Icky lady said silly things
by digby
Hillary’s words from 10.19.2016 hold up pretty damn well. #puppet cc:@HillaryClinton pic.twitter.com/RnmzTaI1T9— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) July 21, 2018
That thing where reporters aggregated puppet jokes on Twitter after the Clinton-Trump puppet debate dust-up instead of taking her words seriously as a former SoS talking about geopolitics https://t.co/zq5ZrOV5p6— Garance Franke-Ruta (@thegarance) July 22, 2018
Here was how that exchange was portrayed in the press:
The question as to who is the real “puppet” was unexpectedly raised in the third and final presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, giving some onlookers eyes as wide as Muppets.
While Wednesday’s debate was full of interruptions and tense exchanges between the two candidates, few elicited the kind of cynical reaction among viewers as the puppet talk.
Here’s how it went down. On the topic of immigration, Clinton accused Trump of admiring Russian president Vladimir Putin, considered an aggressor by the U.S. government.
On the stage, Trump said “I don’t know Putin, he said some nice thing about me. If we got along well, that would be good. If Russia and the United States got along well and went after ISIS, that would be good. He has no respect for her, he has no respect for our president.”
Clinton responded, “That’s because he’d rather have a puppet as president of the United States.”
Trump shot back, “No puppet — you’re the puppet.”
Suddenly, puppets were dragged into a presidential election that has included all sorts of accusations and insults — from Clinton calling Trump supporters “deplorables” to Trump referring to Clinton as “crooked.”
But … puppets, really? Yep
(Sidenote: comparing Clinton’s ONE mild insult to Trump’s ongoing degrading insults against everyone from POWs to disabled reporters was one reason why we ended up with this monster in the White House.It was ludicrous at the time but there was no stopping them.)
The third debate devolved into a playground argument when Clinton said Trump was Vladimir Putin’s puppet. “No puppet. No puppet,” Trump retorted. “You’re the puppet. You’re the puppet.”
Meme roundup from CNET:
At one point the candidates literally devolved into a playground game of “I know you are but what am I?” Clinton called Trump a puppet of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump responded with, “I’m no puppet, you’re the puppet.” The internet responded in turn with muppets, puppets and more muppets.
Daily Beast — it’s all a distraction:
“A presidential debate that almost seemed destined for serious discussion about policy careened suddenly into shouting and interruptions over Russia’s efforts to influence the American election.”
Trump and Clinton Debate Who Is More of a Puppet for Putin
It turns out she was right. It was real. Go figure.
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