As stated by several newscast stations, the most historical presidential debate since the first televised one of Kennedy vs Nixon took place on Monday, September 21. While some Pace students paid no mind to it, others gathered in Kessel’s Gottesman Room to watch Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump state their claims about political issues and about each other. Around 100 students and faculty members gathered and watch the showdown.

The debate’s mediator, Lester Holt, proposed political and social topics for Clinton and Trump to answer. Polls showed that Trump was poised and powerful the first half of the debate when talking about developing more jobs opportunities on needed fields like infrastructure. He also attracted a large audience when talking about about implementing taxes on U.S. companies who took their companies abroad. Oftentimes, Trump gains supporters when speaking about America’s economic interests.

“Being a businessman, Trump not only has already created jobs, but has a sense of what needs to be done to create jobs. Additionally, companies with domicile in another country while doing business in the U.S. have tax benefits that they take advantage of. I think [his plans] would benefit us taxpayers,” said senior Marketing major, Natalie Marrone.

Later in the debate, Clinton strategized and was able to slow down Trump’s momentum. After Holt asked about Trump’s missing tax return statements, the candidate had difficulty replying to questions without mentioning Clinton’s faults. He either brought her down or claimed that her statements were “not true.”

Many report that this was Clinton’s game plan. To break him down from his strong start, Clinton answered questions by stating her plans on certain issues then comparing them to Trump’s past, controversial claims. It was said that these comments were planned for Trump to get flustered and off topic when answering questions. According to many, it worked.

Ultimately, the two candidates debated about their party’s ideologies and their plans to implement them like any other year. The main concern about this year’s election though, is the large undecided population’s mindset. The Democrats already have their supporters and the Republicans already have theirs.

Many argue that Clinton’s untrustworthy past and Trump’s unfiltered personality are each unwanted characteristics in a public figure that will soon represent the United States. This means that the candidates’ behaviors in their debates and public addresses are fairly important for the voters’ ultimate decisions on who will be the next president of the United States.