Those of us who watched the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton last night are well-acquainted with political anguish. Forget the spin zone — both had a few good moments, but by the end it seemed that no one on that stage could have “won” in any meaningful sense of the word. So hundreds of people were surprised to wake up Tuesday morning to see #TrumpWon as the top Twitter trend in the U.S.
Naturally, the Republican nominee thanked the Internet.
The #1 trend on Twitter right now is #TrumpWon – thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 27, 2016
But don’t schedule your #TrumpWon party just yet. One of the main causes sending that hashtag viral was the large number of liberals mocking it. They said it proved Trump supporters were living in another word.
In the land of #deplorables #trumpwon pic.twitter.com/wOZcdKu0zx
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) September 27, 2016
https://twitter.com/itsisraelsolano/status/780741641564860418
Here’s Obama’s response.
https://twitter.com/hyp3rfr3ak/status/780743535351963648
This hashtag inspired all the laughter .gifs.
https://twitter.com/EnvyxDub/status/780749188556619776
And some said this election is a referendum on whether gravity exists.
The #TrumpWon hashtag just shows again that this election is basically a referendum on reality. We're voting on whether gravity exists.
— Jennifer (@leftyjennyc) September 27, 2016
And here’s someone who knows what Trump won … last place.
#TrumpWon the third place trophy in last nights debate.
— Brandon Cloud (@theclobra) September 27, 2016
Next Page: The good news for Trump, why the hashtag launched in the first place.
Despite all the mockery from the left, #TrumpWon captured the results of Internet polls, as supporters of the Republican nominee were quick to point out.
#TrumpWon! Look at all them polls! pic.twitter.com/wkDsnSsPfk
— Brendo 🇺🇸 (@BR3NDO702) September 27, 2016
Trump himself tweeted his victories in online poll after online poll after online poll.
Some Trump backers accused the media of spinning everything in Hillary’s direction, despite his victory in the (online) polls.
https://twitter.com/MDontheright/status/780745223118942209
The more triggered these people get, the more certain I am #TrumpWon over a lot of voters last night. https://t.co/R7XZPcbLwL
— Rep. Steven Smith 🇺🇸 (@RepStevenSmith) September 27, 2016
And “the third debater” was also trending, as many thought moderator Lester Holt went soft on Clinton, tried to interject against Trump, and brought his own bias to the debate.
https://twitter.com/AltStreamMedia/status/780761427778740224
Holt did indeed skew things in Clinton’s direction (he didn’t ask one question about Benghazi, the Clinton Foundation, or the email scandal), but Trump’s constant interrupting made him seem like a bully, and the exchange where he flatly denied supporting the war in Iraq despite full evidence to the contrary was just embarrassing.
Trump: "I think my strongest asset is my temperament." #NotTheOnion @PJMedia_com #debatenight #debates #tcot
— Tyler O'Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) September 27, 2016
Granted, Hillary had her flubs, too. “Trumped-up trickle down” economics may have seemed clever to her then, but this laughable formulation made her look just as petty as her competition. She also interrupted Trump, and those expecting to see the former first lady and former secretary of State show a dignity head and shoulders above the Republican nominee were sorely disappointed.
Hillary: "Lester, we've covered this crap." Losing her cool? #debatenight @PJMedia_com #tcot #debates
— Tyler O'Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) September 27, 2016
Nevertheless, there is good reason to doubt the Internet polls. One of the polls Trump referenced as evidence of his victory was the Drudge Report poll (if he had lost there, that would have been news). Online polls have a notoriously unreliable sample size, and are prone to swing based on whose Internet network shares them more effectively. The Republican’s success in Internet polls, if it means anything, means that his supporters were more active online and more determined to get their views heard. (In fact, in more scientific polls from CNN/ORC and Public Policy Polling, respondents said Clinton won the debate.)
PJ Media’s Roger Simon may prove the wisest of political pundits, at least in this regard. His response to last night’s debate? “Nobody knows anything.” I suspect that the first presidential debate swayed approximately nobody, and merely convinced supporters of Trump and Clinton that their preferred candidate won the day. Those on the sidelines seemed depressed.
Debate grades:
Hillary: F
Trump: F
Primary voters: F
America: Doomed
My bourbon bottle: empty
Apocalypse: can't come soon enough
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) September 27, 2016
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