Clinton, Trump meet for first debate
A record 100 million people could view Monday night’s presidential debate.
Nielsen, the company that measures U.S. television viewing habits, predicted an audience of 80 to 100 million for the first debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. All major networks, including ABC 17 and Fox 22, will broadcast the debate live from Hofstra University in New York, moderated by NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt.
The largest viewing audience on record from Nielsen was nearly 81 million for the only debate between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter in 1980. The first debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney in 2012 netted more than 67 million viewers.
While polling predictions remain close on who will win the presidency, the amount watching the debate could have political ramifications. CNN Money media reporter Brian Stelter points out, “any surprising victory or embarrassing performance by a candidate will be magnified by the sky-high audience size.” Nielsen is expected to release the number of live TV viewers on Tuesday.
In mid-Missouri, people from both parties will gather in Columbia. Republican Party Committee chairman Mike Zweifel told ABC 17 News he hopes a strong performance from Trump will push people towards him come November.
“If he can win the debate, and we can gain some more momentum, it seems the polls are going his way at the moment,” Zweifel told ABC 17 News.
John Salisbury, a Trump supporter watching at the Republican Party event at D. Rowe’s in south Columbia, thought Trump did a good attacking Clinton’s economic plan to, in particular raise taxes on the wealthy. Clinton said she wanted to invest in burgeoning industries like clean energy, while Trump wants to renegotiate international trade deals. Salisbury hoped cutting taxes on corporations would encourage them to expand in the U.S., and offer better paying jobs. Salisbury said he liked that Trump did not seem beholden to political favors or public money. While he may not agree with everything the New York businessman has said on the campaign trail, Salisbury said he appreciated that Trump challenged his own point of view.
Patricia Doss, who watched the debate at the Democratic and Green Party watch event at Shakespeare’s Pizza downtown, said she hoped for more debate on foreign policy. She pushed back against Trump’s style, saying it has no place in the White House.
“We have to have a higher standard for someone that’s going to be leader of the free world, and it matters what they say in public,” Doss told ABC 17 News.
Scott Cristal with the Democratic Party said he hopes the debate serves as a way for Clinton to dispel issues like her health, and focus on her policies. Zweifel said that he, too, was interested in a debate on policy, and wasn’t sure if Clinton’s health would come up.
