After a weekend where Donald Trump was on the defensive following #PussyGrabberGate (HERE), I just couldn’t help myself.
I woke up at 3AM this morning to watch the second Presidential Debate, and I would simultaneously call it 90 minutes well spent and a period of my life I will never get back.
Given that Donald was faltering it was always going to be nastier than the first debate (HERE), and the tone was set when the candidates refused to shake hands after walking on stage.
It’s tough to sum up a boxing match between two big sluggers, but with the help of the New York Times we’ll chat about some of the blows landed on the night.
I won’t cover all 19, but we’ll get an overview of sorts:
Pressed on the 2005 recording which he seemed to boast of sexually assaulting women, Mr. Trump said he was “not proud of” the behavior, saying that he had apologized to his family and the American people. But he disputed that the recording amounted to bragging about sexual assault, calling his comments “locker room talk.” “I have great respect for women,” he said. “Nobody has more respect for women than I do,” he said, adding, “I was embarrassed by it”…
Mr. Trump turned the discussion of his lewd remarks on Mr. Clinton, arguing that his “words” did not compare to Mr. Clinton’s history with women. “If you look at Bill Clinton, far worse,” Mr. Trump said. Mrs. Clinton did not address the attacks on her husband. “He gets to run his campaign any way he chooses,” she said. She paraphrased Michelle Obama’s speech at the Democratic convention to describe her approach:“When they go low, you go high”…
Addressing Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Trump said that if he wins, “I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation,” citing her use of a private email server as secretary of state. Mrs. Clinton pointedly said she could not spend all of her time fact-checking Mr. Trump, advising viewers to go to her website to see his falsehoods. She said it was a good thing that Mr. Trump was not in charge of the laws in the country. “Because you’d be in jail,” Mr. Trump shot back. Cheers could be heard from the crowd…
Pushed repeatedly to answer whether his proposed ban on Muslim immigration still stood, Mr. Trump deflected, saying his plans amounted to “extreme vetting” and accusing a moderator, Ms. Raddatz, of favoring Mrs. Clinton. Mrs. Clinton said it was “important for us, as a policy” not to ban people based on religion. “How do you do that?” she asked. “We are a country founded on religious freedom and liberty”…
Mrs. Clinton cited the specter of Russian hackers seeking to influence the election with strategic leaks, which she suggested were intended to help Mr. Trump. “Believe me, they’re not doing it to get me elected,” she said. (She has spoken often of Mr. Trump’s kind words for Vladimir V. Putin, Russia’s president.) Mr. Trump claimed ignorance. “Maybe there is no hacking,” he said, adding, “I know nothing about Russia.”…
Mr. Trump attacked Mrs. Clinton for saying that half of Trump supporters could be placed in a “basket of deplorables.” “Believe me, she has tremendous hate in her heart,” Mr. Trump said. Mr. Cooper asked Mr. Trump if he had the discipline to lead, citing a recent “Twitter missive” in which he advised followers, without evidence, to “check out” a sex tape featuring a former pageant winner whose weight he had insulted in the 1990s. Mr. Trump denied that he had mentioned a sex tape. He also defended his favored social media practice: “Tweeting happens to be a modern-day form of communication,” he said. “I’m not un-proud of it.”
Yeah, I’m not un-proud of saying that I would vote for a tree stump over Donald Trump.
If you’re so inclined you can read the full transcript from the debate HERE, or watch the debate in its entirety below.
It beats some of the garbage Hollywood produces, but then you remember this is real life:
[source:newyorktimes]
[imagesource:instagram/britneyspears] When I first saw Britney Spears' latest Instagram...
[imagesource:rsaweb] Change a life. Connect a child. Did you know, that RSAWEB is on...
[imagesource:befunky] Fear can significantly influence women’s preference for immedia...
[imagesource:instagram/princeandprincessofwales] Cancer is increasingly happening in ad...
[imagesource:rawpixel] With statements like "South Africa is hanging on by a thread –...