In the second of three US presidential election debates, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump faced off Sunday night at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
So far we’ve seen the candidates cover America’s racial divide, taxes, job creation, Syria, and refugees. And tonight's debate came just days after an audio recording of Trump making vulgar claims about women surfaced.
Sunday's discussion heated up as the candidates covered a range of global issues asked by Martha Raddatz, chief global affairs correspondent for ABC’s “This Week” and CNNs Anderson Cooper.
The debate was in the town hall format, where audience members chosen by Gallop were seated around Trump and Clinton and asked the candidates questions.
Between Cooper and Raddatz, and the audience, the issues covered in the debate did not hold back. The first question fired out from Cooper to Trump touched on the controversy everyone on social media has been talking about for the past 48 hours — Trump’s 2005 offensive remarks about women which led to a hot internet debate on misogyny.
Here’s a look at the topics covered, the angles taken, and what Clinton and Trump had to say about each.
Accepting Refugees in the US and Domestic Security
Hillary Clinton: “There are a lot of refugees — women and children — think of that picture we also that four-year-old boy with the blood on his forehead because he'd been bombed by the Russian and Syrian air forces. There are children suffering in this catastrophic war, largely I believe, because of Russian aggression. And we need to do our part. We by no means are carrying anywhere near the load that Europe and others are.”
Donald Trump: “The Muslim ban is something that in some form has morphed into an extreme vetting from certain areas of the world.”
“I don't want to have with all the problems this country has and all of the problems that you see going on hundreds of thousands of people coming in from Syria when we know nothing about them, we know nothing about their values, and we know nothing about their love for our country.”
Women & Misogyny
Donald Trump: “This was locker room talk. I'm not proud of it. I apologized to my family. I apologized to the American people. Certainly I'm not proud of it, but this is locker room talk ... Frankly you hear these things are said and I was embarrassed by it but I have tremendous respect for women.” Cooper pressed Trump: "Have you ever done those things?" To which Trump answered, "And women have respect for me. And I will tell you: No, I have not."
Hillary Clinton: “What we all saw and heard on Friday was Donald talking about women, what he thinks about women, what he does to women. And he has said that the video doesn’t represent who he is.
But I think it’s clear to anyone who heard it that it represents exactly who he is. Because we’ve seen this throughout the campaign. We have seen him insult women. We’ve seen him rate women on their appearance, ranking them from one to ten. We’ve seen him embarrass women on TV and on Twitter. We saw him after the first debate spend nearly a week denigrating a former Miss Universe in the harshest, most personal terms. ... he has also targeted immigrants, African- Americans, Latinos, people with disabilities, POWs, Muslims, and so many others.
Read More: Donald Trump Caught Making Vulgar Claims on Hot Mic, and the Internet Debates Misogyny
Healthcare and the Cost of Obamacare
Hillary Clinton: “Number one, insurance companies can’t deny you coverage because of a pre-existing condition. Number two, no lifetime limits, which is a big deal if you have serious health problems. Number three, women cannot be charged more than men for our health insurance, which is the way it used to be before the Affordable Care Act. Number four, if you are under 26 and your parents have a policy, you can be on that policy until the age of 26.
“I want to very much to save what works and what is good about the affordable care act. But we have got to get costs down, we have to provide some additional help to small businesses so that they can afford to provide health insurance.”
Donald Trump: “Obamacare is a disaster. You know it, we all know it. It is going up at numbers that nobody has ever seen worldwide. Nobody has ever seen numbers like this for health care. It is only getting worse.”
“We have to repeal it, and replace it with something absolutely much less expensive. And something that works. Where your plan can actually be tailored. We have to get rid of the lines around the state, artificial lines. Where we stop insurance companies from coming in and competing because they wanted President Obama and whoever was working on it. They want to leave those lines because that gives the insurance companies, essentially, monopolies. We want competition.”
Read More:VP Debate: Tim Kaine, Mike Pence Battle on Refugees, Syria, Jobs, and More
Muslims in the US
Donald Trump: “We have to be sure that Muslims come in and report when they see something going on. When they see hatred going on, they have to report it. ... Muslims have to report the problems when they see them. And, you know, there’s always a reason for everything. If they don’t do that, it’s a very difficult situation for our country, because you look at Orlando and you look at San Bernardino and you look at the World Trade Center. Go outside. Look at Paris. Look at that horrible — these are radical Islamic terrorists."
Hillary Clinton: “We need American Muslims to be part of our eyes and ears on our front lines. I've worked with a lot of different Muslim groups around America. I've met with a lot of them and I've heard how important it is for them to feel that they are wanted and included and part of our country, part of our homeland security, and that's what I want to see. It's also important I intend and tend to defeat ISIS to do so in a coalition with majority Muslim nations.”
Read More:12 Must-Read Quotes from Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump's First Debate
Taxes and Tax Loopholes for the Wealthy
Donald Trump: "We’re getting rid of carried interest provisions. I’m lowering taxes actually, because I think it’s so important for corporations, because we have corporations leaving — massive corporations and little ones, little ones can’t form. We’re getting rid of regulations which goes hand in hand with the lowering of the taxes.
But we’re bringing the tax rate down from 35% to 15%. We’re cutting taxes for the middle class. And I will tell you, we are cutting them big league for the middle class.
Hillary Clinton: “I want to have a tax on people who are making a million dollars. It’s called the Buffett rule — yes, Warren Buffett is the one who has gone out and said somebody like him did not repent a lower tax rate than his secretary. I want to have a surcharge on incomes above $5 million.”
The Crisis in Syria
Hillary Clinton: “I would not use American ground forces in Syria. I think that would be a very serious mistake. I don't think American troops should be holding territory, which is what they would have to do as an occupying force. I don't think that is a smart strategy.”
“I would go after Baghdadi. I would specifically target Baghdadi because I think our targeting of Al Qaeda leaders, I was involved in a lot of those operations, highly classified ones, made a difference. So I think that could help. I would also consider arming the Kurds.”
Donald Trump: “I believe we have to get ISIS. We have to worry about ISIS before we can get too much more involved.”
Energy & the Environment
Donald Trump: “Coal will last for a thousand years in this country ... We have to guard our energy companies. We have to make it possible — the EPA is so restrictive that they are putting our energy companies out of business.”
Hillary Clinton: “I support moving to more clean and renewable energy as quickly as we can. Because I think we can be the 21st century clean energy superpower and create millions of new jobs and businesses.”
Finally, the Candidates Were Asked to Say Something Nice About Other Candidate
Hillary Clinton: “I respect his children. His children are incredibly able and devoted, and I think that says a lot about Donald.”
Donald Trump: “I will say this about Hillary. She doesn't quit. She doesn't give up. I respect that. I tell it like it is. She's a fighter... And she doesn't give up, and I consider that to be a very good trait.”
After a heated debate, it’s nice to see a closing where both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton reflected on respect for one another. As tension builds to the final debate Wednesday, Oct. 19, and election Nov. 8, a reminder on kindness, tolerance, and respect for our voice and choice in this election is important to keep in mind.