Trump faces Clinton in fiery presidential debate

[chahlley]

(World Today Monday 10 October 2016)

Trump faces Clinton in fiery presidential debate

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton

at Washington University in St. Louis, on Oct 9, 2016. Photo: AP

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Updated: 11:24 AM, October 10, 2016

ST LOUIS (Missouri) — Mr Donald Trump and Mrs Hillary Clinton clashed in deeply personal terms in the second presidential debate on Sunday night (Monday, Oct 10, Singapore time), accusing each other of mistreating women, and signaling that the final month of the race would be an extraordinarily ugly political brawl.

The attacks in the debate's opening moments came as Mr Trump's campaign appeared to be spiraling out of control following the release of a 2005 video in which he boasted in explicit terms about how his celebrity allowed him to assault women sexually without consequence.

Asked about the video, which set off an avalanche of denunciations by dozens of Republicans saying they could no longer support their party's nominee, Mr Trump offered a tepid apology but dismissed his language as minor compared to the national security threats facing the country.

"This was locker room talk," Mr Trump said, admitting that he was not proud of what he said and saying that he had already apologized to his family and the country. "I have great respect for women. Nobody has more respect for women than I do."

Mrs Clinton disagreed, arguing that the contents of the video were more evidence that Mr Trump was not fit to be commander in chief. "What we all saw and heard on Friday was Donald talking about women, what he thinks about women, what he does to women," Mrs Clinton said. "He has said the video doesn't represent who he is. I think it's clear to anyone who heard it, that represents exactly who he is."

After that heated exchange, things grew more personal. Mr Trump dug into former President Bill Clinton's history of sexual misconduct and said that as president he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Mrs Hillary Clinton.

Mrs Clinton avoided discussing her husband, but made the case that Mr Trump's treatment of women was part of a larger pattern of intemperate behavior that he has shown toward Muslims, immigrants, people with disabilities and others.

Mr Trump, who was criticised in the first debate for missing opportunities in which he could have brought up Mrs Clinton's handling of classified material as secretary of state, came prepared this time. He reminded the audience of her missing emails repeatedly, and when she said that the country should worry if Mr Trump were ever responsible for overseeing its laws, he was ready with a retort. "Because you'd be in jail," Mr Trump said.

The testiness between the candidates could not have been clearer on Sunday night, as Mr Trump and Mrs Clinton continually spoke over each other. When Mrs Clinton noted at one point that she had not interrupted Mr Trump, he fired back: "Because you have nothing to say."

A frustrated Mrs Clinton tried to twist the knife over Mr Trump's recent troubles, responding, "OK, Donald, I know you're into big diversions tonight — anything to avoid talking about your campaign and how it's exploding."

A half hour in, Mr Trump and Mrs Clinton slowly shifted to substance, debating some of the finer points of health policy. Mr Trump explained his idea to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with a privatised system where people can shop for insurance across state lines.

For her part, Mrs Clinton explained the virtues of building upon President Barack Obama's signature piece of legislation.

But even in the policy portion of the debate, Mr Trump could not resist a personal dig. "Bernie Sanders said that Hillary Clinton has very bad judgment," he said. "This is a perfect example."

That the debate would veer into sexual impropriety seemed inevitable heading into Sunday night. Shortly beforehand, Mr Trump held a brief news conference in St. Louis with three women — Ms Paula Jones, Ms Juanita Broaddrick, and Ms Kathleen Willey — who allege that Bill Clinton sexually assaulted or harassed them during his years in office in Arkansas or as president. They were joined by a fourth woman, Ms Kathy Shelton, who was 12 when she was raped by a 41-year-old in Arkansas; Mrs Hillary Clinton represented the man, who ultimately pleaded guilty to a reduced charge.

Mr Trump's gambit — which was broadcast on Facebook Live — was not only intended to rattle Mrs Clinton before the debate, but also amounted to a repudiation of advice from leading Republicans and even some of his own loyalists that he resist the temptation of targeting women tied to Bill Clinton.

As Mr Trump listened approvingly, the women briefly described their experiences and also defended Mr Trump over his lewd remarks. At the invitation of the Trump campaign, the women were also seated in the debate hall, where Bill Clinton and his daughter, Chelsea, were in a front row. NEW YORK TIMES