Presidential debate: Donald Trump says his 'strongest asset, maybe by far, is my temperament', prompting laughter

The presidential debate, or “fight night” as many media outlets have called it, has generated a predictable onslaught of social media tirades, one-liners and, of course, memes. But there is one particular statement by Donald Trump which has dominated discussions online and that is his declaration about his "temperament” being his "strongest asset".

While the audience at Hofsta University in New York remained quiet for the vast majority of the debate, they could not contain themselves when the Republican presidential candidate gushed about his “temperament”.

During a wider conversation about the Iraq war, Mr Trump decided to bring up the fact that he not only has better judgment than Hillary Clinton but also has a better temperament.

“Well I have much better judgement than she does, there’s no question about that. I also have a much better temperament than she has,” Mr Trump said.

“I think my strongest asset, maybe by far, is my temperament,” the man, who once said Megyn kelly had "blood coming out of her wherever" and declared he could stand on Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and not lose the presidential race, went on to say.

“I have a winning temperament. I know how to win,” he continued.

Ms Clinton responded by calmly grinning, with her reaction now being turned into a widely-circulated GIF. Ms Clinton has also posted the short clip on her Twitter account.

The focus on “temperament”, a word defined by the Oxford Dictionary as "a person's or animal's nature, especially as it permanently affects their behaviour", is made more marked by the fact Ms Clinton previously said Mr Trump’s temperament was a danger to US national security.

According to The Washington Post, the moment which gathered the strongest response on Facebook and Twitter was when Mr Trump said his strongest asset was his temperament.

“I think my favorite moment was when @realDonaldTrump tried to brag about his temperament and the audience laughed in his face,” said one Twitter user.

“When you're gritting your teeth and turning red and saying you have the best temperament it's a special moment,” said another.

“From now on whenever I'm having a disagreement with someone and it's not going well I'm going to say I've got a winning temperament,” added one more.

"I don't think the word “temperament” means what @DonaldTrump thinks it means," chipped in another.