What you wished Trump and Clinton got asked: Benghazi, foundations, climate change
Moderator Lester Holt warned viewers at the beginning of Monday’s presidential debate that there wouldn’t be enough time to ask Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump every pressing question.
The Times asked readers on Facebook and Twitter what they would have liked to have seen the nominees discuss. Of those questions that went unasked, a clear theme emerged about what was overlooked: accountability for the controversies that have followed the candidates throughout the campaign. Questions about Clinton’s emails and the Benghazi attacks, and her foundation as well as Trump’s, were cited most frequently by readers:
“Nothing on The Clinton Foundation.”
“Trump’s Foundation.”
“No questions about Benghazi.”
“Besides Trump and that brief conversation about [Clinton’s] emails, it was never brought up.”
It’s true that Clinton’s emails did come up once, but no new information was gleaned. Here’s a snippet from that conversation:
Others thought climate policy didn’t get enough attention.
“What about global warming? The only thing that really matters, long-term, and not one single question.”
The brief mention it got was Clinton saying Trump didn’t believe in climate change — a reference to a statement he made in 2012 denouncing global warming as a hoax created “by and for the Chinese.”
Topping off our readers’ list of missed opportunities were the topics of foreign relations and immigration:
“There were no serious, well-framed questions about international policy.”
“Not a word on immigration.”
“Nothing about bringing refugees.”
Trump did briefly mention the border. But neither he nor Clinton were asked to elaborate on their immigration policies, which has been one of the most divisive issues of the presidential race and at the core of Trump’s campaign.
Two more debates, Oct. 9 in St. Louis and Oct. 19 in Las Vegas, remain for the nominees to address these lingering questions.
Twitter: @cshalby
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