Clinton, Trump clash over race and economy in first debate

Republican US presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks during his first presidential debate against Democratic US presidential nominee Hillary Clinton (not shown) at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, US, September 26, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

RED AND BLUE

Clinton wore a red pantsuit, and Trump wore a dark suit and a blue tie to the encounter that could shift the course of the tight race for the Nov. 8 election. She called him Donald. He called her Secretary Clinton for much of the debate before switching to her first name.

Toward the end of the debate, Trump said Clinton did not have the endurance to be president.

"She doesn't have the look, she doesn't have the stamina," he said.

Citing her own public record, Clinton retorted: "As soon as he travels to 112 countries and negotiates a peace deal, a ceasefire, a release of dissidents ... or even spends 11 hours testifying in front of a congressional committee, he can talk to me about stamina."

Each accused the other of distortions and falsehoods and urged viewers to check their campaign websites for the facts.

Clinton called the New York businessman's tax policies "Trumped-up trickle-down" economics and Trump accused the former secretary of state of being "all talk, no action."

"I have a feeling I'm going to be blamed for everything," Clinton, the first woman to win the presidential nomination of a major US political party, said during one tough exchange.

"Why not?" retorted Trump, a former reality TV star.

Clinton knocked Trump for not releasing his income tax returns and said that decision raised questions about whether he was as rich and charitable as he has said. She noted that the few years of tax returns he had released showed that despite his wealth, he had paid no federal income tax.

"That makes me smart," Trump said.

"I have a tremendous income," he said at one point, adding that it was about time that someone running the country knew something about money.