On Monday, September 26, the nation awaited a chance to glimpse two different versions of the country’s future.  Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton shared their visions for the country in front of 84 million people, making it the highest-grossing presidential debate ever.  The 90 minute discourse was both civilized and fiery, and it set the stage for the most anticipated election in history.

The candidates debated a variety of topics, such as the economy, racial tensions, their plans t0 combat ISIS, taxes, criminal justice, and foreign policy.  Although they discussed these issues, host Lester Holt often had to interrupt the arguments due to Clinton and Trump constantly going off topic and directly insulting each other.

Trump also constantly interrupted Clinton, refuting nearly every accusation she made against the Republican candidate.  Clinton finally took a jab at Trump about a half hour into the debate, claiming he is untrustworthy because of his refusal to release his tax records.  Trump fired back, exclaiming that he would “release his returns once she releases her (Clinton) deleted emails.”

Clinton also baited Trump to get caught in a few lies, such as claiming he thinks global warming is a “hoax.”  The Republican nominee immediately refuted her accusation, declaring that he “never said that.”  Moments after Trump refuted that claim, a post from Trump’s twitter account written in 2012 began trending on the web.  The post stated  “Snowing in Texas and Louisiana, record setting freezing temperatures throughout the country and beyond. Global warming is an expensive hoax!”

In sum, I thought that neither candidate won the debate.  Both argued off topic more than needed, and the debate turned into an ad hominem fiasco.  Hillary attacked Trump’s persona too often, and Trump interrupted Hillary too often.  Because of this, neither of them could make a solid argument for their visions of the country.

Result: Draw