The questions that will make or break the Clinton – Trump debate

Listen to the entire debate tonight on KIRO Radio, starting at 6 p.m. PST

The first Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump debate is expected to draw the largest audience in history for such an event. And it’s this debate on Monday that Conservative voice Michael Medved argues could set the outcome of the presidential election.

Medved told Seattle’s Morning News that there are a few things that can considerably alter this election during the Clinton – Trump debate.

“I would like to see the kind of debate that will address the very sour, anxious mood of the country right now,” Medved said. “I think one of the reasons people are so sour and anxious is the reality that one of these two individuals is going to be president of the United States. That’s not encouraging to most Americans.”

Dave Ross and what to understand about the first Clinton vs. Trump debate

“I think what people are looking at is Donald Trump — he’s the star. He is so different,” he said. “The question that people have to be asking: is different exciting? Or is he different because he’s scary?”

“And it’s possible — and this is what people are watching for — Trump could say something so over the top and completely crazy,” he said.

Essential questions for the Clinton – Trump debate

Turning the national sour mood into a vote after the Clinton – Trump debate could depend on what is asked. If Medved was posing the questions, these are what he would ask of Trump and Clinton:

More of the same? Or should America change direction?

“This is one of those things — Hillary is in a heck of a jam here. Because what does she say if she is asked that question? This is the one question that favors Trump most. What Hillary has to do is force a different question, which is: Bring the country together, or more polarization, division and more anger?”

Did Trump ever really believe President Obama was born in Kenya? 

“’Did you ever really believe he was born outside the United States? And if you really believed it, why? And if you didn’t believe it, why did you talk about it so often for so many years?'”

“What is Trump going to say? From what I understand, there’s been some coverage of this, he still actually believes Barack Obama was born in Kenya.”

What criminal charges would Trump place on Clinton?

“He has said Hillary Clinton shouldn’t be running for president, she should be running for prison. She should be locked up. At his conventions, people chant ‘lock her up.’ We don’t lock people up in this country because we dislike them, we lock them up because they have broken the law.”

“I would ask what charges will he bring against Clinton? And if he is elected president, will he attempt to prosecute her?”

Anything to do with details, policy specifics, and an unstable Trump

“Everything I am able to gather from the Trump campaign — including from off-the-record conversations — he has been very reluctant to do standard debate prep. We already know he doesn’t like briefing books. He doesn’t read briefing books. He doesn’t think he needs them. Even when asked about his primary advisors, he’s said it’s himself – ‘I have a great brain,’ ‘I use the best words.’”

“I think one of the biggest questions is if he will use the term ‘Crooked Hillary.’ My guess is that he won’t.”

“I do know that on the Clinton side — again based on off-the-record conversations — they are going to make a very concerted attempt to get under his skin. They will probably be talking about what he is hiding with his tax returns.”

Follow @https://twitter.com/DyerOxley