Millions of Americans across the country tuned in Monday night for the first presidential debate — with some saying it felt like the Super Bowl to them. From the older folk to the young, many watched Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton face off at Hofstra University — and some shared their thoughts with LifeZette.
These are not the professionals or the pundits. These are the everyday people who will go to the polls on Nov. 8 and cast a vote. These are the hardworking people who are struggling to pay bills, or raising their kids, or working to get through school — all hoping their vote matters when they make a choice this fall.
John Brubaker, a truck driver from Hampton, Iowa, told LifeZette before the debate, “A friend said to me that she would — like millions of voters — probably say very little no matter how these debates go, but will pull the lever for Trump in the privacy of the voting booth. I found that really interesting.”
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A 27-year-old mortgage professional who hopes to have a family of his own one day was interested in Trump’s plans to keep companies in the U.S. “I would like to hear more of his plan,” he said.
A father of four in New York was listening hard as the two opponents went at it. “Clinton brought up her husband so early in the debate — he is not running,” he said. “She wears a smug face as if she knows everything. It’s off-putting. Our family liked that Donald Trump was energized, obviously cares greatly about our country, and has answers and details to fixing our issues in this country. He wants to change things up and get things done.”
Clinton talked from her lectern about making college debt free. “Typical politician — all talk, no action,” responded Trump.
“Trump took the high road against Hillary,” one mother said. “He didn’t press her on all her email issues, and he didn’t call out all her lying and cheating.”
One 17-year-old Boston-area high school senior agreed with Trump — his history teacher had assigned the debate as homework, and he was dialed in. “Trump seems so much smarter than Clinton,” he said. “If she has had all of this time to change things, why hasn’t she? He really made that point well. How would she make college free, really? Who would pay the teachers and keep the lights on, especially if we have all this debt?”
To this student, manners mattered. “She is acting like she is so above him — it makes me want to root for him,” he said.
Carole Purcell of Columbia, Maryland, 52, is struggling through the red tape of the medical disability system. She has a chronic illness and hasn’t worked in several years — and is currently living off her savings. She was watching intently Monday night.
“Listening to Trump, I think he’s the type of leader that would make sure people who need disability get it,” she said. “And I think he would find the people who abuse disability and give the money back to the Treasury or put it in needed programs for those who are ill — or veterans.”
Brubaker of Iowa said during the debate, “She seems to be looking at her notes a lot. I like Trump’s style — he just keeps throwing punches called ‘facts,’ and she can’t really respond. Her comments are so canned, and he’s in the moment.”
Related: Debate Check: 12 Hillary Lies Debunked
A father of four from Massachusetts said Clinton seemed too rehearsed. “She’s been waiting all night to say she ‘has been preparing for the debate, and preparing to be president,'” he told LifeZette. “Too scripted.”
“I am so glad Trump pointed out that nuclear weapons are the crisis of our age — not global warming,” said one Boston mother of three who tuned in with her sons. “That issue drives me nuts — and it needs to be addressed.”
“She wears a smug face as if she knows everything,” said one father. “It’s off-putting.”
One 60-something man in the Boston area works in a home improvement store on nights and weekends after taking a retirement package from his company. “It was foisted on me,” he said of his corporate retirement package. “The company was going broke. In Trump, I see a man who understands business and sees a way forward. For my kids and my grandkids, I feel like we have no choice but to give this man a chance.”
The 27-year-old Boston-area mortgage broker said toward the end of the debate, “He’s done well. I was nervous he couldn’t keep his cool, but he did fine and made his point, even when basically being called a racist by Clinton. I wanted to see their demeanor during the debate — he looks straight at the camera — while she keeps looking down, at notes.”
A mother of two in New York also weighed in on the back-and-forth.
“Trump took the high road against Hillary,” she said. “He didn’t really press her on all her email issues, and he didn’t call out all the lying and cheating that she and her husband have done over the years. He’s a gentleman — but she’s not a lady. This is rough-and-tumble politics and a competition for the highest job in the land. In the next debate, I hope Trump goes after Hillary much harder than he did Monday night.”
One New England middle school student offered a pre-bedtime analysis. “One of my teachers said it was going to be the politician against the entertainer,” an eighth-grader from Stoneham, Massachusetts, said. “I’m glad to go to school on Tuesday and tell her, ‘You were so wrong. He knew a lot about many things.'”
And a college student in Madison, Wisconsin, said this about all the smiling Hillary did on Monday night: “I wonder if she planned to do that. I couldn’t tell if she was confident or nervous.”
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