It was a night full of political spectacle as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump faced
off in their first presidential debate.
Our Hwang Hojun gives us the lowdown on who won... and why.
Hillary Clinton prevailed, if the polls and the pundits are to be believed.
After an intense 90-minute debate moderated by NBC anchor Lester Holt, a CNN/ORC poll
of people who watched the debate showed Clinton won the event, 62 to 27 percent.
Analysts generally gave Clinton points for maintaining her composure and defending herself
against Trump's personal jabs, interruptions and false statements.
Trump lost points for a lack of substantive responses and being on the defensive.
It was only minutes into the debate when the two started firing accusations at each other
over economic policy.
Trump accused Clinton of not taking any action to improve the economy during her political
career.
Clinton responded by saying Trump's policies lack concrete details and would only hurt
the middle class.
There were also some very heated moments on issues that have been contentious throughout
the campaign.
At one point, Clinton demanded that Trump release his tax returns, and he shot back
by saying he would -- as long as she releases her deleted emails, a jab at the recent email
scandal that's tainted Clinton's reputation.
In a section on U.S. foreign policy, Trump continued to argue that America's allies,
including South Korea, need to pay their fair share for defense.
However, South Korea is already paying nearly 700 million U.S. dollars for the U.S. troop
presence in the country.
Clinton, on the other hand, stressed the importance of cooperation between the U.S. and its allies.
The last question was about whether the candidates would accept the outcome of the election.
Clinton said she will, but asked for voters' support, saying the election is about voters
and their families "and the kind of country and future you want."
Trump's final answer?
He wants to make America great again.
But he did vow to support the outcome of the election no matter who wins.
The second televised presidential debate is scheduled for October 9th.
Hwang Hojun, Arirang News.