To familiarize himself with the surroundings. For the last month or so, trump has been rolling out steady policy positions. But for the most part, this race has been more about personality, fitness for office and honesty. As you said, right now the polls, its a tossup. A poll shows a virtual tie along likely voters within the margin of error. Clinton is favored to win tonights debate. Among independents, trump leads by seven points. The monmouth poll shows clinton up four within the margin. Trump has a slight lead within the margin of error with clinton favors to perform better than clinton. Raising expectations in ways that make mistakes more costly. Trumps teams is trying to lower expectations. Let him be himself. He is an extraordinary political thinker and a great communicator. It doesnt mean necessarily he has the advantage in the debate. She has obviously policy knowledge i dont have. Shes been in government since i was a child. I dont remember a time she hasnt been in government
Of the five live from Hofstra University. The first debate between Hillary Clinton and donald trump. 100 Million People are expected to watch it all unfold. Were excited to be here ahead of tonights big showdown. We thank all these guys because i dont think any other guys has had this kind of treatment. How are the candidates prepping in the final moment ss . We begin with fox team coverage. So first up, campaign carl. Take it away. Reporter well, donald trump has spent the last several days getting ready for this debate. Probably spent more time in trump tower preparing for this than anything else he has done and more time in the tower than during his ferociously busy campaign for this general election. He was scheduled to be here an hour ago, actually. To go through an have a walk through and take a look at the stage at this moment. Were told now that thats been pushed back. Trump wont arrive here until another hour from now. Then he will get his walk through. He will go behind close
Now less than seven hours from this crucial debate. I want to begin our coverage this afternoon as we count you down with sara murray inside the debate hall already. How exactly is this going to work . Just the logistics of it. Who goes first . How much time do they get to talk . Reporter well, of course, this is going to be different from what we saw in the primaries. Theyre going to be on stage together in this debate hall. Hillary clinton won the coin toss, so she goes first. After that, shell get a question. Each candidate will have two minutes to answer the question. Now, the way its formatted is its going to be six different segments. Each will be 15 minutes long. The candidates will go back and forth. Theyll answer questions. Unlike the primary debates, the whole thing is 90 minutes long. There will be no commercials. There will be no breaks. So, that means these candidates will not have an opportunity to go and speak to their aides in the midst of this debate. Remember, erin, t
Announcer from nbc news World Headquarters in new york, this is nbc nightly news with lester holt. Good evening. A campaign that has all year long defied political norms and ignited levels of vitriol charted new history last night. The largest u. S. Tv audience for a president ial debate in history. More than 80 Million People watched on tv and millions more via the internet for the long awaited showdown between Hillary Clinton and donald trump, who are back on the road tonight, doing what campaigns do following debates. Declaring victory. In this case, after a brawling 90 minutes that touched nearly every raw nerve between them. Theres a lot to cover on this night after the debate. We start with nbcs peter alexander. Reporter the faceoff, fierce, the contrast, unmistakable. Hillary clintons planned attacks. Donald, i know you live in your own reality, but that is not the fact. Reporter against Donald Trumps freewheeling jabs. Shes got experience, that i agree, but its bad, bad experie
Three nights from 9 00 p. M. To 10 30 p. M. , so her body clock is sort of up for that prime time debate. Of course, donald trump is used to giving long speeches at rallies, so hes used to be on his feet for a long time, but thats important to remember for these candidates, standing up there for 90 minutes, no commercials, they cant walk out. Donald trump is doing more practicing than hes letting on. You talk to some republicans in their inner circle, they say hes been taking this seriously, not doing it as formally as she has, these mock debates but practicing a lot, nonetheless. What about in terms of the format. We know she goes first and then what in terms of, you know during the debate, the earlier debates, there would be a little alarm bell that would go off for time, as an example. This is different. No buzzers. There wont be any sounds like that. The moderator keeps time. The audience will be different. The audience is supposed to be quiet during general election debates. Total