Did the debate change your mind on Trump?

Pat Powers

Last night’s presidential debate had Donald Trump delivering a much more forceful performance than his previous outing against Hillary Clinton. Some have declared it a decisive victory by the Republican nominee. 

Would you say his performance was able to “turn it around” enough to blunt the damage from the release of the decade old audio which scored a major hit on his campaign?

88 thoughts on “Did the debate change your mind on Trump?”

        1. I left my vote for thune blank. Never again. He’ll be there forever but that doesn’t mean I have to vote for him again.

      2. If I hadn’t already voted absentee, I would have left the Senate block open. According to all the never-Trumpers, that is not a vote for his opponent either!

  2. The same Donald that has ben known for years. If anything this presidential run has been a great publicity stunt for him. The Carnival Barker

  3. He has three weeks to make it about Law and Order, domestic and foreign safety, and economic growth, overplayed with exploiting HRC’s bad standing with regards to trustworthy.

    It will be interested how the Sanders supporters will handle the confirmation of the illegal coordination between the DNC and Superpacs.

    Side note: will we hear Weiland condemn this “big money”?

    1. If the media was truly doing their job, contrasting the ISSUES promoted by the two candidates, all the voters could see what Trump is promoting. BUT, I believe they will keep focus on attacking Trump on trivial issues/words that will have no impact on the future of this nation. And we all will be the losers, but many refuse to realize it.

  4. With that hella scary promise to appoint what he calls a “special prosecutor” to go after Clinton if he wins, Trump has proven he wants to be a dictator more than President of the United States. With his childish tantrums, whining, and outbursts during the debate and all that menacing stalking, he truly demonstrated he’s nothing but a cheap, entitled bully. As for that stunt of bringing in 3 Bill Clinton accusers that his toady campaign managers agreed to, he’s doing his best to destroy a fine tradition that is the Presidential Debates.

    This past week we’ve finally seen brought out more of the hidden repugnance that is Trump. What a shame John Thune didn’t speak up earlier.

    1. Too bad about the four Americans that were killed at Benghazi due to Hillary’s failure to act. Too bad about all the women that Slick Willy actually sexually assaulted who were then demeaned by Hillary. Too bad about Hillary lying to the Benghazi families about what caused the riot in Benghazi. Too bad about Hillary lying about sending classified emails through her personal server.

      All that stuff is a shame, and it all rises above what Trump has done, and all of Hillary’s illegal/immoral activity took place while she was acting in trust to the public or her husband was.

      1. Do you and yours not know that after 8 investigations and 30+hearings all of the conservative lies about Benghazi have been found to be exactly that–lies…/ You and yours still tell the lies using dead Americans for politics… The Benghazi “scandal” was the most Un_American political gotcha scam I can remember… You and yours have no shame, y’all would apologize to the families and to America but that would take integrity…

        ” what caused the riot in Benghazi.”– Why don’t you be the first of many cons. I have asked to tell me why it ever mattered… Why would Clinton knowingly lie to the families? — You made the statement—explain it..

        1. I will choose to believe the mother of the man killed at Benghazi over the power hungry, say anything to win Hillary that Hillary did indeed lie. Why did Hillary ignore hundreds of requests for extra security for Stevens? Just what was going on in Benghazi? If a Rep had done this, believe me the media would have dug into it and plastered it all over the front pages.

          If Hillary had been forthcoming with her emails, all of this could have been answered, as well as other questions. But no, the FBI and DOJ and I am sure Obama himself conspired to immunity, destroying laptops, hammering cell phones. Can you imagine if a Rep had done this???

          I am much more concerned about the actions that Hillary has taken in the past to cover up multiple scandals, about what this foretells for her actions if elected President, than I am about some words that her opponent said 11 years ago. Hillary laid out exactly what she wanted from the Supreme Court if she wins, and it will truly be the end of our Constitution and nation as we know it. But sadly too many people don’t care anymore; they are more interested in The Voice, Survivor, Lady Gaga, etc; and of course in how much more the govt can do for them (not realizing it will actually be doing it TO them).

    2. Thune is part of the R and D elite who are teaming up to get Hillary elected. He likes things just the way they are. FINALLY we have a strong outspoken man like Trump who will call out P***ys like Ryan, Thune Bush, Clinton, and all the other career politicians that are drunk with power within their own parties.

  5. He has three weeks to make it about Law and Order, domestic and foreign safety, and economic growth, overplayed with exploiting HRC’s bad standing with regards to trustworthy.

    It will be interested how the Sanders supporters will handle the confirmation of the illegal coordination between the DNC and Superpacs.

    Side note: will we hear Weiland condemn this “big money”?

  6. It is being reported that the Evangelicals groups are still supporting Trump 100% despite of everything. Curious if Dale Bartscher and the Family Heritage Alliance are still supporting Donald Trump.

    2. Actions (Slick Willy and Hillary’s lying about his actions) versus words. It’s not that difficult. Hillary has had years in the public eye and in public “service” to prove that she is capable and takes her oaths seriously, and she comes up very, very short.

      Trump has admitted he was wrong, HIllary never will. Who is worse? (Trick question-it’s Hillary, obviously).

    1. If you surveyed Americans today and asked who is the worst Presidential candidate of all time, it would almost assuredly come out Trump. Is he the “better choice” when compared to Hillary? Well, he does have business experience. But on knowledge, political experience, temperament, and ability to unite Americans, that would be a resounding no. And, as you may have figured out by now, he isn’t even a conservative.

      He has drug all of us into this gutter day after day and last night was just another mud hole for the Donald. It did not change my mind. I would never vote for such a risky and unstable candidate.

      1. But you’d vote for someone who as secretary of state left the Middle East in the worst condition it has been in for a long time, if ever; you’d vote for someone who is a proven liar; you’d vote for someone who put our national security in jeopardy with her emails; you’d vote for someone who used the FBI and DOJ to cover up her misdeeds? And you think Trump is risky and unstable?

        She has political experience, is a trained, dyed-in-the-wool politician; but that is NOT what the US needs right now. As for her unifying power, I would put that right up there with Obama’s, and we know what that is!

        1. Trump believes, invents and spreads conspiracy theories even after they are proven completely false. Obama’s birth. Ted Cruz’s dad was in on Kennedy assassination. Bush knew about 9/11. On and on.

          Stop pretending that he is rational. He can never be given the nuclear codes.

          1. and I see you dodged the Hillary failures in your response…they are indefensible so I can see why you tried to change the discussion

            1. Nice try. I didn’t change the subject. The subject is Donald Trump’s fitness for office.

              What about Hillary? She may be crooked and her husband has done some pretty unsavory things but she is not crazy and he was not a significant threat to our future as a country. With Donald Trump, I can’t say those things with certainty.

              1. What makes Hillary fit? Her failure to act causing the death of Americans in Benghazi? Her support of the terrible Iran nuke deal? Her desire to appoint Supreme Court justices who don’t believe in the Constitution? Her ability to destroy emails to shield herself from prosecution? Her sending of confidential emails in the first place? Does any of that add to her positives in this race?

                1. Hey. I get it. Hillary has a host of problems that come with her and I know it. But I honestly do not think that Trump is stable. I think that there are serious psychological issues there that preclude him from being granted that kind of power.

                    1. It depends on the psychological issues. Today we have nuclear codes. Those ICBMS can reach their destination in about 30 minutes. Submarine launched 15 minutes? We need a President with the right temperament who is cool, steady and not escalate to the edge of Nuclear War in the first place.

              2. Would someone who has committed felonies, some of which put our country at risk and most assuredly put peoples’ lives in danger and probably have lead to some of those people being killed in the field be someone who has done something unsavory enough for you to say you would not vote for that person?

              3. Neither candidate is crazy IMO. But one is a power hungry, pathological liar, whose actions have abetted the situation we now have in the Middle East and Iran, which threatens the safety of every American, and who does not believe in the US Constitution. And that to me is far more dangerous than anything Donald has said or done.

      2. Trump is exposing how corrupt Clinton really is. The truth is coming out on the gutter and unstable and risky politicians we have running this country. 9% approval rating? This is a movement saying people are mad as hell at both parties.

  8. Does all this really matter being that South Dakota is such a small state in the election? We are focused on keeping the nutballs from being elected in our local races where we feel can make much more of a difference.

    1. I hope the people in district 3 can see what a troublemaker Cory Heidelberger is. Follow the history of this guy, he was fired from teaching at Madison and later ran for the school board to derail an expansion and renovation project. He will not be good in Pierre

      1. Bob, We sure hope to stop this guy from ever being elected to anything. It is all about him. Any additional info you can share about his time in Madison would help. Something happened to him in Spearfish in that he lost his job there too. With the shortage of teachers it must of been pretty bad.

  9. Seems the people who hate Hillary the most are becoming the most like her: Stand by your man no matter how vile and disgusting he is.

    1. Hillary has told us how she’ll ruin the country; with Trump with have a better chance of salvaging it. He was not my first, second, third. . . choice, but he is better than Hillary, a known serial liar and socialist who doesn’t respect the Constitution. Yeah, it’s not a great choice, but one of the two will be President, and I will go with Trump over Hillary.

    2. That’s what Melania will do, until Trump gets bored with her and swaps her out for a newer model.

  10. Just listen to Trump. He says things like “they like me…they are great people” and “he was nice to me….he is an outstanding guy” as well as “she was unfair to me….she is a disaster”.

    Over and over.

    Narcissists are very easy personality types to manipulate. He views the value of others based solely on how much they suck up to him.

    Obviously, Vladimir Putin has known this for a long time. God help us if he is ever elected President.

    1. We were out canvassing and a few Democrats did not put up Hillary signs this year because of their fear of some of the Trump supporters. They were afraid of having their property vandalized and those few that had a sign or sticker had some really nasty remarks made towards them by strangers and their vehicles had been keyed.

      What happened to civility? We are all Americans!

      1. Funny. I hesitated to put a sign for Trump at the end of our driveway for the very same reason, or that it would reflect negatively on the local candidate signs I had up.

        1. Springer we saw one vandalized large Trump sign on our way back from the cities just east of Benson, MN. The other GOP candidate signs were left alone but noticed a few Trump signs were removed from sharing space with those candidates. Those land owners might be distancing themselves from Trump now.

          1. Funny, what I hear and read about seems to be Trump supporters being threatened. I don’t hear anything about Clinton supporters being threatened. BTW, while driving to the Twin Cities from Sioux Falls this weekend, we saw exactly 0 Clinton signs, but did see several Trump signs. Just saying. I’m sure if we had gotten into the city itself, we would have seen Clinton signs.

            1. There is literally video of Trump inciting people to violence at his events. Interesting how what you read and hear coalesces with who you support.

          2. If a landowner has any knowledge of what Hillary has in store for them in the form of more regs, doubling down on Obama’s regs regarding land, carbon, etc, they would vote Trump!

  11. I just tried to call Daugaard’s office to ask if he as an elector would vote for Trump, since he has now denounced him. His mailbox is full! Anyway, after I realized this is a holiday, tomorrow I will be calling and asking that same question. I wonder how many messages in his mailbox have to do with this very thing.

  13. Here is the result of the WSJ poll taken over the weekend (post release of the tape and prior to the debate):

    HRC: 40% positive, 50% negative, -10% Net (Net was -5% last poll)
    DT: 29% positive, 63% negative, -34% Net. (Net was -33% last poll)

    Head to Head:
    HRC: 46% (up from 43% last poll)
    DT: 35% (down from 37% last poll)

    The last poll was prior to the first debate.

    Here is what I glean from this poll: Since the first debate and through this weekend, whatever the distribution of people who thought poorly of both, there has been movement to HRC (least bad choice?).

    The above is underscored by this: Of those supporting Trump, 37% were supporting Trump while 52% are primarily opposing Clinton.

    2. Troy,

      Were you aware that the polling organization used in this poll is Hart Research Associates, whose President is Geoff Garin?

      From the “Team Page” at Hart Research: “In politics, Mr. Garin has a well-earned reputation for helping candidates win in difficult circumstances. He has directed the polling and created winning campaign strategies for many of the Democratic leaders serving in the US Senate, including Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin, Mark Warner, Dianne Feinstein, Patrick Leahy, and Ben Cardin. In 2008, he helped direct the strategy team for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign during its final two months, and in 2012 he served as the pollster and strategic advisor to Priorities USA, the super PAC supporting President Obama’s reelection. He currently is playing a similar role for Priorities USA in support of Hillary Clinton’s election.”
      http://hartresearch.com/team/geoff-garin/

  14. Some of the commentators’ hate for Clinton is clouding their judgement. I am not a Clinton fan but honestly believe Trump is unstable and unfit to be our President. There is something seriously wrong with him.

  15. Where’s the SD director of the Trump campaign amid thune and Daugaard leaving the nominee? Crickets?

  16. Matt Michels also needs to own up to denouncing Trump….he and Daugaard need to step down as electors NOW.. .Donald Trump needs to go into WH come January period. Enough of all the rest…Jail Hilary let Trump clean house on both sides of the aisle. Hope Trump dumps Thune from AG committee. Hope the cleanup and reform hits every state!

  17. I will never vote for Thune again….. ever!

    If he loses, he can go back to being a lobbyist (corporate tool) doing God’s work (/S)

    I was pissed when he voted for TARP, but I voted for him anyway, not this time.

    I tried to email the a$$, but I suspect it has been turned off or it is overloaded.

    It has reached the point that I won’t even email any of the 3 amigos in DC, they don’t keep any of their campaign promises and are proxy votes for their respective leadership! If I want their position on an issue, I just look up Ryan’s or McConnell’s position. In the courage and leadership category they get a BIG FAT ZERO!

    Very sad

    1. Thune, Paul Ryan and McConnell are real conservatives. Mike Lee is a conservative and so is Ben Sasse. You can choose to side with the RINO, Donald Trump, but you might want to figure out why.

      Why do you, Rush, Sean Hannity and the rest support a guy with no morals, no self control and no solid positions on the issues. A man with boundless levels of ignorance, instability and obnoxiousness. And he is not now nor has he ever been a conservative.

      Let me guess. Immigration?

      1. Thune is disloyal and gutless…. So your telling me Hillary is a better choice. Thune hasn’t been a resident of SD in a long time. He should resign and go back to lobbying. Money and corruption is what this is all about.

        Does he support Hillary because of corruption or he does he agree with her on open borders, the Iran deal, no border wall, reckless budgets, crippling the second amendment, last trimester abortion… the list is endless. The choice is farcical!

        Regardless I WILL not vote for Johnny “TARP” Thune…. Funny his largest contributor is Blackstone Group!

        I am making it my mission to suppress the Thune vote. I am used to holding my nose, I guess I will hold my nose and vote for Williams.

        I guess you can call #NeverThune!

  18. The latest NBC-WSJ poll is a small sample and seems to have been rushed out to suppress the Trump vote. This election has become a battle between the DC-NYC-LA establishment axis and the people who are fed up with the status quo. Sadly, much of the “Republican Party” would rather see HRC as President because they fear Trump would destroy their gravy train.

    It’s disgusting that “GOP leaders” would help enable the election of a President who would support:
    1) Higher taxes
    2) More oppressive government regulations
    3) Open borders
    4) Unconditional amnesty for illegal immigrants
    5) Extensive government corruption
    6) Continuation of a disastrous foreign policy
    7) Weaker military
    8) Disrespect for the Constitution
    9) Liberal, activist judges with political motivations
    10) Continued attacks on the 2nd Amendment
    11) Disrespect for the police
    12) Continued support of BLM, a terrorist group advocating cop-killing, and
    13) Eagerness to enter into foreign treaties which undermine American sovereignty.

    1. I want to see the Republican Party convince Trump to step down and let someone with a chance to win take us to election day. If you prefer to lose in a landslide then you, not me, will be responsible for the Clinton administration.

      1. Your Republican leadership and the people that buy their BS will be responsible for Hillary getting elected. I still believe the people are going to win. Trump is just their messenger.

    2. It is all about the money…. supposedly Thune agrees will Hillary on none of the issues. I suspect he is acting as a McConnell/Ryan surrogate

  19. The same “Republican Party” that gave us the light-weight candidacies of the Bushes, Dole, McCain and Romney? That created the vacuum that Trump ended up filling. The establishment is more worried about protecting themselves (and their bank account) than defeating HRC. That’s why they excessively promoted Jeb’s dud of a candidacy instead of realizing that the majority of the GOP electorate wanted change and an outsider.

    Unless Trump dies or quits, replacing him now is the latest insider NeverTrump fantasy.

  20. Actually Thune and Hillary do have something in common!

    Drudge headline

    WIKILEAKS BOMBSHELL: Hillary Advisors Admit She “HATES EVERYDAY AMERICANS”

  21. Democrats: Even if you agree substantially with Hillary on the issues, how can you really be proud to vote for her in light of all the revelations about her honesty and integrity?

    Republicans: Even if you agree substantially with Donald on the issues, how can you really be proud to vote for her in light of all the revelations about his attitude for mothers and daughters?

    According to the WSJ poll just released:

    44% of the people who express “support” for HRC say their primary motive is in opposition to DJT.

    52% of the people who express “support” for DJT say their primary motive is in opposition to HRC.

    Alternatively, if elected, essentially roughly 25% of the American people support Hillary and 15% of the American people support Donald. In short, both parties have nominated people whose capacity to govern is virtually zero as more Americans will significantly oppose them than support them.

  23. The rape accusation is a fabrication.

    “Lawsuits accusing Donald Trump of sexually assaulting a child in the 1990s appear to have been orchestrated by an eccentric anti-Trump campaigner with a record of making outlandish claims about celebrities.

    Norm Lubow, a former producer on the Jerry Springer TV show, has previously been involved with disputed allegations that OJ Simpson bought illegal drugs on the day Simpson’s wife was murdered, and that Kurt Cobain’s widow had the Nirvana frontman killed.”
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/07/donald-trump-sexual-assault-lawsuits-norm-lubow

  24. William,

    Yes I did know that. But, that doesn’t mean the underlying information is necessarily slanted. Polling methodology is math and the methodology stays the same over time. If you disagree with the outcome because of assumptions on turn-out and/or voter demographic composition, you can still gain insight from the trends which is what the real point of my post.

    But, let’s go to another polling firm which one could make the opposite accusation (works mostly for Republicans). Here is what we have from Rasmussen since before the first debate:

    9/21: Trump +1%
    9/28: Trump -1%
    10/2: Trump -3%
    10/10: Trump -5%

    Or just look at the last 30 polls (variety of pollsters) dating back to prior to the first debate:

    Hillary has been BELOW 43% in six polls and not since 9/26.

    Donald has been ABOVE 42% in six polls and only once since 9/26.

    1. Troy,

      I’m not claiming all polls are biased, nor that Trump is leading Hillary at this point, but one must account for bias, both in polling and interpretation of results.

      One point I believe almost all polling shows is, more voters are voting AGAINST a candidate than FOR one, and that’s the most disturbing aspect of all.

  25. It is because of Thune, Rounds, Noem, Duggard, Ryan, and their buddies that we have Trump. If they would have done their jobs in opposing Obama these last 8 years, we wouldn’t be where we are today. We have no opposition party – only a little bit of lip service and not much of that either. If HC is elected, they have themselves to blame. My grandchildren will suffer because of them. I will never vote for Thune again. Hopefully, Duggard will be gone from the political picture after his tour of Democrat-Lite duty is over.

        1. You mean Xenophobia? Maybe just plain old paranoia.

          Watch out for the Chinese, Mexicans and Kenyans. Beware of the “establishment” and Republican leaders. The elections are rigged. The media is out to get me. The evil Megan Kelly especially.

          But you can trust me. Don Juan Trump. And Vladimir too.

  28. Trump said yesterday….. “They want to release more tapes [of me] saying inappropriate things, we’ll continue to talk about Bill and Hillary Clinton doing inappropriate things,” the GOP nominee declared.

    Wow. Believe Donald when he virtually tells you that there are more videos to come.

    Talk about admitting that you are a complete dunce.

  29. Jimmy,

    I have called you out when your Donald Dereangement Disorder comes thorough but that last statement was total dunce. It is like on those crime shows when the cop asks a question and the perp just runs at the mouth so we wrap up within the hour. Donald the Dunce.

  31. Oh, I can be a dunce from time to time but the “derangement” category belongs to the guy surrounded by Roger Stone, Roger Ailes, Steve Bannon and Alex Jones. That’s some inner circle that the Donald has there.

    .

    1. Then in an article from The Hill this morning:

      “After Ryan said this week he was done defending Trump, Fox News host Sean Hannity declared on his show that Ryan and other GOP leaders’ “days are numbered.”

      “I think the old Republican order is dead. It’s not coming back. It is over,” said Hannity, a fervent Trump backer. “And Paul Ryan won’t be Speaker [for] very long.”

      Just think. A newly minted Republican like Trump who isn’t even a conservative can say and do all of these crazy things and anyone who dares to object is “over”, “dead” and their “days are numbered”.

      Kill, Steal and Destroy. And he says Hillary is the devil?

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