Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump clash on cybersecurity, hint at healthcare during first debate
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump squared off in the eagerly-anticipated first debate Monday night.
The agreed upon themes of the discussion were prosperity, security, and the general direction America should take as a country. Both candidates discussed cybersecurity and touched, albeit very briefly, on healthcare matters.
Although the cybersecutity discussion focused on ISIS and other terrorists, with cyberattacks believed to be perpetrated by state actors occurring on an increasingly frequent basis — the 500 million Yahoo records breached just last week being the latest incident — the future president’s cybersecurity plans are relevant in just about any U.S. industry right now.
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"I think we've got to have an intelligence surge, where we are looking for every scrap of information," Clinton said. "We've got to do everything we can to vacuum up intelligence from Europe, from the Middle East."
Trump shot back that Hillary has been fighting ISIS "her entire adult life" and he added that “we have to get NATO to go into the Middle East with us, in addition to surrounding nations, and we have to knock the hell out of ISIS, and we have to do it fast."
Trump also took a swipe at obese Americans and computer hackers, saying that whoever cracked the Democratic National Convention emails ahead of the DNC could have been Russia, China or "someone sitting on their bed who weighs 400 pounds."
Clinton promised equal pay for equal work, paid family leave, earned sick days, affordable childcare — and she claimed that her plans would create 10 million new jobs while Trump’s would eliminate 3.5 million.
"As far as childcare is concerned, I think Hillary and I agree on that," Trump said, adding that they might disagree on some of the numbers.
From there Trump moved toward his tax policy.
"My tax cut is the biggest since Ronald Reagan," Trump said. "I’m going to cut regulations and I’m going to cut taxes, big-league. We’re in a bubble right now and the only thing that looks good is the stock market. The (Federal Reserve) is doing political things by keeping the interest rate at this level. The Fed is not doing its job, the fed is being more political than Hillary Clinton."
Clinton, for her part, countered Trump’s evoking of Reagan with a catchphrase: Trumped-Up Trickle Down Economics.
"That is not how we grow the economy," she said. "The more we can do for the middle class, education, skills, the better we will be and the better we’ll grow."
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President Barack Obama’s birthplace, Trump’s own tax returns, Clinton’s private email server, both candidates views on race, gender equity, and presidential temperament also entered the discussion.
Moderator Lester Holt asked the candidates, in closing, if each would support the other as President?
"I certainly will support the outcome of this election. I hope the people out there understand this election is about you," Clinton said. "I hope you will get out there and vote as if your future depends on it."
Trump responded likewise: "I want to make America great again. If she wins, I will absolutely support her."
Twitter: @SullyHIT
Email the writer: tom.sullivan@himssmedia.com
