Opinion First presidential debate: How Donald Trump may have lost on issues but won on interruptions

However, in a one-on-one setting, Trump was no match for the former senator and first lady. Between Trump’s sexism, racism and “braggadocious” (yes, he said that) self-aggrandizement, it was an easy win for Clinton. He made matters worse for himself by not going after the Clinton on issues on which she has been on the backfoot for a while now – Benghazi, a private server which was hacked while she was Secretary of State and the hypocrisy of a long-time political insider blaming a system with which she has had close ties through much of her adult life.

Instead, Trump huffed and puffed, his ignorance on policy matters, both domestic and foreign, on display. Hillary attacked Trump on controversies as old as the campaign, if not older – his missing tax returns, multiple filing for bankruptcy, challenging President Obama’s US citizenship. It all paid off and the CNN poll after the debate said 62 per cent of the voters who watched thought Clinton was the winner.

But Trump was never going to win this election on reason and facts and a “presidential” persona. Despite being a billionaire who inherited wealth, he has managed to paint himself as the outsider. The debate just reinforced that image. Clinton, for all her poise and preparation, has been part of the political establishment she claims she will change and it is here that Trump did get his punches in.

Trump lost almost every argument to his opponent, but it was in his interruptions, all 51 of them and his expressions that he exposed the rather large cracks in Clinton’s armour: He rolled his eyes and scoffed at a long-time politician talking about changing a system she had helped build. Most of all, Trump hinted at how the campaign was about to get even more personal and negative. While Hillary attacked him for his misogyny, he said he is “not saying things about her family”. Clearly, there’s a good chance that Bill Clinton’s infidelities and Hillary “standing by her husband” is going to become a part of the campaign. It was these punches, the ones that were parenthetical to Trump’s argument that Hillary needs to worry about. The final leg of the campaign, after all, has just begun.

The first debate, in fact, changed nothing. Both candidates played themselves. And that is dangerous for Clinton. The pool of undecided voters isn’t that large and her “likeability” has always been under question. Trump’s mixture of bluster, bigotry and bravado has won him the support of quite large parts of America, despite the late night shows, celebrities etc. (or perhaps because of it) being staunchly against him.

White, middle-America has found a catharsis for its bigotry. Trump still has a chance at the White House if he can give people reason to vote for their dislike of Clinton, rather than for her qualifications and temperament.