Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton: Their Second Debate Showdown (Live Blog)
Here’s a warning about Sunday night’s presidential debate: Parental discretion advised.
Ninety minutes before it was to start, Donald Trump took to Facebook Live and sat at a table between four of Bill Clinton’s accusers. It was an attempt to neutralize the comments Trump made on a leaked “Access Hollywood” recording in which he boasts of groping women and grabbing them by their sexual organs.
With some prominent Republicans abandoning him, Trump needs the debate to prevent further defections and revive a campaign that is already being written off as a zombie candidacy.
His press appearance with Clinton’s accusers may be a signal that he will indeed bring up Clinton’s past in front of his wife — something that may backfire.
Unlike the first debate, this is a town hall format. It’s not just moderators Martha Raddatz and Anderson Cooper, but an audience of average citizens, along with an online effort to submit queries. In the past, the focus has been on the issues, not scandal. A lot of this debate will be about how the candidates interact with these voters and whether they find their answers appealing.
Moreover, Hillary Clinton will get the first question, as she did in the first debate, and there is a lot of speculation that the first question will be about Trump’s “Access Hollywood” recording. She has not said much about Trump’s travails — so this will be her first opportunity before a national audience. And given that Trump has signaled that he will bring up her husband’s indiscretions, it would be a shock if she is surprised and unprepared for it.
Remember in 1992, when George H.W. Bush ran into trouble for looking at his watch during a town hall debate? That controversy is very, very quaint compared to what may be in store this evening.
Follow along for the live blog of tonight’s debate.
9:02 pm ET: About to start. “In this reality show campaign, we are now going to have a reality show debate,” says CBS News’ John Dickerson.
For the record, Bill Clinton just shook hands with Melania Trump. We’ll see if Hillary Clinton shakes hands with Donald Trump.
9:04 pm ET: Town hall members. They are all undecided, chosen from the Gallup Organization.
9:06 pm ET. Can the kids watch? For the record, Clinton and Trump did not shake hands. They just said hello.
The first question from an audience member is about the tone of the campaign and whether it is a proper message for kids. “I want us to heal our country and bring it together,” Clinton says, in what is essentially an opening statement.
Trump: “I agree with everything she said.” He too, uses this to rehash his campaign themes: Trade deals, strong border, law & order.
9:11 pm ET. ‘Locker room banter.’ Cooper challenges Trump characterization of his “Access Hollywood” recording as not “locker room banter” but sexual assault. “I am not proud of it, but this is locker room talk,” he says, while trying to turn attention to “knock the hell out of ISIS.”
Pressed on whether he has ever committed any of the sexual assault acts he described on the recording, Trump says, “No, I’ve never done those things.”
Clinton says that “he has said the video doesn’t represent who he is.” But the video, she says, “represents exactly who he is.”
Trump responds, “It’s just words, folks, it’s just words.” He then blasts Clinton for doing a “terrible job” for African Americans.
9:18 pm ET. Trump brings up Bill Clinton’s indiscretions. “Bill Clinton was abusive to women. Hillary Clinton attacked them viciously.” Trump says he “absolutely apologizes for those words” on the “Access Hollywood” tape but says that actions are stronger than words.
“I think it’s disgraceful and I think she should be ashamed of herself,” Trump says.
Clinton quotes First Lady Michelle Obama: “When they go low, we go high.” She then goes through Trump’s history of non-apologies.
9:22 pm ET. Special prosecutor. Trump says he’d appoint a special prosecutor if he is elected to look to indict Clinton over 33,000 deleted emails.
Clinton actually smiles over what she characterizes as an avalanche of falsities and distortions.
“Good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in our country.”
Trump retorts, “you’d be in jail.”
“There is no evidence…that any classified material ended up in the wrong hands,” Clinton says.
But Trump presses on the point, and says that Clinton deleted the emails after receiving a subpoena.
9:31 pm. Trump’s attack on Cooper. Trump complains that Cooper has not brought up the emails — but Cooper notes that is what they’ve been talking about. Trump shrugs and says, “It’s nice. One on three.” He then begins pacing.
9:33 pm. Obamacare. A half hour in, and there is a specific question about an issue — the rising premiums of Obamacare. Clinton explains how she would correct it. Trump says the plan is a “disaster” and says, “You will have the finest healthcare plan there is.”
Clinton says “if we just rip it up and throw it away, we just turn it back to the insurance companies the way it used to be. Let’s fix what is broken about it. Let’s not throw it all away.”
Cooper presses Trump on how he will get to affordable insurance. He says that they will be able to “keep people pre-existing” conditions — meaning that they would still be able to get insurance that companies otherwise would deny them. He suggests that he’d do this through block grants. Clinton smiles.
9:39 pm. Islamophobia. “You’re right about Islamophobia. And that’s a shame,” Trump responds to a questioner, before pressing Clinton on why she doesn’t refer to “radical Islamic terrorism.”
Clinton notes that Trump has used “demagogic” rhetoric about Muslims. “We are not at war with Islam,” she says, calling it “violent jihadist terrorism.”
Trump says bringing in refugees from Syria is a “trojan horse,” and while he refers to “extreme vetting” he doesn’t explicitly renounce his proposal from December to ban Muslims from entering the country. “The Muslim ban has morphed into extreme vetting.”
“We will have vetting that is as tough as it needs to be,” she says.
“What Donald Trump says is used to recruit fighters,” he says.
9:49 pm. WikiLeaks. Clinton invokes Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” in responding to one of the revelations from WikiLeaks, which included excerpts from her speeches to Wall Street banks and other groups. In the speech, Clinton refers to the need to take “both a public and a private position” on issues. But she notes that the context is she was talking about the movie “Lincoln.” “I was making the point that it is hard to get Congress to do what you want to do.”
“Honest Abe never lied. That’s the big difference between Abraham Lincoln and you,” Trump retorts.
9:55 pm. Russia. Trump says that “I know nothing about Russia … I have no businesses, no loans from Russia.” There have been plenty of rumors that the reason he won’t release his taxes is it will show that he has loans from Russian interests.
9:59 pm ET. Taxes. Trump hammers Clinton for not revising the tax code — his response to the revelation that he paid no income taxes in 1995 after declaring nearly $1 billion in losses. “With her, it is all talk and not action.” He also attacks her for “bad judgment,” and brings up Libya and her tenure as secretary of state.
“There you go again,” Clinton says, invoking Ronald Reagan in his 1980 debate with Jimmy Carter.
“Four hundred pieces of legislation have my name on it,” Clinton says, defending her 30 years in public service.
10:05 pm ET. Syria. Raddatz asks a question about the plight of children in Russia, and what they would do to resolve the situation there.
“What is at stake here is the ambitions and aggressiveness of Russia,” Clinton says.
Trump says, “Our nuclear program has fallen way behind and they have gone wild about their nuclear program.”
He says that Assad, Iran and Russia are “killing ISIS” but the U.S. has been weak.
Trump is pressed on running mate Mike Pence’s threat to use force against military targets of Bashar Assad.
“He and I haven’t spoken, and I disagree,” Trump says.
10: 11 pm ET. On defense. Compared to the last debate, Trump is much more successful at putting Clinton on defense, particularly on foreign policy. That is good for him. But his demeanor is one of a person perturbed— and he has been pacing back and forth, while his mic is picking up frequent sniffling.
10:16 pm ET. ‘All the people.’ The candidates are asked how they would be president for “all the people.” It’s another opportunity for Trump to say that Clinton has been in politics for 30 years and “hasn’t done anything.”
“If she is elected president of the United States, nothing is going to happen,” he says.
Clinton responds by noting that she was reelected as senator in 2006 with 67% of the vote.
Clinton engages the questioner more than Trump did, walking closer to where he is sitting. She then goes in to Trump’s divisive rhetoric.
“Children listen to what is being said. And there is a lot of fear,” she says.
Trump brings up Clinton’s “basket of deplorables comment,” and notes that she called his supporters “irredeemable.” “She has tremendous hate in her heart,” he says. Clinton smiles.
10:23 pm ET. Tweeting. Trump defends his late night social media habit. “You can like it or not like it,” he says, but he calls it a “modern day form of communication.” He says that there wasn’t a tweet that said “check out a sex tape,” even though he tweeted on Sept. 30 about Alicia Machado, “Did Crooked Hillary help disgusting (check out sex tape and past) Alicia M become a U.S. citizen so she could use her in the debate?”
10:25 pm ET. Supreme Court. Clinton says she would want justices who would overturn Citizens United and uphold same-sex marriage and Roe vs. Wade. She says that Trump’s list of potential nominees are on the other side of those issues.
Trump basisally confirms this when he says, “I am looking to appoint justices very much in the mold of Justice Scalia.”
10:34 pm ET. ‘One positive thing.’ A questioner asks — name “one positive thing you can say about the other.” Clinton says she respects his children, “and I think that says something about Donald.”
She also calls this one of the most “consequential” elections.
Trump says that he respects “Hillary because she doesn’t quit and she doesn’t give up. She does fight hard. I consider that to be a very good trait.”
It is actually a great question to wrap up the debate — and incongruous to the tone of the first half hour. In fact, they shook hands at the end.
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