SO, THAT WAS… different.
The second US Presidential debate was a tetchy, ill-tempered affair from St Louis, Missouri.
The debate – at early morning Irish time – came at a time when Trump’s very candidacy was being questioned by senior figures in his own party in the wake of an 11-year-old video in which he boasted about sexually assaulting women.
While most people were saying the result of the debate was too close to call, the consensus seemed to be that Trump overcame a horrendous start to maybe edge it in the later rounds.
Did he do enough though to claw back his slipping poll numbers and some vital middle ground voters? Probably not.
Here’s what you might have missed early this morning.
1. Trump held a press conference
An hour before the debate, Trump held a press conference.
It wasn’t about the debate or any policy initiative. In a stunning press event, Trump sat with women who accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault or Hillary Clinton of defending their attacker.
Trump refused to answer questions from reporters about his own aggressive sexual remarks about women during the meeting in a hotel conference room with Paula Jones, Juanita Broaddrick and Kathleen Willey. Kathy Shelton, a fourth woman who appeared with Trump, was a 12-year-old Arkansas sexual assault victim whose alleged assailant was defended by Hillary Clinton.
Some of the women seated alongside him, however, were graphic in their accusations against the Clintons.
“Mr Trump may have said some bad words, but Bill Clinton raped me and Hillary Clinton threatened me,” Broaddrick said.
“I don’t think there’s any comparison.”
2. Video nasty
The debate opened with a predictable question to Trump about the video which was released on Friday showing him talking about “grabbing women by the pussy”.
While he initially tried to deflect, moderator Anderson Cooper pressed him for an answer on whether he had ever done any of the things he said.
This was locker room talk. I’m not proud of it. I apologised to my family. I apologised to the American people. Certainly I’m not proud of it. But this is locker room talk.
He then told Cooper he had not done any of the things he had claimed to.
He also, bizarrely, tried to deflect the question into an answer about Isis.
(Click here if video doesn’t play)
3. Tetchy, tetchy
This was a bad-tempered, personal debate – much more so than the first one.
And, considering Trump was trying to deflect questions about him seemingly advocating sexual assault and had held a press conference in which his opponent’s husband was accused of rape, that’s not surprising.
It started on the walk out, when neither candidate extended their hand and it kept going into the debate.
Trump levelled a blunt attack at former President Bill Clinton – present in the audience – asserting that he has a history of abusing women, and inviting several of his accusers to attend the debate.
“If you look at Bill Clinton, far worse,” Trump insisted. “Mine are words, his was action,” he said, claiming that there has “never been anybody in the history of politics in this nation that’s been so abusive to women.”
Clinton didn’t rise to it, and in fact didn’t respond at all to Trump’s claims about Bill’s women, but photographers caught the former president looking thunderous.
(Click here if video doesn’t play)
4. ‘You’d be in jail’
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews/videos/10153988697847217/
After pledging to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Clinton if he’s elected, Trump implied he would jail his political opponent given the chance.
Amid a clash with Clinton on her private use of emails while Secretary of State, warning that if he becomes president he will order the Justice Department to launch a special investigation into the issue.
When Clinton responded that it was “awfully good” that someone with Trump’s temperament was not leading the nation, he shot back:
Because you’d be in jail.
5. Don’t stand so, don’t stand so, don’t stand so close to me
At one point during the debate, the pair couldn’t decide who should answer a question first before Trump insisted that Clinton go first because, as he said, “I’m a gentleman, go ahead”.
A chuckling audience didn’t seem to buy it. About 10 minutes before that, Trump stood right over Clinton’s shoulder as she answered one question.
6. “Hate in her heart”
In an extraordinary attack, Trump accused Clinton of having hate in her heart.
Trump made the comment in reference to Clinton saying earlier in the campaign that half of Trump’s supporters are “deplorables.” Clinton apologised for using the word to address his supporters, but not Trump himself, whose rhetoric she lashed out at.
Afterwards, Trump said that Clinton has “tremendous hate in her heart”. Clinton again didn’t bite, instead laughing and shaking her head.
7. Taxing issues
The video of Trump’s comments about women had become the latest issue around his candidacy and it distracted from another.
A couple of weeks ago, the world was talking about whether Trump had used a tax loophole to avoid paying personal federal income taxes.
Pressed by moderator Anderson Cooper on whether he had used it, Trump said “of course I do”, but said that so did many of Clinton’s donors.
https://www.facebook.com/yahoonews/videos/10154745972334714/
Clinton used the admission to paint Trump as out of touch.
It’s amusing to hear someone who hasn’t paid federal income tax in 20 years talk about this. But I’ll tell you what he’s going to do: He’s going to give a massive gift to the wealthiest Americans.
8. Tup-Pence for his thoughts
At one stage during the debate, there were rumours flying around online that Trump’s running mate Governor Mike Pence was going to ask to be removed from the ticket.
A post-debate congratulatory tweet suggests these rumours are false but tensions between the pair were evident at the debate even in Pence’s absence.
While Trump and Clinton were debating the situation in Aleppo, Trump said he disagreed with his running mate that Russia should be rebuked for its actions in Syria.
Trump instead suggested that they should be working with Russia and the Assad government to fight Isis.
Saying “he and I haven’t spoken and I disagree” about your running mate would under normal circumstances be the most incredible moment in a presidential debate. But this race is far from normal.
https://www.facebook.com/yahoonews/videos/10154745971079714/
9. If can’t say anything nice…
After a fairly flat question about energy policy, the moderators found time for one more query from the audience.
An audience member asked the candidates to name one thing they “respect about each other”.
It was a disarming moment, which genuinely seemed to catch both off guard.
Clinton said she respected the job Trump had done as a father.
“I respect his children – his children are incredibly able and devoted, and I think that says a lot about Donald. As a mother and a grandmother, that is very important to me.”
Trump, for his part, was full of praised for Clinton’s fight.
I consider her statement about my children to be a very nice compliment, even if wasn’t meant to be a compliment. I will say this about Hillary: She doesn’t quit, she doesn’t give up, she’s a fighter. I disagree with what she’s fighting for, but I consider that to be a very good trait.
- Additional reporting by Rónán Duffy
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