What if Donald Trump insults Hillary Clinton during the debates?

[The Arizonan]

What if, during the debates, Donald Trump starts insulting Hillary Clinton with comments like "I don't know what Bill Clinton saw in you. If I was Bill, I'd cheat on you all the time" and "You should take beauty tips from Rosie O'Donnell"?

[freedomburns]

Hillary's main goal in the debates is to look reassuringly Presidential in contrast to Trump.  If he goes low, she goes high.  If he flings mud, she dusts off her shoulders and steers back to policies and what she will fight for.

I support her because she matches me most on the issues.  Her goal is to act the part of President. 

If you wrestle with a pig in the mud, you both get dirty and the pig enjoys it.

[HAnnA MArin County]

Just by Donald Trump being on the same stage with HILLARY CLINTON is an insult to her.

[skoods]

He'd be foolish to do so, as it will backfire tremendously and cause an even larger landslide...which is why he'll probably do it.

"Ya know, this election should be about family values. I yuuuge into family values. My daughter...my gorgeous daughter Ivanka will be a member of my cabinet. Madam Secretary, I heard that Chelsea wasn't even your own daughter! Believe me! I heard it! We need to see Chelsea's birth certificate. This is a YUGE deal."

[fldemfunds]

We know he's going to insult her. He'll be relentless about it. It won't work as long as she doesn't take the bait.

He'll interrupt her. Talk down to her, etc. That's his temperament.

[heatcharger]

Something tells me Trump will tone it down just a little bit on the personal attacks. It's a one-on-one debate, and Hillary's not a total lightweight like Little Marco and Lyin' Ted.

Remember one of the few times Trump actually held back was when Fiorina called him out? Remember him running away from Megyn Kelly? He's scared of strong women.

[Joe Biden is your president. Deal with it.]

Something tells me Trump will tone it down just a little bit on the personal attacks. It's a one-on-one debate, and Hillary's not a total lightweight like Little Marco and Lyin' Ted.

Remember one of the few times Trump actually held back was when Fiorina called him out? Remember him running away from Megyn Kelly? He's scared of strong women.

I hope they get Megyn Kelly as the moderator for one of the debates lol.

[Hermit For Peace]

Something tells me Trump will tone it down just a little bit on the personal attacks. It's a one-on-one debate, and Hillary's not a total lightweight like Little Marco and Lyin' Ted.

Remember one of the few times Trump actually held back was when Fiorina called him out? Remember him running away from Megyn Kelly? He's scared of strong women.

I think that's something people forget.

Trump does have his weaknesses, and evidently Hillary has found them.

If he starts attacking Hillary he's not going to come off as Presidential at all, and people are going to get pissed at him.

[Virginiá]

We know he's going to insult her. He'll be relentless about it. It won't work as long as she doesn't take the bait.

He'll interrupt her. Talk down to her, etc. That's his temperament.

That is what I am expecting. He is going to try and prevent her from saying anything meaningful without being interrupted, hoping to throw her off balance. He will probably insult her either subtly or loud and clear, and one thing is for sure - he will bring up completely irrelevant issues from her past to make her look bad as many times as he can. He doesn't know anything about policy or foreign affairs, so that is all he can do, and do it he will.

Hillary would be wise to not take the bait, and if possible, maybe even bait Trump into letting loose some sort of misogynistic insult(s), which will just make him look like an asshole to everyone but his diehard supporters.

[Hermit For Peace]

We know he's going to insult her. He'll be relentless about it. It won't work as long as she doesn't take the bait.

He'll interrupt her. Talk down to her, etc. That's his temperament.

That is what I am expecting. He is going to try and prevent her from saying anything meaningful without being interrupted, hoping to throw her off balance. He will probably insult her either subtly or loud and clear, and one thing is for sure - he will bring up completely irrelevant issues from her past to make her look bad as many times as he can. He doesn't know anything about policy or foreign affairs, so that is all he can do, and do it he will.

Hillary would be wise to not take the bait, and if possible, maybe even bait Trump into letting loose some sort of misogynistic insult(s), which will just make him look like an asshole to everyone but his diehard supporters.

I saw an interview with Hillary and she said that she was not going to play Trump's game of insulting people. She is going to stick with what he says and what he does, and then expose those things as silly or untrue or wavering, etc. She's going to use his own behavior against him. That's the best thing to do, IMO.

[Statilius the Epicurean]

What if, during the debates, Donald Trump starts insulting Hillary Clinton with comments like "I don't know what Bill Clinton saw in you. If I was Bill, I'd cheat on you all the time" and "You should take beauty tips from Rosie O'Donnell"?

His campaign implodes. Trump can't win if he's losing women by 25 points.

[Hermit For Peace]

Trump can't help being himself, and part of who he is, is to insult people he feels have slighted him in the least. He has said he will retaliate 10-fold, and obviously that's what we see him do.

He will not be able to control his insults of Hillary and so we'll see how that plays out at the debates, that is, if he even shows up.

[jman123]

what if Trump were to constantly refer to Hillary as Crooked Hillary exclusively in the debates, and let's out blatantly sexist language against her? How would it affect election if all the debates were nothing but insult after insult to Hillary , email scandal call outs, and say he says " No wonder Bill had affairs with Monica. You are a total lightweight"

 How would it affect the election concretely?

another poster posted something similar but what if this were to occur?

[GeorgiaModerate]

If he does it deliberately to try to make her react emotionally, he should remember that she sat calmly through 11 hours of grilling from the Benghazi committee.

[Seriously?]

What if? Trump will insult Crooked Hillary during the debates. I also expect Untrustworthy, Lyin' Crooked Hillary to do the same.

[Speed of Sound]

I'll worry more about debate scenarios when there's any confirmation that debates will actually happen. Right now I don't think Trump/his advisers will allow it.

[angus]

What if Donald Trump insults Hillary Clinton during the debates?

if?

More like when.

Of course he'll insult her.  He'll do it in every debate, probably many times.  She'll either go down in a flame war with him, which will be tempting, or she'll rise above it.  That's the test, I think.

[Speed of Sound]

Just by Donald Trump being on the same stage with HILLARY CLINTON is an insult to her.

Why is your candidate too good for the democratic process?

I mean, it's not like democracy is wearing its Sunday best this year.

[Ebowed]

Just by Donald Trump being on the same stage with HILLARY CLINTON is an insult to her.

Why is your candidate too good for the democratic process?

You gonna be singing that same tune when Trump backs out of the debates?

[Wells]

Just by Donald Trump being on the same stage with HILLARY CLINTON is an insult to her.

Why is your candidate too good for the democratic process?

More like Trump isn't good enough for it.

[Fuzzy Bear]

We know he's going to insult her. He'll be relentless about it. It won't work as long as she doesn't take the bait.

He'll interrupt her. Talk down to her, etc. That's his temperament.

Trump didn't interrupt his opponents as much as they interrupted him during the GOP Primary debates.  He'll let people talk.  I predict Hillary will interrupt Trump far more than he interrupts her. 

She'll insult him as well.  The insults will fly. 

In truth, America will YUGELY LOVE THE SHOW!  I'm serious; people are really OK with the insults.  They EXPECT them now.

[egalitt]

Ther is only one way out for her:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx5pbsO6XUI

[Badger]

"If"?

I suspect she and her handlers will have one or two well-prepared zingers for just such an occasion to win the soundbite wars in the next day's news. The same way stand-up comics all have an arsenal of prepared lines to shut down hecklers.

[Ogre Mage]

Trump pretty much has to insult Clinton during the debate to have any chance.  His brain is a policy-free zone and he can't compete with her on substance or gravitas, so his only chance is to rattle her to the point where she loses her composure.

If I were advising Trump, however, I would suggest keeping the insults semi-veiled.  He has to find a way to insult Clinton and get under her skin without being egregious about it.  Bald-faced insults will turn all voters against him other than the devoted Trumpkins.  Trump doesn't have the self-discipline to do this, however.  He will almost certainly lapse into bald-faced insults which Clinton will easily shrug off, making her look more presidential and sympathetic.  

[Sir Mohamed]

Now let's see if he even makes it to the debates or whether he's backing down like a coward. Who knows?