional committee, he can talk to me about stamina,” Clinton retorted.
The candidates also sparred on issues of the economy, jobs, trade, and terrorism.
There was one issue, however, which the candidates did not touch on.
According to LifeNews.com, the major issue of abortion did not come up during last night’s debate.
Steven Ertelt of Life News notes that if elected, Clinton could be the most pro-abortion president the U.S. has ever had.
Clinton has even defended partial-birth abortion and fully backs Planned Parenthood. She has asserted that “the unborn person doesn’t have constitutional rights.”
Many question Trump’s stance on abortion, but in a recent interview Trump said that he would support defunding Planned Parenthood. He also recently appointed Marjorie Dannenfelser, a long-time pro-life advocate, to lead his campaign’s pro-life coalition.
As for the winner of last night’s debate, political commentators generally agreed that Clinton was much more articulate and had better answers, but many also assented that the debate was unlikely to sway many voters for one candidate or the other.
Clinton and Trump will meet twice more to debate before the November election.
Publication date: September 27, 2016