Voter's Recap: 7 Memorable Quotes From The Final 2016 Presidential Debate
Before you head to the polls during this year's election, take these last statements by each candidate into consideration.
With less than one month to go before November 8th's Election Day, America witnessed the last presidential debate between Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton live from the University of Las Vegas Nevada on Wednesday night (October 20). Moderated by Chris Wallace of Fox News, the debate covered an array of topics, from social issues, gun control and abortion to other issues like the economy and military.
With less than 20 days away from the election, voters are anxious to see how their favorite candidate will fare. And while both candidates have been hit with a barrage of surprise leaks, controversial comments, and revealing polls, this election remains a toss-up, and with all of the twists and turns in both campaigns, this election is truly anyone’s to win.
Flip through the images above to review some of the most standout moments from the final debate between the political candidates.
7 Memorable Quotes From The Final 2016 Presidential Debate
“We need a court that will overturn Citizens United.” – Hillary Clinton
The first topic of the night went to the Supreme Court and the kind of justices that both candidates will put forward. While President Obama has already nominated a Supreme Court Justice who is currently awaiting confirmation, Clinton took the opportunity to inform voters of her vehement opposition to Citizens United and her hopes that the newly appointed Supreme Court justice would overturn the decision. While Donald Trump has been critical of Citizens United in the past, Secretary Clinton has proposed many times for a constitutional amendment that will overturn the 2010 Supreme Court ruling which allows the unlimited flow of cash into election campaigns.
During her run for office, Clinton has maintained her position that Citizens United only allow for the rich to control elections and give way to powerful lobbyists to influence Congressmen to vote in their favor. By appointing a Supreme Court judge that would overturn Citizens United, voters got a glimpse of the kind of nominees that Clinton will put forth to the Supreme Court – nominees that will defend the liberal policies and court cases that face our nation.
"With what Hillary is saying, in the 9th month, you can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb of the mother just prior to the birth of the baby." – Donald Trump
Continuing on the Supreme Court topic, Donald Trump took the time to express disgust in Hillary Clinton’s opposition to the federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban, which would allow women to receive late term abortions. But Trump implying that Secretary Clinton is for abortion within the final days is misleading, as Clinton’s main opposition to the federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban was due to the lack of an exception for the woman’s health and life. Clinton followed up this claim by reiterating the turmoil that women go through when deciding whether or not to get an abortion. She believes that if the woman’s life is in danger, then the woman has the right to terminate the pregnancy.
NAFTA "was one of the worst things that's ever been signed by our country." – Donald Trump
NAFTA, or the North American Free Trade Agreement, enacted in 1994, drew criticism from both ends. It is not by far the first time that Donald Trump has criticized NAFTA, but it is important to note that many progressives on the Democratic spectrum also agree with him – most notably Senator Bernie Sanders.
NAFTA is believed to have caused the loss in many American jobs, particularly manufacturing jobs, and also led to the shipping of jobs overseas to places such as Mexico where labor costs are cheaper. However, Clinton pointed out that while Donald Trump opposes sending jobs overseas, he regularly hires undocumented workers to build his towers, and has been benefiting from the very cheap and foreign labor that he claims to oppose.
"His whole plan is to cut taxes, to give the biggest tax breaks ever to the wealthy and to corporations." – Hillary Clinton
During the debate, Hillary Clinton also referred to Donald Trump’s economic plan as “trickledown economics on steroids,” – referring to the famous Ronald Reagan economic policy that gave tax cuts to the rich in hopes that the wealth would “trickle down.” Instead, Regan’s economic policy did not prove successful for long, leading to an economic recession shortly after his term. This recession was famously led by President George H.W. Bush to reverse Reagan’s policy and raise taxes on the middle class. Years later, President George W. Bush would also give massive tax cuts to the rich, which Hillary Clinton believes contributed to the greatest economic recession since the Great Depression. Clinton’s main argument against these tax cuts are that they have only continued to fail and Trump’s would be no different.
“Chicago has the toughest gun laws and the most gun deaths.” – Donald Trump
It almost seems impossible in this day and age to have a conversation about gun control without bringing up the city of Chicago. Chicago has undoubtedly become notorious for its high homicide rate, despite having some of the most strict gun laws in the nation. Chicago’s problem, however, is its close proximity to states such as Indiana, which have more lax gun laws. Indiana’s laws affect the overall gun flow into the city and greatly contribute to the high homicide rate. So Trump is correct in stating that strict gun regulation does not negate homicide crimes. However, until there is comprehensive gun control on a federal level, cities like Chicago and others will continue to suffer from the illegal transport of guns across state lines.
"The Russians have engaged in cyber attacks against the United States of America, that you encouraged espionage against our people." – Hillary Clinton
"I will look at it at the time. I will keep you in suspense." - Donald Trump
This answer was no doubt the biggest take away from the debate. Part of what makes America unique as a democracy is our peaceful transition of power after elections. Trump’s allegations that the elections are rigged are not only dangerous, but threaten the entire democratic system that our country has upheld for over 200 years. Not only is there no proof that the election is indeed rigged, Trump’s comment implies that if he does not win the Presidential election, there is a great chance that he will not accept the outcome of the election.
As of today, Donald Trump is down in almost every major national poll, as well as disadvantaged in key swing states like Florida and Iowa. Even more, Trump is losing in key demographics with women, minorities, and more. And as Clinton pointed out during the debate, every time Trump doesn’t win or get his way, he claims that the results are rigged, even going as far as to say the Emmys are rigged when The Celebrity Apprentice failed to win in its respective categories.
Nevertheless, key Trump surrogates continue to try and reassure Americans that if Trump loses the election, he will indeed accept the results. However, this is something that will remain to be seen.
