About an hour into last night’s third and final presidential debate, during what was supposed to be a discussion on the economy, Donald Trump turned to Hillary Clinton and had this to say:
Trump told Clinton she’s done “nothing” in 30 years — so Clinton gave him a history lesson
In turn, Clinton dished out a brutal, point-by-point comparison of her past 30 years with Trump’s past 30 years.
Her response speaks to a massive preparation gap that has shown up in all three debates. Clinton seemed poised and ready for this exact type of question. Her response wasn’t one that felt off-the-cuff; in fact, her campaign website has long-since featured a similar timeline, comparing her historical feats to Trump’s. Last night, my colleague Ezra Klein touched on this gap.
“Clinton’s successful execution of this strategy has been, fittingly, the product of traits that she’s often criticized for,” he writes: “her caution, her over-preparation, her blandness.”
Clinton’s response here this was a prime example of these skills at play.
“I think it’s really an important issue he raised — the 30 years of experience. Let me just talk briefly about that,” Clinton began...
Of course, Trump had to put in his two cents.
“Well, I think I did a much better job,” he replied. “I built a massive company — a great company — some of the greatest assets anywhere in the world worth many, many billions of dollars. ... I built a phenomenal company.”
In 30 years, with a loan from his father, Trump built a company. Clinton spent those decades working toward equality, fighting for basic human rights, and ensuring justice on behalf of her country.
Really, what’s left to say?
The full clip of this exchange is posted below.
By Ryan Godfrey
By Matthew Lee Anderson
