[ot-caption title=”Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump battle at the Second Presidential Debate at Washington University in St. Louis (via, Gabe Skidmore, Wiki)”]

The second presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump began Sunday at 9 p.m., with much of America watching. The amount of viewers dropped a substantial amount with 84 million the first presidential debate compared to 66.5 million people the second debate; still, both candidates were being observed as voters tuned in to hear from their potential next president. Yet despite the drop in viewers, many Pine Crest students tuned in. Sophomore, Saumya Jain, expressed her opinion on the debate: “I think both candidates displayed their arguments and presented themselves much better this time compared to the last debate. They bantered for a while as usual, but some of their points stood out more than others.” Both candidates provided a more clear view of their positions. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

The debate began on rather harsh terms, as both candidates entered the stage without shaking hands.  Even before this moment, there was plenty of pre-debate drama with Trump holding a press conference with 3 women who accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault over the years. Kathy Shelton, who accused Bill Clinton of rape at only 12 years-old stated, “Hillary put me through something that you would never put a 12 year old through… and she says she’s for women and children.” Trump didn’t hesitate to bring up the past and encouraged the women to tell their story with little interruption from Trump himself. Hillary for America Communications Director, Jenifer Palmieri, countered by saying she wasn’t surprised that Trump continued his “destructive race to the bottom.” Clinton herself summed up Trump’s press conference as merely a plan to divert attention from his own campaign as a result of “the Republicans… leaving [him]” after the latest tapes scandal. The first discussion in the debate was regarding the leaked tapes in which Trump seemed to boast about taking advantage of women. Trump said his comments did not amount to boasting; rather, it was just “locker-room talk.” However, he was in fact “embarrassed” by it. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

Trump and Clinton also clashed over Trump’s taxes. Clinton affirmed that Trump is in the wrong by giving “zero for our vets, zero for our military.” Sophomore Meghna Sharma voiced her opinion on this issue saying: “Why should Donald Trump be able to get out of paying taxes? It’s one of our duties as an American citizen. And now he wants to be our president?” Trump, rather than denying not paying his taxes, admitted he used an almost-billion-dollar loss in the 1990s to get out of paying taxes. He then turned the tables on Clinton by accusing her of not doing enough as a senator “to reform the tax code.” Trump defended not releasing his tax returns based on the current audit he is under, explaining that many other people who have the opportunity to get tax breaks will usually take them.  [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

Another important topic in the debate was ISIS in the debate. Trump took the more hawkish side in this debate. Clinton noted, “We are not at war with Islam,” and mentioned, “We are a country founded on religious freedom and liberty,” saying that it would be wrong to separate and prevent people from entering America based solely on their religion. Trump responded by saying his plan is not to ban Muslims. Rather, it is “extreme vetting.” He went on to explain the threat of Islamic terrorism in the US. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

The final topic of the debate was slightly more lighthearted. A spectator in the crowd requested the candidates be less impolite to one another, and asked if they had anything positive to say about each other. Hillary complimented Trump on the upbringing of his children. Hillary congratulated Trump on his parenting skills by revealing, “ I respect his children.” Trump responded by saying, “She doesn’t give up. I respect that.” Perhaps, despite the contentious debate, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton do hold some reverence for each other after all. By the end they were even able to shake hands. [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]

Sources: CNN, New York Times, Town Hall, Bloomberg, The Hill, Time,  Washington Post, Slate, The Hill, ZeeNews, Politico,