Race to the White House – who won and who lost the first presidential debate? Does it matter?

Polls and commentators all suggest Hillary Clinton easily won the first presidential debate. Justin Lane/EPAThe two most unpopular, untrustworthy and polarising presidential candidates in living memory debated each other this week, and some might say Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton lived up to those expectations. Who won? Who lost? Does it matter? And what should we expect in the next six weeks leading up to the November 8 presidential election? This week on Race to the White House, Brendon O’Connor, Tom Switzer and Emma Lancaster are joined by Jennifer Hochschild, the Henry LaBarre Jayne Professor of Government at Harvard University, to dissect the first presidential debate. The Race to the White House podcast is a collaboration between the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, 2ser 107.3 and The Conversation. Emma Lancaster is a multi-platform journalist, and is the producer of The Wire on 2ser 107.3. If you have questions about the podcast or have any suggestions about what we should discuss, contact Emma on [email protected]. 2ser 107.3 is a community radio station jointly owned by Macquarie University and the University of Technology, Sydney. The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.