Trump - Clinton: Who wins - Who loses?

(Baonghean) - Yesterday, October 10, the second debate between the two US presidential candidates took place at the University of Washington.in St. Louis,MissouriThis is one of three very important live debates between the two candidates to affirm their image and gain support from American voters in the final stretch.

After 90 minutes of debate, public opinion judged that candidate Clinton had won over Mr. Trump in both content and style of debate. However, many opinions said that both candidates “have not won” in this second battle.

The two US presidential candidates were judged to have had an “ugly” performance in the second live debate held on October 10. Photo: Getty.

No one is superior

Immediately after the debate, the poll results of CNN and ORC showed that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton won overwhelmingly over Republican candidate Donald Trump with an overwhelming 57% to 34%. In fact, it cannot be denied that in the 90 minutes of yesterday's debate, Clinton had advantages over Trump with a calmer and more confident demeanor. In particular, the change in the open format with direct questions from voters seemed to have put candidate Trump in a difficult position.

However, during those 90 minutes, people also saw many moments when candidate Clinton was confused by her opponent. Those were the frowns or grimaces before the opponent's relentless attacks. Not only that, Mrs. Clinton was also assessed as not giving truly convincing answers on a series of issues, as well as not "catching" the opponent's weak points to break through and score more points.

Therefore, many opinions also believe that, if not considering the content, billionaire Trump yesterday succeeded in carrying out an overwhelming attack on Mrs. Clinton. But unfortunately, this is also what made Mr. Trump considered "extreme" and disrespectful to his opponent.

Although according to post-debate opinion polls, candidate Hillary Clinton has a higher support rate than candidate Donald Trump, numbers are not everything. Photo: AP.

The "ugly" argument

Looking back at the entire second debate, observers commented that this was a rare event in the history of US elections. The minimum courtesy of shaking hands to start the debate was also ignored by both candidates.

What followed was a truly “ugly” confrontation for 90 minutes. A series of newspapers later made similar comments. As the Washington Post had to comment, this was a black spot in the history of US elections, when both candidates focused only on attacking and insulting each other.

It can be seen that many hot issues were still mentioned such as climate change, energy, Obamacare, the Syrian crisis..., but what remained after the debate was only the image of the two candidates blushing, criticizing and interrupting each other.

Many commentators also said that this was a display of personal attacks, revolving around each other's scandals. Another demonstration was that right before the debate began, candidate Trump held a surprise press conference to introduce three women who claimed to be victims of sexual assault by former President Bill Clinton.

The debate then got off to a tense start as the two spent nearly 20 minutes attacking and refuting each other over the former US Secretary of State’s use of a private email account. The climax came when Mr. Trump interrupted and threatened to “imprison” Mrs. Clinton if he became president.

Although at the end of the debate, there was a rather surprising development when both candidates gave each other compliments. Accordingly, Mrs. Clinton said that she respected the Trump children, while Mr. Trump affirmed that he considered Mrs. Clinton a “warrior who never surrenders”. But the awkwardness was clearly shown in the statements of both candidates.

With such performances, the conclusion that neither candidate won the second debate is probably entirely convincing. It also shows that the balance has not tilted to either side up to this point.

People gather to watch the debate between two US presidential candidates at an event organized by the Young Republicans Club of New York at Madison Square Tavern in Manhattan, New York on October 9. Photo: Reuters.

Trump crisis - Clinton fades

Looking ahead, for the Republican candidate, the vulgar video clip scandal about women has become the worst minus point for candidate Trump. After the video was released, more than 40 Republican congressmen announced that they would not support or withdraw their support for Mr. Trump. This is unprecedented in the history of contemporary American politics.

Discussions about replacing Trump are also taking place seriously within the Republican Party. However, the US Republican Party is in a dilemma. Because although it wants to replace Trump, the party cannot take the initiative unless Trump voluntarily leaves.

If another candidate is replaced, the Republican Party's chances of winning will be even more difficult. At this point, some people even think that only a miracle can save Mr. Trump and the Republicans.

Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, up to now, public opinion has been leaning towards former US Secretary of State Clinton. However, many opinions also believe that what Mrs. Clinton has shown is still not enough. An unnecessary tug of war with her opponent, unclear and unconvincing answers in the second debate have prevented Mrs. Clinton from breaking through. That means, she has not yet met the expectations of voters.

Therefore, public opinion is now continuing to focus on the third debate, which will take place in Nevada on October 19. However, this third debate takes place just 1 day before voters in 34 US states begin early voting; that is, there will not be much time for the third debate to have an impact on voters.

According to the US Constitution, the presidential candidate who wins 270 out of 538 electoral votes will be declared the winner. According to a recent poll, candidate Clinton currently has 226 electoral votes while candidate Donald Trump has only received about 165 votes. But with what both candidates have shown up to this moment, who wins and who loses will still be an unanswered question.

Khang Duy