Trump and Clinton stand their ground in ugly stoush

ST LOUIS — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton collided in an almost unremittingly hostile debate on Monday morning (Singapore time) that saw the Republican regain some of his footing following a disastrous two weeks that had threatened to derail his White House campaign.

In a 90-minute spectacle of character attacks and tawdry allegations, Mr Trump threatened to jail rival Mrs Clinton for her use of a private email server as secretary of state and accused her husband, Mr Bill Clinton, of abusing women in a debate that appeared unlikely to improve his ratings.

Mrs Clinton said Mr Trump’s vulgar comments about women captured on a video from 2005 that was released on Friday demonstrate he is unfit for office and that he has spread so many falsehoods it is as if “he lives in an alternative reality”.

Yet, a full hour of the townhall debate at Washington University in St Louis also touched on topics from the Syrian war to Muslims in America to the candidates’ views on Obamacare.

Polls taken immediately following the debate gave Mrs Clinton the edge over Mr Trump in the second of the three presidential debates.

A CNN/ORC poll found that 57 per cent of voters who watched the debate thought Mrs Clinton won, compared to 34 per cent for Mr Trump.

A YouGov poll, meanwhile, had Mrs Clinton as the winner by a slimmer margin, 47 per cent to 42 per cent.

In a sign that investors saw less chance of a Trump victory, Asian shares crept higher, while US stock futures rose yesterday, as did the Mexican peso, seen as an indicator of traders’ views on Mr Trump’s chances amid his vows to build a wall on the southern border of the United States.

After a tumultuous political weekend with Mr Trump’s campaign in a tailspin, the debate was watched extremely closely by Republican members of Congress, who were deciding whether to join dozens of elected officials who have broken away from the party’s nominee.

However, Mr Trump’s performance was surefooted enough that no more Republican officials disavowed him in the immediate aftermath of the debate.

He attempted to do so not with a show of contrition, but by unleashing a spectacle of defiance with a hovering presence, as well as threats and interruptions that will likely do more to mobilise his devoted base than appeal to sceptical female voters he needs to win the White House.

Dedicated Trump supporters would have “loved every minute of this debate,” said Mr Kevin Madden, a Republican strategist and former adviser to Mr Mitt Romney in 2012.

“Trump’s combative approach with Clinton and with moderators who were biased against him is exactly what these voters wanted to see tonight.”

But Mr Trump, trailing in most key swing states due to a huge gender gap, did little to broaden his appeal, said Mr Madden.

Mrs Clinton’s responses were steady and filled with policy details and appeals to a multicultural America, but she was perhaps cautious to a fault in terms of pressing Mr Trump’s biggest weakness in the wake of the video: Female voters, who she has winning by double digits but not enough to put him away yet.

Both candidates were visibly uneasy throughout the debate, even refusing to shake hands at the beginning, as the townhall event unfolded on a small stage in a highly charged atmosphere.

Mr Trump apologised for the comments in the video but also repeatedly minimised them as “locker room talk”, and even tried to blame Mrs Clinton for raising them in light of Mr Clinton’s behaviour.

“She brings up words that I said 11 years ago — I think it’s disgraceful, and she should be ashamed of herself, to tell you the truth,” Mr Trump said to scattered applause.

Mrs Clinton did not specifically rebut his charges about her husband, saying only: “So much of what he just said is not right.”

Analysts have said that Mr Trump would need a dramatic boost if he is to claw back ground against Mrs Clinton who has surged in the polls since their first debate on Sept 26.

Mr Larry Sabato, who heads the Center for Politics at University of Virginia, tweeted that “Trump has done well enough to stop GOP bleeding”.

But Dr Dante Scala, political science professor at the University of New Hampshire, said he doubts Mr Trump can recover. “I didn’t see enough this evening to turn things around,” said Dr Scala.

Celebratory and relieved after the debate2, Mrs Clinton told reporters on her campaign plane just before leaving St Louis: “The most important thing is, we need to take off so that we can actually have some drinks served. My entire team is waiting for this airplane to take off!” AGENCIES