Didn’t have time to watch the debate? Or maybe you watched the debate and are curious to learn about the early analysis? The following links and articles will help you get up to speed on what happened in Wednesday’s debate. Or you can just read the summaries.
Best Trump zingers of the debate:
It’s no secret that Trump is currently leading the Republican race. His bombastic style and extremely combative soundbites have dominated the race and nearly any conversation surrounding the GOP since he decided to run. Trump always delivers controversial sound bites.
That being said, moments after the debate concluded, CNN had posted a compilation of Trump’s “best Zingers” that I recommend watching if you didn’t catch the debate. Whether you genuinely like Trump or if you just want something to chuckle and shake your head at as Trump blasts his fellow candidates, watch the video here.
Statistics and graphics from Fivethirtyeight.com:
This article is kind of long and scattered as it was live updated during the debate; however, it is worth a read-through for the informational graphics on the debate. The statisticians, including Nate Silver from last year’s Tate lecture, put together information on who talked the most and initial reactions to the debate.
Unsurprisingly Trump talked the most by far, with 13 direct questions, 9 replies, and 5 interruptions. Bush came slightly behind, Fiorina just below, and the rest of the field somewhat behind that.
While the candidates were outspoken towards each other, Obama took the worst of the debate being attacked a total of 29 times. Aside from taking down the president, foreign policy took center stage, as it was mentioned 16 times, 10 times more than the next-closest topic of immigration.
Carly Fiorina came away as the clear winner in Fivethrityeight’s opinion, with the remainder of the candidates coming in clearly behind. It will be interesting to see if the polls coming out later will reflect this opinion.
Winners and losers from CNN
CNN has posted an article here outlining who they thought were the winners and losers from last night’s debate. They put Carly Fiorina as the winner with Rubio, Bush, and Christie having good nights as well.
CNN was unsure of whether Donal Trump would benefit or be harmed from his performance in the debate. He had moments of both good and bad, and their analysis could not determine whether the good or bad is what will stick with Trump moving forward.
On the other side, CNN took the performances from Paul, Walker, Huckabee, Cruz, and surprising Carson as lacking. Carson was put down for his refusal to capitalize on opportunities to go head-to-head against Trump and possibly surpass him in the polls. The rest of the candidates were largely lost in the crossfire and attacks of the debate.
While it is still too early to tell what the lasting results of this second debate will be, these articles can at least keep you informed on initial reactions from last night’s show. Continue to watch this space for updates on polling and future implications as the GOP race continues on towards the 2016 election.
