AFTER the much-anticipated, most watched presidential debate in history, a majority of Filipinos in America who tuned in on Monday, September 26 said Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton won this round versus Republican Party nominee Donald Trump.
In an online viewer poll of The Filipino Channel’s daily newscast “Balitang America,” 65 percent of the viewers who voted said Clinton won the debate over Trump, stating that the Democratic nominee seemed more prepared and was very specific in her answers to policy questions.
The remaining 35 percent thought Trump won, contending that he was tough on Hillary and did not back down as they discussed the issues.
While the “Balitang America” poll was not scientific as the tabulation was based on viewers who actually voted in the online poll, the results came close to the national poll conducted immediately after the debate.
According to the CNN/ORC poll released after the event, 62 percent thought Clinton won compared to 27 percent who felt Trump won.
Filipino-American Political Science professor Jay Gonzales of the Golden State University in San Francisco told me in my interview on “Balitang America” that he thought Clinton won the first round of debate in both form and substance.
Gonzales, however, said these two candidates already have the support of their loyal base within their own respective parties. What would really be critical is how much each of them would be able to gain among the undecided and independent voters.
In the earliest poll post-debate in two key battleground states, Clinton seems to have gained more ground than Trump.
According to CNN, a Mason-Dixon poll of likely voters in Florida found Clinton leading Trump 46 percent to 42 percent, just outside of the poll’s margin of error.
CNN further reported that Clinton is ahead of Trump by 7 points in New Hampshire, according to the new WBUR poll released Friday after the debate. Clinton had 42 percent support to Trump’s 35 percent.
The next debate will be on October 9. Abangan!
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
