Home»Politics World»CNN World News Actuality Presented By Claire Evren – Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton met for a third and final time on Wednesday in a surprisingly policy-oriented debate.
CNN World News Actuality Presented By Claire Evren – Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton met for a third and final time on Wednesday in a surprisingly policy-oriented debate.
CNN World News Actuality Presented By Claire Evren
CNN World News Actuality Article By Claire Evren Thursday 20 October 2016 07.49
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton met for a third and final time on Wednesday in a surprisingly policy-oriented debate.
The third debate may have offered voters the clearest choice between the opposing visions of the candidates.
The comments at the Las Vegas showdown marked a stunning moment that has never been seen in the weeks before a modern presidential election. The stance threatens to cast doubt on one of the fundamental principles of American politics — the peaceful, undisputed transfer of power from one president to a successor who is recognized as legitimate after winning an election.
Trump offered a stunning declaration during the final presidential debate that he might not accept the results of next month’s election. In his first speech since the debate, Trump seemed to simultaneously double down on the stance he articulated Wednesday night while also trying to clean it up.
Trump argued forcefully during a rally here that he was being asked to “waive” his right to contest the election after critics slammed him for refusing to pledge to accept the results of the election the previous night during the final presidential debate.
“I would like to promise and pledge to all of my voters and supporters and to all of the people of the United States that I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election, if I win,” Trump told supporters here in his first comments since the final debate.
After raising concerns about voter fraud — instances of which are extremely rare — Trump also pledged to accept “a clear election result.”
“Of course, I would accept a clear election result, but I would also reserve my right to contest or file a legal challenge in the case of a questionable result,” Trump said. “And always, I will follow and abide by all of the rules and traditions of all of the many candidates who have come before me. Always.”
Trump also said Thursday that he was only refusing to make a blanket statement concerning the results of the election because he wants “fairness during the election.”
“This is having nothing to do with me but having to do with the future of our country. We have to have fairness,” he said.
Calm start
The showdown began in a more civil and calm way than the two previous debates, in which Trump and Clinton repeatedly flung sharp, bitter jabs at one another. He was far more disciplined for much of the debate, and did his best to avoid taking Clinton’s bait, showing restraint as he and Clinton debated the Supreme Court, the Second Amendment, abortion and the economy.
The debate began to take a turn when Trump and Clinton clashed over the Republican nominee’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Clinton blasted Trump as a “puppet” of Putin and directly called on him to condemn what she said was a Russian effort to use cyberattacks to influence the election in her opponent’s favor.
Trump replied that Putin had no respect for Clinton or President Barack Obama.
“That’s because he would rather have a puppet as president of the United States,” Clinton said, implying that Putin wanted Trump to win the election.
The billionaire reality star-turned-politicians did a better job than in the first two debates of prosecuting Clinton’s weaknesses, lambasting her over her record as secretary of state and the controversy over her private email server, and painting her as the symptom of a tired political establishment who had achieved nothing in her 30 years in public life.
The bad blood between the candidates was unmistakeable throughout their final head-to-head; pointedly, there was no handshake before or after the contest.
Trump spoke in stark terms about immigration, the touchstone of his campaign, saying there were mothers in the audience whose children had been “brutally killed” by undocumented immigrants. He promised to stem what he characterized as an avalanche of people and heroin coming across the border, which he said was “poisoning the blood” of young Americans.
Trump reiterated his call for a wall on the US-Mexico border and said of his plans to deport undocumented immigrants: “We have some bad hombres here that we’re going to get them out.”
Clinton reiterated her position of allowing undocumented immigrants to come out of the shadows, and mocked Trump for failing to mention his signature wall during his meeting with the Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto over the summer. “He choked,” she said.
She also delivered a wounding line telling him that there were “undocumented immigrants in America who are paying more federal income tax than a billionaire”.
Trump did not deny the charge of tax avoidance, instead repeating his argument that he only exploited loopholes that she should have changed with legislation when she was a New York senator.
“Because your donors and your special interest are doing the same thing as I do – except even more so,” he said.
Donald Trump said he might not accept the election result. “I will look at it at the time,” Trump said. “I will tell you at the time. I’ll keep you in suspense.”
“That’s horrifying,” Hillary Clinton replied. “It just shows, you’re not up to doing the job. He is denigrating, he is talking down our democracy, and I for one am appalled.
The debate was surprisingly policy-oriented, with the candidates staking out contrasting positions on abortion, gun laws, Russia and much more. Trump allowed that his supreme court would probably overturn Roe v Wade.
Trump rejected questions about women who have accused him of sexual assault, branding them fame-seekers and Clinton campaign plants and saying “I don’t know those people.”
Clinton had a ready response, saying “every time Donald is pushed” – about women – He denies responsibility and refuses apology.
“Donald thinks belittling women makes him bigger,” Clinton said. “I don’t think there’s a woman out there who doesn’t know what that feels like.”
Trump interrupted a Clinton answer about social security by muttering, “Such a nasty woman.” His favorite interruption was “wrong”. “Wrong.”
Clinton turned a question about her emails released into a challenge to Trump to condemn Russian hacking. He did, provisionally. She called Trump Putin’s “puppet”.
Trump said the only reason Iraq was going into Mosul was because Clinton was running for president: “She wanted to look tough.”
Clinton said he was trapped in conspiratorial thinking.
Trump warned about “bad hombre” immigrants
Wednesday’s debate watchers were closely divided on which candidate they trusted more on the issues most important to them.
A CNN/ORC instant poll found 52% of debate watchers viewed Clinton as the winner compared to 39% who felt the same about Trump.
Overall, 52% who watched tonight’s matchup thought Clinton did the best job, to the 39% that thought Trump did. That’s a tighter margin than in the first two debates. After the first debate, 62% of those who watched said Clinton won, 27% Trump, followed by a 57% Clinton to 34% Trump margin for the town hall debate held October 9.
Half of voters (50%) who watched Wednesday’s debate said Clinton agreed with them more on the important issues, while 47% thought Trump did, but by wide margins, they thought Clinton had the better understanding of the issues, 61% to 31%, and was better prepared to handle the presidency, 59% to 35%.
Still, most said their minds weren’t changed by tonight’s debate, 54% of those who watched said it would have no effect on their vote, and those who did feel swayed were about evenly split between Trump (23%) and Clinton (22%).
Voters who watched were divided on who would better handle the economy (50% said Clinton, 48% Trump), immigration (50% Trump to 48% Clinton), or nominations to the Supreme Court (49% said Trump, 48% Clinton). Clinton held a narrow edge on handling the federal budget (50% to 46%) while she held a wide advantage as better able to handle foreign policy (55% to 41%).
CNN World News Actuality Article By Claire Evren Thursday 20 October 2016 07.49
CNN World News Actuality Presented By Claire Evren
