Hillary, Trump get personal, bitter

Raleigh (NC), September 28

Democrat Hillary Clinton sought to keep Republican rival Donald Trump on the defensive a day after their first US presidential debate with accusations he is a sexist, racist and tax dodger, while Trump suggested he would "hit her harder" next time by bringing up her husband's infidelity.

While the New York real estate mogul found himself in another controversy over his fresh insults about the weight of a former beauty pageant winner, Clinton tried to keep up the momentum after her forceful debate performance.

She told reporters that during the debate, Trump "was making charges and claims that were demonstrably untrue, offering opinions that I think a lot of people would find offensive and off-putting."

Trump, however, praised himself for not attacking Clinton during the debate about the marital infidelity of her husband, former President Bill Clinton, but said he may take up the attack line going forward. There are two more debates scheduled, on October 9 in St Louis and October 19 in Las Vegas, ahead of the November 8 election.

"I may hit her harder in certain ways. I really eased up because I didn't want to hurt anybody's feelings," Trump said in an interview on the Fox News programme "Fox & Friends". He added that when Clinton criticised him for his treatment of women, he held back, saying: "I was going to hit her with her husband's women. And I decided I shouldn't do it because her daughter was in the room."

Clinton brushed off Trump's vow, saying: "He can run his campaign however he chooses." In the interview with Fox News, Trump sought to deflect criticism of his debate performance, saying the debate moderator, Lester Holt of NBC News, asked him "very unfair questions". — Reuters