Just yesterday she called him the babe ruth of debating. This faceoff comes as polls show the race is getting closer. Surveys show its basically tied in crucial battleground states that could decide the election. Polls say they dont like the nominees, most of them. A wall street journal said onethird of voters will be very important in min their minds and analysts predict 100 Million People may be watching with you tonight. Thats almost as many as the past few super bowls. In fact, the New York Post shows some bars are showing the debate instead of monday night football, and other bar owners are sticking with the games for safety reasons feeling it may cause more fights than politics, and may be right. Showing the race really is closer. Yes. Candidates going into tonights debate with the polls tighter than ever. Which means what happens on the stage tonight could have an impact on the race for the white house. A virtual heat. Hillary clinton 44 . Donald trump at 43 among likely voters due to the most reliable Polling Group and a new poll from bloomberg, trump leads clinton 43 to 41 . In all three polls libertarian gary johnson, 8 . Analysts are skeptical about third party voters actually showing up on election day. Tonights guest, trump has several family members including children and spouses along with a benghazi survivor, gold star mother. And Keith Kellogg and bruce duval. Bobby knight spotted on the scene as a trump surrogate. Dallas mavericks owner mark cuban as a guest of Hillary Clinton and a 9 11 survivor. A single mother who suffered Domestic Violence and a woman who became pen pals with clinton at 8 years old and clinton was in the white house as first lady. Her Campaign Says shes in the zone, feeling competent. Trumps team said hell be bold laying out his vision for america. Of course, the trump and Clinton Family are intt a good view. Lester holt of nbc nightly news will be your moderator. Going 90 minutes uninterrupted by commercial breaks. So sit back and enjoy. Were glad youre with us tonight on fox. Good evening from Hofstra University in hempstead, new york. Im lester holt, anchor of nbc nightly news and i want to welcome you to the first president ial debate. The participants tonight are donald trump and Hillary Clinton. Commission on president s debates, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization. The commission drafted tonights format and the rules agreed to by the campaigns. The 90minute debate is divided into six segments. Each 15 minutes long. Well explore three topic areas tonight, achieving prosperity, americas direction, and securing america. At the start of hes each segment i will ask the same leadoff question to both candidates and two minutes to respond. From that point until the end of the segment well have an open discussion. The questions are mine, and have not been shared with the commission or the campaigns. The audience here in the room has agreed to remain silent so that we can focus on what the candidates are saying. I will invite you to applaud, however, at this moment as we welcome the candidates. Democratic nominee for president of the United States, Hillary Clinton, and republican nominee for president of the united [ cheers and applause ] how are ya, donald . Good luck to you. Thank you. [ applause ] well, i dont expect us to kov 0er all the issues of campaign tonight but remind everyone there are two more president ial debates scheduled. We are going to focus on many of the issues that voters tell us are most important, and were going to press for specifics. I am honored to have this role but this evening belongs to the candidates, and just as important to the American People. Candidates, we look forward to hearing you articulate your policies and positions as well as your visions and your values. So lets begin. Were calling this opening segment achieving prosperity. There are two economic realities in america today. Theres been a record six straight years of job growth and new census numbers shows income increased at a record rate after years of stagnation. However, income inequality remains significant and nearly half of americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Beginning with you, secretary of state clinton, why are you a better choice than your opponent to create the kinds of jobs that will put more money into the pockets of American Workers . Well,ha thanks to hofstra for hosting us. The central question in this election is really, what kind of country we want to be and what kind of future well build together. Today is my granddaughters second birthday. So i think about this a lot. First, we have to build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top. That means we need new jobs, good jobs, with rising incomes. I want us to invest in you. Future. That means jobs in infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing. Innovation and technology, clean renewable energy, and small business, because most of the new jobs will come from small business. We also have to make the economy fairer. That starts with raising the National Minimum wage, and, also, guarantees, finally, equal pay for womens work. I also want to see more companies do profit sharing. If you help create the profits, them, not just the executives at the top. And i want us to do more to support people who are struggling to balance family and work. Ive heard from so man of you about the difficult choices you face and the stresses that youre under. So lets have paid family leave, earned sick days, lets be sure we have affordable child care and debtfree college. How are we going do it . By having the wealthy pay theyre fair share and close the finally, we, tonight, are on the stage together, donald trump and i. Donald, its going to be with you. Were going to have a debate where we are talking about the important issues facing our country. You have to judge us. Who can shoulder the immense, awesome responsibilities of the presidency. Who can put into action the plans that will make your life better . I hope that i will be able to secretary clinton, thank you. Mr. Trump, the same question to you. Its about putting money, more money into the pockets of American Workers. You have up to two minutes. Thank you, lester. Our jobs are fleeing the country. Theyre going to mexico, theyre going to many other countries. You look at what china is doing to our country in terms of making our product, theyre devaluing their currency and theres nobody in our government to fight them, and we have a very good fight and we have a using our country as a piggy bank to rebuild china and many other countries are doing the same thing. So were losing our good jobs. So many of them. When you look at whats happening in mexico, a friend of mine who builds plants said its the eighth wonder of the world, building some of the biggest, best, sophisticated plants. With the United States, as you said, not so much. So ford is leaving. You see their small car division leaving. Thousands of jobs leaving michigan, leaving hi hi, theyre all leaving and we cant allow it to happen. As far as child care and so many other things, hillary and i agree on that. We probably disagree as far as numbers and amounts and what were going to do, but perhaps well talk about that later, but we have to stop our jobs from being stolen from us. We have to stop our companies and with it firing all of their people. All you have to do is take a look at carrier air conditioning, in indianapolis. They left, fired 1,400 people. Theyre going to mexico. So many hundreds and hundreds of companies are doing this. We cannot let it happen. Under my plan, i will be reducing taxes tremendously, from 35 to 15 for companies. Small and big businesses. Thats going to be a job creator ke ronald reagan. Its going to be a beautiful thing to watch. Companies will come. They will build. They will expand. New companies will start and i look very, very much forward to doing it. We have to renegotiate or trade deals and stop these countries from stealing our companies and our jobs. Secretary clinton, would you like to respond . Well, i think that trade is an important issue, of course, we are 5 of the worlds population and have to trade to have smart, fair trade deals. We also, though, need to have a tax system that rewards work and not just financial transactions. And the kind of plan that donald has put forth would be trickle down economics all over again. In fact it would be the most extreme version, the biggest tax cuts for the top percents of the people in this country than weve ever had. I call it trumped up trickle down. Because thats exactly what it would be. That isot economy. We just have a different view about whats best for growing the economy. How we make investments that will actually produce jobs and rising incomes. I think we come at it from somewhat different perspectives. I understand that. You know, donald was very fortunate in his life, and thats all to his benefit. He started his business with 14 million, borrowed from his father, and he really believes and that everything will work out from there. I dont buy that. I have a different experience. My father was a small businessman. He worked really hard. He printed drapery fabrics on long tables where he pulled out those fabrics and went down with a silk screen and dumped the paint in and took the squeegee and kept going. So what i believe is the more we can do for the middle class, the more we can invest in you, your education, your skills, your future, the better we will be off, and the better well grow. Thats the kind of economy i want us to see again. Let me followup with mr. Trump if i can. You talked about creating 25 million jobs and promised to bring back millions of jobs for americans. How are we going to bring back the industries that have left this country for cheaper labor overseas . How specifically are you going to tell american manufacturers that you have to come back . Well, for one thing, and before we start on that, my Company Worth many, many billions of dollars worth some of the greatest assets in the world. I say that, because thats the kind of thinking our country need. Were in deep trouble. We dont know what were doing when it comes to devaluations. Especially china, theyre the best ever at it. What theyre doing to us is a very, very sad thing. So we have to do that. We have to renegotiate our trade deals, and, lester, theyre taking our jobs, giving incentives, doing things frankly we dont mexico they have a vat tax, on a different system. When we sell into mexico theres a tax. When they sell in, automatic 16 approximately. When they sell into us, theres no tax. Its a defective agreement. Its been defective for a long time. Many years. But the politicians havent done anything about it. In all fairness to secretary clinton, yes, is that okay . Good. I want you to be very happy. But in all fairness to secretary clinton, when she started talking about this, it was really very recently. Shes been doing this for 30 years, and why hasnt she made the agreements better . The nafta agreement is defective, just because of the tax and many other reasons but just because of the tax let me interrupt you a second. Secretary clinton and others politicians should have doing this for years. Not just because weve create whats happened to our jobs, our country and economy generally is look, we owe 20 trillion. We cannot do it any longer, lester. Back to the question, though, how do you bring back, specifically bring back jobs . American manufacturers, how do you make them bring the jobs back . First thing, dont let the jobs leave. The companies are leaving. I could name i mean, there are thousands of them. Theyre leaving and theyre leaving in bigger numbers than ever. And what you do, say, fine. Another country, good luck. We wish you a lot of luck. If you think youre going to make your air conditioners cars, cookies whatever you make, and bring them into our country without a tax, youre wrong. And once you say youre going to have to tax them coming in, and our politicians never do this, because they have special interests and the special interests want those companies to leave, because in many cases they own the companies. So what i am saying is, we can stop them from leaving. We have to stop them from leaving, and thats a big, factor. One second, mrs. Clinton. Stop a second and remember where we were eight years ago. We had the worst financial crisis, great recession, the worst since the 1930s. That was in large part because of tax policies that slashed taxes on the wealthy, failed to invest in the middle class, took their eyes off of wall street, and created a perfect storm. Housing crisis. He said, back in 2006, gee, i hope it does collapse, because, then i can go in and buy some and make some money. Well it did collapse. Thats called, business, by the way. 9 Million People 9 Million People lost their jobs. 5 Million People lost their homes and 13 trillion in Family Wealth was wiped out. Now, we have come back from that abyss, and it has not been easy. So were now on the having a potentially much better economy, but the last thing we need to do is to go back to the policies that failed us in the first place. Independent experts have looked at what ive proposed and looked at what donalds proposed, and basically theyve said this that if his tax plan, which would blow up the debt by over 5 trillion, and would in some instances disadvantage middle we would lose 3. 5 million jobs, and maybe have another recession. Theyve looked at my plans and theyve said, okay. If we can do this, and i intend to get it done, we will have 10 million more new jobs. Because we will be making investments where we can grow the economy. Take clean energy. Some country is going to be the Clean Energy Superpower of the 21st century. Donald thinks that climate the chinese. I think its real. I did not i do not say that. And i think its important that we. I do not say that. Its important to grip this and deal with it both at home and abroad. We can deemployee half a billion more solar panels. Have enough clean energy to power every home, build a new electric grid. Thats a lot of jobs and economic activity. Ive tried to be very specific and i am determined were going to get the economy really moving again. Building on the progress weve made over the last eight years but never going back to what got us in trouble in the first place. Mr. Trump . She talks about solar panels. We invested in a solar company, our country. That was a disaster. They lost plenty of money on that one. Now, look, im a great believer in all forms of energy. But were putting a lot of people out of work, our Energy Policies are a disaster. Our country is losing so terms of energy, in terms of paying off our debt. You cant do what youre looking to do with 20 trillion in debt. The Obama Administration from the time theyve come in is over 230 years worth of debt, and hes topped it. Hes doubled it in a course of do a better job at keeping our jobs and incentives to get new economies to expand. Theyre not doing it. Look at michigan, look at ohio and all of these places where so many of their, of their jobs and their companies are just leaving. Theyre gone. And hillary i would just ask you this youve been doing this for 30 years. Why are you just thinking about these solutions right now . For 30 yearsouve been doing it, and now youre just starting tohi well, actually thats excuse me. I will bring back jobs. You cant bring back jobs. Actually, i have thought about this quite a bit. Yeah, for 30 years. And i have well, not quite that long. I think my husband did a pretty good sglob the 1990s. I think a lot about what worked and how we can work it again. He approved nafta, which is the single worst trade deal in this country. The 1990s if we actually look at the facts. When i was in the senate i had a number of trade deals that came before me and i held them all to the same test. Will they create jobs in america . Will they raise incomes in america . And are they good for our National Security . Some of them i voted for. The biggest once, a multinational one known at cafta, i voted against, and because i hold the same standards as i look at all of these trade deals, but lets not challenge we have in the economy. I think it is a part of it, and ive said what im going to do. Im going to have a special prosecutor. Were going to enforce the trade deals we have, and were going to hold people accountable. When i was secretary of state, we actually increased american exports globally 30 . We increased them to china 50 . So i know how to really work to get new jobs and to get exports jobs. You havent done it in 30 years or 26 years, any number you ive been a senator and i have been a secretary of state. Excuse me. Your husband signed nafta, one of the worst things that ever happened. Thats your opinion. That is your opinion. You go to new england, ohio, pennsylvania, you go anywhere you want, secretary clinton, and you will see devastation, where manufacturer is down 30, 40, sometimes 50 . Nafta is the maybe ever signed everywhere certainly ever signed in this country and now you want to approve transpacific partnership. Totally in favor of it, heard what i was saying, how bad it is, cant win that debate, but you know if you did win you would approve that, and that will be almost as bad as nafta. Nothing will ever top nafta. That is just not accurate. I was against it once it was finally negotiated, and the terms were laid out. I wrote about that in standard. You called it the Gold Standard of trade deals. You said its the finest deal youve ever seen. No. And then you heard what i sead about it, all of a sudden you were against it. Donald, i know you live in your own reality but that is not the fact. The facts are i hoped it would be a good deal, but when negotiated whichy a was not responsible for, i concluded it wasnt. I wrote about that. So is it president obamas fault . Is it president obamas fault . Before you even announced. Secretary, is it obamas fault . There are different because hes pushing it. There are different views about whats good for our country, our economy, and our leadership in the world. And i think its important to look at what we need to do to get the economy going again. Thats why i said, new jobs with ris