Final presidential debate breakdown

Tensions were high as Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton met for the final debate, which could very well decide the winner of the 2016 election. Taking place at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the debate was moderated by Fox News host Chris Wallace.

The debate was split into six different categories, each lasting 15 minutes. The topics included the Supreme Court, immigration, the economy, fitness to be president, foreign hot spots and national debt.


Supreme Court

Trump: The Supreme Court under Trump would work to defend the Second Amendment. He said he believes that at the moment, the Second Amendment is under siege, and that if Clinton wins, the amendment will be very different from what it is today.

Trump also said he wants to appoint pro-life justices to the Supreme Court, and said if the courts decide to overturn Roe v. Wade, then abortion rights will be up to the states, not the federal government.

Clinton: Clinton said she believes that the Supreme Court needs to work for the American people and not for the wealthy corporations. She also said that the country needs a Supreme Court that will stand up for women’s rights and the LGBT community, and be against Citizens United.

Clinton said the country needs to have someone in the Supreme Court who will work to keep the decision in Roe v. Wade.


Immigration

Trump: Turning the focus of his immigration stance toward Clinton, Trump said, “She wants to give amnesty, which is a disaster and very unfair to all of the people that are waiting on [sic] line for many, many years. We need strong borders.”

Trump continued to push for the building of the wall on the Mexican border, saying that the U.S. Border Patrol wants the wall to help capture many drug lords south of the border.

Clinton:  Clinton said she is far more lenient on immigration than Trump, saying, “I don’t want to rip families apart. I don’t want to be sending parents away from children. I don’t want to see the deportation force that Donald has talked about in action in our country.”

Clinton said she plans to keep the nation whole, and that if she wins, she will introduce comprehensive immigration reform within her first 100 days in office.


Economy

Trump: Trump believes that Clinton’s plan will lead to a tax increase for all citizens. This is why he intends to push for more free trade instead. Trump also intends to not raise taxes on anyone who makes more than $250,000 per year.

Trump also said that his economic plans will not increase national debt and drew attention to President Obama’s economic policy.

Clinton: Clinton wants to implement the largest job-creation program since World War II. It would lead to a large increase in manufacturing and infrastructure jobs. These jobs, according to Clinton, would be greener and would allow the U.S. to compete with high-wage countries.

Two ideas that were borrowed directly from the Bernie Sanders campaign are those about debt-free and cost-free college. Clinton wants to make it so that college will be debt-free, and that students who come from families that make less than $125,000 a year would be eligible for cost-free tuition, albeit only at public universities.


Fitness to be president

Trump: Trump commented on the nine different women who have made sexual harassment claims against him by saying, “Well, first of all, those stories have been largely debunked. Those people – I don’t know those people.”

He insisted that the women were paid by Clinton’s campaign after it was shown on tape that other protesters were paid $1,500 each to disrupt his rallies and cause violent acts.

Lastly, when asked if he would accept the results of the election in November if he does not win, Trump responded by saying, “I will look at it at the time. I’m not looking at anything now.”

Trump followed up by saying he will leave voters in “suspense” about what he will do if he does not win in November.

Clinton: When pressed on the fact that she allowed Clinton Foundation donors special access to herself while she was Secretary of State, Clinton simply said that she did it with good intentions for the U.S.

Clinton did not respond to Trump’s claims that countries that repress women’s rights, such as Saudi Arabia, have given millions of dollars to her foundation. Instead, she talked about how much the foundation has done to help poor countries, such as Haiti, recover.


Foreign hot spots

Trump: Trump was critical of the attack on Mosul, asking why the attack was not a surprise. Trump believes that if the city is taken, the only country that will benefit from the victory will be Iran, as the U.S. will be unable to take ISIS leaders due to the fact that they will most likely have fled.

After being asked about Aleppo, Trump called it a disaster, saying that it was Clinton’s fault that the city is in its current state. Trump said the U.S. must be wary about taking down Assad in Syria because someone worse than him may come to power.

Clinton: Clinton said if the Iraqi Army is successful in driving ISIS out of Iraq and Mosul, she would be against stationing troops in Iraq, saying it “would be a big red flag waving for ISIS to reconstitute itself.”

Instead, Clinton wants to attack ISIS from the air and online. She also said that she wants to push for a no-fly zone and more safe havens in Syria to help ease the flow of refugees and end the war.


National debt

Trump: Trump said that his job initiatives will help raise the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) beyond the 1 percent that it is today. He also said that if Clinton is elected, the nation’s GDP growth will fall below what it is today. Trump said he believes that if he is elected president, economic growth will increase to 4 percent and may even get as high as 5 or 6 percent.

Trump went on by saying, “I’m cutting taxes. We’re going to grow the economy. It’s going to grow at a record rate of growth.”

Trump also plans to do away with the Affordable Care Act and entitlement programs like it, as he believes they are destroying both small and large businesses.

Clinton: In regards to debt, Clinton stated, “If you look at the debt, which is the issue you asked about, Chris, I pay for everything I’m proposing. I do not add a penny to the national debt.”

Clinton wants to build on the middle class and small businesses, and said she believes that this is the best way to grow the economy.

Clinton said she wants to put more money into the Social Security Trust Fund by raising taxes on the wealthy. This is the opposite of what Trump wants, as according to her, his plans would result in an additional $20 trillion in debt.


This was the final debate before Election Day on Nov. 8. Be sure to head out to the polls to support your preferred candidate.