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Clinton or Trump? World viewers weigh in

Susan Page of USA TODAY gives her five takeaways from the first debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. USA TODAY

The first presidential debate drew spirited reaction from viewers around the world, especially when the candidates touched on foreign issues.

Hillary Clinton rebuked Donald Trump for his praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin and failure to admit he supported the Iraq War. It took barely 10 seconds for Trump to mention Mexico and China. Each doubted the other's ability to thwart the Islamic State.

"I found Hillary was presidential,” said Paloma Díaz, a teacher in Mexico City with dual U.S.-Mexico citizenship who originally backed Bernie Sanders. “I don’t think it’s the lesser of two evils. It’s a question of what Trump represents."

Díaz said if Trump does win the November election, "Mexico would feel sorry for anyone in the U.S. and welcome them with open arms."

It's no surprise people in Mexico tuned in for the debate, given Trump's tough talk about building a wall on the border, deporting mass numbers of migrants and ripping up the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The peso — Mexico's currency — has slipped to record lows as Trump has climbed in the polls, but it started to rebound during Monday night's debate with perceptions that Clinton was performing strongly, adding nearly 2% against the dollar.

"I don’t think there was a clear winner tonight,” said John Kirsch, a photographer from Iowa who lives in Mexico's capital. "Trump came across as stressed, and Clinton came across as a little entitled."

Still, Kirsch said he won't vote for either candidate. An estimated 1 million Americans live in Mexico.

In Rio de Janeiro, a small group of American expatriates and Brazilians gathered over pizza and wine to watch the debate.

"What I feel is the election is a lot about the image, not a lot about the content, and that's what concerns me," said filmmaker Fabio Erdos.

Diogo Barbosa, a restaurant manager, said the debate was easy to follow, unlike those in Brazil. "Here, politicians are much more passionate. When one is talking, the other interrupts, sometimes they shout. Someone has to step in to tell them to shut up," he said.

MORE COVERAGE OF THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

Clinton, who served as secretary of State during President Obama's first term, noted during the 90-minute exchange that "words matter when you run for president" and "they really matter when you are president."

And in Japan, they mattered to Narushige Michishita, an international policy and security expert in Tokyo. He said Japan is often overlooked, so it was heartening to hear his country mentioned in the debate, although he disagreed with Trump's assertion that Japan is not paying its "fair share" on defense.

"Given what Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe is doing to make Japan more pro-active on defense and security matters, and trying to make Japan engaged in international security affairs, it’s like, 'What are you talking about?'" Michishita said.

Wui-Liang Lim, a marketing professional in Singapore, said, "Trump was obviously unprepared and winging his way throughout. A lot of his answers also didn't make sense."

Tasos Krommydas, a computer engineer in Athens, said Trump tried to present Clinton as the establishment, and that was not surprising.

People around the world are "not happy with their lives and want to make someone pay for it," Krommydas said. "It's not a coincidence that all of the political populists — Trump in the U.S., Nigel Farage in the United Kingdom, Marine Le Pen in France,Panos Kammenos in Greece — blame the establishment."

In Berlin, where Germans and the political establishment generally favor Clinton, there was a pleasant surprise for Jakob Braun, a college student with dual German-U.S. citizenship who supports Trump's run for the White House.

"My first impression was that Trump did badly," he said in emailed comments. "She answered his vague policy proposals with specifics and seemed to really be able to get under his skin" on the birther issue, his taxes and comments about women.

"Most of the issues that can make him look real bad have already been brought up by Clinton by now," Braun said. "Donald still has some Trump cards in his hand: Benghazi, email scandal, Bill's history with women, etc."

In Britain, Naomi Totten, a representative for bookmaker Betfair, said the odds after the debate of Clinton becoming president shortened to 1.45, or a 69% chance — the lowest since reports of her health scare earlier this month. Global markets traded higher, sensing that Clinton may have edged the debate.

In Australia, it wasn't even lunch time when the debate started, but Richard Mcconochie was watching it on a big screen in a Canberra pub.

"To me Trump aced it," he said. "He came across as a man who could control himself. They said Trump’s ignorant of the issues. I think he proved that he had at least a working handle on most of the stuff he was talking about."

Source: USA Today:

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