Donald Trump must have neglected to watch the video of Ronald Reagan in his 1980 debate with President Carter. Had he copied the restrained and imperturbable approach of Reagan—or at least tried to—Trump could have benefitted enormously from last night’s debate with Hillary Clinton. But he didn’t. And that was his biggest mistake.
Instead, he resurrected the rowdy Trump of the Republican primary debates. He talked too long, interrupted Clinton, touted himself, and took her bait time after time to respond to her charges. It was the wrong approach at the wrong time at the wrong debate.
Trump had an opportunity to appear “presidential” and he blew it. Since Clinton has sought to make the race a referendum on his fitness to be president, it was important for Trump to look and act like someone equipped to step into the Oval Office and take control of the nuclear button. His performance fell short of that.
And it was obvious that he hadn’t boned up on the issues and armed himself with fresh ways to exploit Clinton’s many vulnerabilities. Practically everything he said was a repeat of what he has said many times before in the GOP primaries or rallies over the past summer.
His lack of preparation reminded me of Jack Kemp, Bob Dole’s vice-presidential running mate in 1996. Kemp ignored his briefing book and winged it in his debate with Vice President Al Gore. He lost—for one of the few times in his political career.
Clinton had studied. She bragged about it. She didn’t get anywhere by mentioning details of her own proposals. And her discussion of the economy was lame. But she did have an array of juicy facts and figures—negative ones—about Trump to trot out.
In contrast, Trump failed to go after Clinton with pointed criticism of her use of a private email system, her empty talk of how to deal with police shootings and riots, her discredited ideas about economic growth, her failure to deal with the matter of jobs that Trump said had been “stolen” by countries like Mexico, and her inability to bring jobs to upstate New York as promised when she ran for senator. As it turned out, jobs were lost.
Nor did he nail her on immigration. His plan to secure the border between the United States and Mexico by building a wall is popular. Her plan to increase by tens of thousands the number of new immigrants from the Middle East is unpopular.
He was too busy defending himself for not releasing his tax returns and filing four times for bankruptcy to take advantage of the wealth of issues that favor his side.
Clinton hardly came across as presidential. She was condescending. When a double screen showed her as Trump was speaking, she often had a smug expression on her face. She looked proud of herself, but as the debate wore on, she had reason to be. Trump questioned her stamina, but had more than enough for a 90-minute clash with him.
For Trump, the debate wasn’t a total loss. He has mastered the use of repetition. He hammered home that she had done little in her years in public life as First Lady, U.S. senator, and secretary of state. He said there were two words he wouldn’t utter—”law” and “order.” He blamed her for the growth of ISIS after allowing all American troops to leave Iraq. And his attack on her support for the Iran nuclear deal was effective.
Gaffes? I don’t think Trump made any. His problem was not one of commission but omission. Trump has said he can be presidential whenever he wants to. It was surprising he didn’t think his first nationally televised confrontation with Clinton was an event calling for a presidential presence.
We won’t know the impact of last night’s debate for a few days. Clinton may not get a boost and Trump may not have hurt himself. But a Reagan-like performance would surely have aided Trump. He declined to seize that opportunity.
