Sunday night, presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton squared off for their second debate, resulting in what Politico called, “the ugliest debate in American history”.
The debate itself contained little information about either candidate’s policies, but was full to the brim with accusations, lies, and generally nasty behavior from both sides. Trump went as far as to threaten to jail Clinton if he was elected, saying, “believe me, she has tremendous hate in her heart.”
The debate was rife with controversy, including a tape released last Friday of a conversation in which Donald Trump described in graphic detail his unwanted sexual advances on women, described to Trump by co-moderator Anderson Cooper as amounting to “sexual assault”. Trump tried to shift focus away from the tapes, repeating that it was, “locker room talk”.
Clinton took some flack as well for her speeches to Wall Street, which were hacked and released by WikiLeaks last Friday. These excerpts were from paid, private speeches to Wall Street executives, for which Clinton was paid $675,000 by Goldman Sachs alone. Many have accused Clinton of being two-faced, and point to these speeches as evidence of her shady involvement in the banking industry during her time in the state department.
The debate closed with a question from a voter, what did both candidates respect about the other? Trump said he admired Clinton’s fight, saying “she doesn’t quit.” Clinton said Trump’s children. Finally, the two shook hands and the debate was over, leaving many questions yet unanswered. Hopefully, future debates will prove to be more productive.