donald-trumpNo matter which way liberals in their echochambers want to spin this, tonight was a great night for Donald Trump. After the last 48 hours, he really needed to pull in a strong performance and, indeed, he did.

Perhaps the best line of the night was reserved for Trump in response to an attempted attack by Hillary Clinton about Trump’s temperament. Here is the exchange:

Clinton: “It’s awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the laws in this country.”

Trump: “Because you’d be in jail.”

The left was quick to call this evidence of a banana dictator mentality, but that’s hardly what it was. It was a very pointed remark about the fact that Hillary should be in jail for her email debacle. Not only did it remind viewers that she actually compromised national security and broke the law, but that she’s above the law. It was incredibly effective.

Other places where Trump excelled – naming specific issues, overall humor (invoking Honest Abe to contrast with Hillary’s lying was brilliant and funny), and his closing.

The moderators allowed an audience member to ask the question what each candidate admired in the other candidate. While Hillary offered an insincere non-answer – the “I’m too detail oriented” answer of the debate – “I admire his kids.” Trump gave a really genuine answer:

“She doesn’t quit, she doesn’t give up. I respect that. I tell it like it is. She’s a fighter…she does fight hard and she doesn’t quit and I consider that to be a very good trait.”

In going high when she went low, he looked downright Presidential.