Tonight’s debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump devoted considerable time to the economy, with both candidates vowing their economic plans would vastly improve things for American industry and workers. Who is right or, more relevantly, whose plan will get the national test drive, remains to be seen. But with the words “hombre” and “nasty woman”, and the reigniting of a feud with the Television Academy, Donald Trump managed to give a serious pre-election boost to at least one industry: online memes.
“We have some bad hombres here and we’re going to get them out,” Trump said early on about the supposed imminent threat facing the American people from undocumented aliens. The line trended immediately with celebs and civilians alike taking to social media to discuss and decry it (often with references to Three Amigos! or the 80s video game Bad Dudes.) Even Merriam-Webster (yes, the Dictionary) got into the mix, noting frequent misspelling of the word and offering a tip for people hoping to get in on the conversation.
But as if to top himself, near the end of the debate, when Clinton was discussing the Affordable Care Act, Trump interrupted her with the pithy and instantly-infamous dis: “such a nasty woman.” How you feel about that line depends on which candidate you support but online, the consensus was negative, with comedians in particular pointing out just how, well, not very good it made Trump look.
Memes aside, one point of particularly worried discussion tonight as the debate ended was Donald’s refusal to say he would accept the results of the election if he doesn’t win. In hindsight a scary moment for more than half of those watching tonight (if the polls are accurate), it was at the time one of the debates weirder moments, thanks to Trump’s baffling decision to beef with the Television Academy during the debate. After Trump refused to endorse American democracy, Hillary noted his habit of claiming fraud whenever he loses, and mentioned his claims that even the Emmys were rigged specifically. Trump’s reply that he should have won an Emmy for The Apprentice didn’t go unnoticed by viewers, or the Academy itself.
As for the rest of the debate, everything from Trump’s preparation to the content, his famous “tan,” and the inevitable SNL skit was up for criticism or jokes, depending. Read on for a sampling.
