The 2016 presidential debates have come to an end with the third and final debate between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump held Oct. 19 in Las Vegas.
Although this debate returned to the traditional format, not a “town hall,” it was anything but ordinary. Here are some of the more memorable highlights:
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“Rip the baby out of the womb…”
Moderator Chris Wallace of Fox asked the candidates about their stances on abortion. This was one of the many important topics of the night because whoever becomes the next commander-in-chief could appoint as many as three Supreme Court justices.
Trump responded with a harsh depiction of late-term abortion and said he would choose pro-life justices.
He said his opponent’s stance would allow abortion throughout a woman’s pregnancy.
“You can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb on the ninth month on the final day,” he said.
Clinton was quick to defend herself.
“That is not what happens in these cases, and using that kind of scare rhetoric is just terribly unfortunate.”
She recalled her encounters with women who have had late-term abortions, saying she does not believe the government should be making these decisions.
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“Bad hombres…”
Perhaps one of the most “quotable” moments of the night came when the candidates were asked about their plans for immigration.
Trump was the first to answer, emphasizing his concern about the border and once again proposing the building of a wall between the United States and Mexico. Later, he accused Clinton of being “for the wall” back in 2006.
According to NPR’s fact checking, Clinton did voted for the Secure Fence Act, when she was a senator in 2006, which would erect 700 miles of fencing along the 2,000-mile Southern border. The goal was to decrease illegal immigration and illegal drugs.
Trump also expressed his concerns about drug trade across the border.
“We have some bad hombres here that were going to get them out,” he said.
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“I don’t know Putin…”
Clinton was asked about a speech she gave at a Brazilian bank during which she said her dream is “open trade and open borders.” This information came from email exchanges among the Clinton campaign that were recently released by WikiLeaks, which put the spotlight on hacking and Trump’s relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
“They have hacked American websites, American accounts of private people, of institutions,” Clinton said about Russia. “Then they have given that information to WikiLeaks for the purpose of putting it on the internet.”
She accused Trump of encouraging Russian espionage against the United States and asked him to “condemn that the Russians are doing this and make it clear that he will not have the help of Putin in this election.”
“I don’t know Putin,” Trump responded. “He said nice things about me. If we got along well that would be good, if Russia and the United States got along well and went after ISIS, that would be good.”
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“I didn’t do anything…”
As expected, the sexual assault allegations against Trump were brought up during the night’s “fitness for presidency” topic.
Trump denied the allegations, made by multiple women, calling them lies and accusing the Clinton campaign of orchestrating the attacks, as well as causing violence at Trump’s rallies.
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“I will keep you in suspense, OK?”
After his recent and repeated claims of a “rigged” system, Trump was asked about whether he would support the outcomes of the election no matter the winner.
“I’m not looking at anything now. I will look at it at the time,” he said. “What I’ve seen, what I’ve seen is so bad.”
Clinton responded by saying Trump’s refusal to accept the outcome of the election and his accusations of a rigged system are “horrifying.”
“Every time Donald thinks things are not going in his direction,” Clinton said. “He claims whatever it is rigged against him.”
She cited several instances when Trump failed and blamed it on a rigged system.
“He lost the Iowa caucus, he lost the Wisconsin primary. He said the Republican primary was rigged against him,” she said. “There was even a time when he didn’t get an Emmy for his TV program three years in a row and he started tweeting that the Emmys were rigged.”
“Should have gotten it,” Trump interrupted.
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“Probably to both of your delight…”
As the 90-minute debate drew to a close, moderator Wallace said, “This is the final time, probably to both of your delight, that you’re going to be on the stage together in this campaign.” Wallace then asked both candidates to tell voters why they should be the next president of the United States.
Clinton went first, saying she would give but what she hopes the American people will give to build up the county.
“We need your talents, your skills, your commitment, your energy, your ambition,” she said.
Trump reiterated his concern for the American people.
“We are going to make America strong again, and we are going to make America great again,” he said, “And it has to start now.”
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