German press declares Clinton debate winner

The headline in the news magazine "Der Spiegel" could hardly have been less ambiguous. "Hillary Clinton gives Donald Trump a clinic," wrote the editors in response to the two US presidential candidates' performances in their first head-to-head on Monday.

"Hilary Clinton emerged as the winner from this debate," Spiegel wrote. "She scored points with her detailed knowledge of the issues, stayed calm and consistent, and at the same time showed her sense of humor and 'human' side… At the same time, she lured Trump into one trap after another and prodded his wounded ego."

The headline in the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" newspaper was equally sarcastic: "The bar was set low, but Trump knocked it down." The paper was also fulsome in its praise of Clinton.

"The first impression is that Hillary wiped the floor with Donald," the paper wrote. "On Monday, the Republican definitely had his worst debate performance of the entire election season while the Democrat had perhaps the best one of her entire career."

"Clinton did a good job"

Some newspapers credited Trump with mostly keeping his infamous temper in check. But the German media felt that Clinton nonetheless did a good job in putting her opponent on the defensive.

"Clinton correctly anticipated that Trump irritability and thin skin are his biggest weaknesses," wrote the Süddeutsche. "She repeated succeeded in getting him to lower his guard."

Clinton's greater maturity was a recurring theme in German analyses of the debate.

"At times, Trump seemed liked a badly raised child," wrote the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" (FAZ) newspaper. "He constantly interrupted Clinton while she was talking, but Clinton kept speaking, undeterred."

The vast majority of Germans and German journalists would prefer to see a Clinton rather than a Trump presidency, and there was an unmistakable note of schadenfreude at Trump's perceived poor performance.

"Before the debate in New York, the electoral winds were in Trump's sails," the FAZ wrote. "After this encounter, the Clinton campaign should pick up speed. All the way to the White House? The United States' allies and partners around the world surely would have no complaints, if that were the case."

Foreign reactions to the first US presidential debate are unlikely to have much impact on American voters, but they did echo how American media analyzed the event. In any case, in the eyes of Germany, round one of Clinton and Trump's three-debate verbal slugfest clearly went to the Democrat.