On Wednesday, Oct. 19, the third presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump took place at the University of Nevada. The debate was moderated by news anchor Chris Wallace. The debate was divided into six 15 minute sections on various topics, such as debt and entitlements, immigration, the economy, the Supreme Court, foreign hot spots, and the candidates’ fitness to be president. Each candidate was given two minutes to respond to the question and then the floor went to open debate.
Clinton was asked the first question about the Supreme Court. Clinton specifically stated that she wants to nominate justices the represent all people, not just the wealthy. She also mentioned the importance towards women’s issues and the LGBT community. Trump followed by highlighting the importance of the Second Amendment and that he he has published a list of his possible Supreme Court Justice nominations. Following their answers, the floor opened to debate over the Second Amendment and abortion. The candidates mainly focused on late term abortions. Both candidates performed well even with tough questions from the moderator.
The second segment of the debate covered immigration. Trump maintained his position on strong borders and cited drug trafficking as a top reason to increase border security. Clinton commented on the difficulty of deporting all illegal immigrants, especially those with children born in the United States. In the open debate portion, the candidates debated the effects of illegal immigrants on the US economy. Trump mentioned a quote from Clinton from a leaked speech about free trade and open borders. However, Clinton responded by claiming that the quote was taken out of context. She changed the topic to the issue of Russians hacking and sending emails to WikiLeaks, and the idea that the Russians are supporting Trump. Trump condemned any foreign interference in the US election, and went after Clinton for failing to negotiate with Russia. Clinton proceeded to condemn Trump’s behavior also.
The next segment of the debate covered the economy. Wallace covered both candidates’ positions before the candidates spoke. Clinton began by highlighting her ideas on increasing spending to provide better education, green energy jobs, and raising the minimum wage. Trump began highlighting the importance of helping with college education and then went back to the previous segment on how our allies must contribute their fair share to defense alliances. Trump shifted the topic towards trade reform, and how it will help restart the economy. Clinton responded by highlighted her husband’s economic plan and President Obama’s current plan. Wallace questioned her on Obama’s plan, as her plan is similar to his stimulus package, which did not have the impact it was suppose to have. The candidates then got more personal and shifted towards their previous positions on the economy.
The debate continued into the topic of who is fit to be president. Wallace began by pressing Trump on his remarks and on his sexual assault accusations. Trump responded by claiming that all of those stories were false and accused Clinton of hiring those women. He also accused Clinton of hiring people to incite violence at his rallies. Clinton, in a similar fashion to the previous debate, listed lewd remarks Trump has made about women. Trump pivoted to Clinton’s email scandal and how it disqualifies her to run for office. Clinton accused Trump of dodging and dismissed the emails. Wallace followed up on Clinton’s potential quid pro quo scandal, which she dodged by discussing the Clinton Foundation. Trump attacked her on the donations from countries that are anti-LGBT and anti-women. Clinton went back on Trump to Trump’s tax returns. Wallace then questioned if Trump is willing to accept the election outcome if he loses, to which he gave no definitive answer.
The debate then moved into foreign hot spots, in which Clinton opened by applauding foreign powers for their involvement in defeating ISIS, but said she will not put American troops on the ground to help. Trump stated that he felt that the current military strategy in the area is horrific. The open floor portion of the debate mainly focused on the battle in Mosul. The topic then shifted to Syria and the city of Aleppo. Both candidates had different approaches as to how to deal with the conflict in Syria: Clinton focused on a no-fly zone, but was questioned on how likely that is to happen, and if it could cause a war between the United States and Russia.
The debate moved to its final segment on America’s debts and entitlement reform. Trump showed his concern for America’s growing debt, but stated that his economic plan will be able to keep the debt down by increasing economic activity. Clinton touted that her plan will not add a penny to the debt. Wallace then shifted to entitlement reform to which Trump cited the need to repeal and replace ObamaCare. Clinton focused on the need to put money back into the Social Security Trust Fund.
At the end, Wallace surprised both candidates by giving them one minute each for a closing argument. Both candidates’ comments mainly focused on social issues and uniting the country. Clinton highlighted her record and her desire to help children. Trump highlighted the need to take care of veterans and put the United States first.
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