Lester Holt speaks to the audience before the start of the first presidential debate, September 26, 2016 in Hempstead, New York. (Getty/Justin Sullivan)

Republicans rip Lester Holt after Donald Trump stumbles during first debate against Hillary Clinton

Trump says Holt "did a great job," but right-wing Twitter claims NBC host is secretly on the Clinton payroll
Sophia Tesfaye
September 27, 2016 7:43AM (UTC)

Facing some difficulty in declaring Donald Trump the outright winner of the first presidential debate, many Republicans and conservatives instead took to Twitter on Monday night to attack the moderator, Lester Holt.

Despite Trump's assertion that the NBC News anchor would be biased since he is a Democrat (Holt is, in fact, a registered Republican), the GOP nominee reportedly found Holt's moderation Monday "very fair." Trump told CNN, "I thought Lester Holt did a great job":

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Trump's fans, however, saw Holt's performance somewhat differently, after Trump stumbled on basic questions about his record and his responses were notably short on specific policy proposals:


Sophia Tesfaye

Sophia Tesfaye is Salon's Deputy Politics Editor and resides in Washington, D.C. You can find her on Twitter at @SophiaTesfaye.

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