| | | | Clinton vs. Trump: A debate 18 months in the making | | It could be the greatest political show on earth -- and it will likely be the most-watched. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump square off here at Hofstra University at 9 p.m. ET for their first of three presidential debates -- finally going toe-to-toe in an event that marks a rare shared experience in a country divided on partisan lines and by fragmented media consumption. CNN's Stephen Collinson raises the curtain.
Here's what Clinton's camp is thinking: She's spent more time preparing for "presidential Trump" than "bombastic Trump" -- expecting a more reserved GOP foe than showed up for many primary debates. "We haven't spent a lot of time on the bad Trump. We're going to let that unfold," one source told CNN's Gloria Borger. Indeed, the source said: "We have prepped for him being generous." The concern: Even if only 20% of what Clinton says is critical of Trump, it will be hard for her policy positions to break through. Clinton spent her afternoon on Long Island doing some last-minute prep with Trump stand-in Philippe Reines, husband Bill Clinton and other aides.
What Trump world is thinking: His natural talent will prevail. Trump prepared at Trump Tower over the weekend, with Rudy Giuliani and Chris Christie on hand. But he hasn't used a stand-in for Clinton -- opting to avoid sounding rehearsed. Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway pronounced Trump "the Babe Ruth of debating" on ABC's "This Week" yesterday. Another debate qualification? "The Apprentice," per RNC chairman Reince Priebus, who told CNN's Wolf Blitzer today that Trump will be ready because "he did a great job in our primary debates. He's also been through 14 season finales."
Oh, and if you're watching ... please do remember these warnings from police in Lawrence, Kansas: | | | Something the politics-obsessed should keep in mind tonight: Many voters still have a lot to learn about where Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump stand on matters of policy. The Pew Research Center found that just 48% of all voters say they know a lot about Clinton's positions -- and just 41% say they know a lot about Trump's stances. | | How tonight's debate will work | | From CNN's Dylan Byers -- here's what you need to know:
Timing: The debate will begin at 9 p.m. ET on CNN and other major networks. It will last 90 minutes, with no commercials and no breaks.
Moderator: The debate will be moderated by "NBC Nightly News" anchor Lester Holt.
Format: The debate will be divided into six segments of 15 minutes each. The first two segments will focus on "America's Direction." The next two segments will focus on "Achieving Prosperity" (the economy). The final two segments will focus on "Securing America" (national security and foreign policy).
Segment format: Each segment will begin with a question. One candidate will have two minutes to respond, then the other candidate will have two minutes to respond. That will be followed by 10 minutes of open debate and discussion. (The missing one minute in each segment will presumably be taken up by the question itself, as well as the candidates' inevitably using more than the allotted time for their answers.)
Who goes first? Due to the results of a coin toss, the first question of the debate will go to Hillary Clinton. The same question will then be asked to Trump. In the second segment, the order will be reversed, with the lead-off question going to Donald Trump, then Clinton. And so on.
Placement: Due to the results of a coin toss, Clinton will stand stage left (on the audience's right) and Trump will stand stage right (on the audience's left). | | Who did each candidate invite to Hofstra tonight? | | CNN's Tom Kludt breaks it down. Here's Hillary Clinton's list: Mark Cuban, the billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner; Lauren Manning, an injured 9/11 survivor; Maxine Outerbridge, a single mother and domestic violence survivor who benefited from Clinton's children's health insurance program; Anastasia Somoza, born with cerebral palsy and a supporter of Clinton's disability-related efforts; Aleatha Williams, a Bronx native who's known Clinton since she was first lady.
And here's Donald Trump's list: Bobby Knight, the legendarily volcanic Indiana University basketball coach, Mark Geist, a Benghazi attack survivor; Karen Vaughn, a Gold Star mother; retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, a prominent Trump military supporter; Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, a Trump national security adviser. | | Trump aides print and save reporters' negative tweets | | Donald Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway offered harsh criticism of the embeds who cover Trump's campaign -- and revealed an oddity about his aides' own practices -- this morning on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." Conway said: "There are people who cover our campaign who actually just slander our candidate on Twitter. Ninety-two percent of one of them -- I have them all on my desk. We printed them all out. Ninety-two percent of at least two of our embeds' tweets are negative towards Donald Trump."
The stories Conway said she wants covered: The size of Trump's crowds and polls that show him rising.
Of course, the 92% figure is problematic. The Washington Post's Callum Borchers lays out why. Plus, for that figure to be accurate, it would mean the Trump campaign is scoring accurate fact-checks as negative.
Dropping hours before the debate: The latest on the Trump Foundation from The Washington Post's David Fahrenthold, who reports: "Donald Trump's charitable foundation has received approximately $2.3 million from companies that owed money to Trump or one of his businesses but were instructed to pay Trump's tax-exempt foundation instead, according to people familiar with the transactions." | | | Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa -- the same lawmaker that recently lamented "cultural suicide by demographic transformation" -- fueled the Hillary Clinton health conspiracy theories with this afternoon tweet. | | | Worrying news for Hillary Clinton supporters: New CNN/ORC polls show the race deadlocked in Colorado and Pennsylvania -- two states she's expected to win. ... Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid declared on the Senate floor today that Donald Trump "is a racist." ... President Barack Obama will have tonight's debate on in the background. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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