
Twitter was on fire Sunday night as the presidential candidates faced off at Washington University in St. Louis for a town hall-style debate.
AOL founder Steve Case eagerly awaited this second debate--which many expected to be explosive, given that it came on the heels of the release of a video of Trump talking about groping women. But Case hoped the night would somehow stay out of the gutter:
Minutes away from #debate. Hoping it lifts country up, vs dragging it down. #jobs #growth... https://t.co/wWZwgU4z2E
-- Steve Case (@SteveCase) October 10, 2016
With much airtime dedicated to the candidates' personal scandals--Trump's "locker room talk," Clinton's emails, and both candidates' connections to financial and foreign powers--as well as the highly charged atmosphere surrounding this election--most reactions on Twitter were notably partisan. This Shonda Rhimes response to Trump's defense of the latest scandal was one of the more printable reactions--from her and the broader Twitterverse:
Locker room talk = things that sexual assaulters say?
-- shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) October 10, 2016
At one juncture, when Trump said the U.S. had an "almost $800 billion trade deficit" last year, Shark Tank investor Chris Sacca wondered what role Trump's business practices played in running up that number.
Hey @realDonaldTrump, how much of our trade deficit is comprised of the steel you buy from China instead of the US? #debates
-- Chris Sacca (@sacca) October 10, 2016
Donald Trump is one of the biggest buyers of Chinese steel dumped in the US. https://t.co/epj8HsEDkh
-- Chris Sacca (@sacca) October 10, 2016
Laura Ingraham--while not an entrepreneur, but host of the radio show The Laura Ingraham Show and a leading Trump supporter--saw Clinton on the ropes this time around.
Hillary is on the defensive. @realDonaldTrump is going to win or lose this on his own terms.
-- Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) October 10, 2016
In the end, Greylock Partners investor John Lilly managed to find an upside for at least one key institution.
Holy shit. So much free media for the Twitter.
-- John Lilly (@johnolilly) October 10, 2016