WASHINGTON — DNC Interim Chair Donna Brazile issued the following statement following tonight’s debate:

“Hillary Clinton delivered a strong performance tonight, demonstrating once again that she is the only candidate READY and qualified to serve as President. The American people wanted a serious and substantive debate about the issues facing the country and they got one from Hillary. She answered the questions with clear and specific plans to unite our country and keep it moving in the right direction by building an economy that works for everyone, investing in the middle class and small businesses, and addressing the real concerns of everyday Americans. Hillary showed us how it’s done.
 
“In stark contrast, Donald Trump offered the same vacuous 'plans,' childish one-liners, and blatant untruths that we’ve heard time and again from the man who built his career on exploiting hardworking families. His reckless ‘policies,’ not to mention his many failed and fraudulent businesses, should give everyone pause. He dodged questions about releasing his tax returns or the returns of the Trump Foundation, which he has used as a personal slush fund. And he refused to explain his campaign’s deep ties to the Russian government. The only difference between tonight and the campaign trail is that Secretary Clinton had the opportunity to refute his hateful rhetoric and boldfaced lies. This time his gibberish didn’t get a free pass for being entertaining.”