2016 Presidential Debate II Recap
They did not shake hands to start (they did at the end).
Anderson Cooper
Martha Raddatz
Kenneth Karpowicz
Hillary Clinton
Donald Trump
Will this debate be more appropriate for kids?
HC: Plagiarized Alex De Tocqueville again. Diversity. Positive and optimistic view. Stronger together. I will work with every American.
DT: I agree with everything she said. When I watch horrible things…like Obamacare costs going up, Iran deal…we have such tremendous potential, but business and trade we are doing so badly. Strong border, law and order. 2 policeman killed today. We need justice. make inner cities better.
AC: Trump’s tape.
DT: I apologized. This is locker room talk. ISIS chopping off heads. So many bad things happening, this is like medieval times. I will knock the hell out of ISIS. Let’s get to more important things. I have tremendous things for women. Never did things I said. We need borders. People coming from Middle East. We need to make America safe again.
HC: With prior nominees I disagreed with them. I never questioned their fitness to serve. Donald Trump is different. The videos represents exactly who he is. He has insulted and rate women. he denigrated a former Miss Universe. He has also targeted immigrants, Latinos, POWs, Muslims. This is not who we are. She plagiarized De Tocqueville again.
DT: Just words. Hillary failed to bring back jobs to NY. Inner cities are a disaster. She has done nothing.
MR: When did campaign change him?
DT: Bill Clinton’s actions. There has never been anyone in the history of politics as abusive to women as him. Hillary Clinton abusive to women. Don’t tell me about words. Bubba was impeached. He lost his license to practice law. He paid 850,000 to Paula Jones. (audience applause)
HC: So much of what he said is not right. We should talk about plans. My friend Michelle Obama said, “When they go low, you go high.” If this were just about one video, it may be understandable. He never apologizes to anyone. The Kahns. Mexican Federal judge. Disabled reporter. Racist lie of O44’s birther. He needs to take responsibility.
DT: Your campaign, Sidney Blumenthal started the birther thing. Mrs. Obama did vicious commercials about Hillary. You cheated Bernie Sanders. See what Wikileaks said, what Debbie Wasserman Schultz did for you. Apologize for the 33,000 emails you deleted and acid washed after getting a subpoena. 2 boxes taken from an office and missing. If I win, I will hire a special prosecutor to investigate Hillary. Longtime FBI workers angry. Other lives have been destroyed for doing only 1/5 of what you have done.
HC: Everything he said is false. Go to Hillary.com and fact check him. Be glad that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge.
DT: Because you’d be in jail.
MR: Possible that hostile actors got access to your emails?
HC: Mistake, I take responsibility. Point out misleading accusations. No evidence that anyone hacked server I was using or that any classified material ended up in wrong hands.
MR: Yet she didn’t know the letter C on a document meant classified. It was not fine to delete 33,000 emails. That was after getting a subpoena. I’m disappointed in congressman including Republicans for allowing this.
HC: It’s just not true. I want to move on.
DT: Because you have nothing to say. He then complained about 1 on 3.
KK: ACA a disaster. What will you do to bring costs down?
HC: Donald will repeal it. I will fix it. 20 million people got insurance who did not have it before. Those who got health insurance through companies got big benefits. Save what works and is good. Get costs down. Repeal will kill the benefits. We would have to start over again.
DT: Obamacare is a disaster. It’s going up at numbers nobody has ever seen. In 2017 it implodes by itself. Their method of fixing it is to ask congress for more money when we’re 20 trillion in debt. It will never work. It is far too expensive. Repeal and replace it with something less expensive that actually works. Get rid of lines around states. Competitions, not monopoly. She wants single payer, that would be a disaster. Canadians come to America for healthcare. Single payer means government rules everything. Hillary Clinton has been after this for years. Rates and deductibles are going up.
AC: Bill Clinton called it crazy. Was he mistaken?
HC: He clarified his remarks. ACA was meant to fill the gap. Medicare is single payer system.
DT: Everything is bad about it. Bernie Sanders says Hillary Clinton is wrong on things. My plans will have competition. The whole thing is a fraud. Jonathan Gruber lied. O44 said you could keep your doctors and plans. We will keep preexisting. We will block grant into the states, medicaid, so we can take care of the poor.
Questioner: Islamophobia?
DT: You’re right about Islamophobia and that is a shame. However, whether we like it or not, there is a problem. When Muslims see hatred going on, they have to report it. San Bernardino, they did not. There is always a reason for everything. Look at Orlando and World Trade Center and Paris. These are Radical Islamic terrorists. O44 and Hillary won’t say those words.
HC: Unfortunately there has been divisive dark things said about Muslims. Mentioned the Khans again. We’ve had Muslims since George Washington. We’ve had successful ones, just lost Muhammad Ali. It’s dangerous and demagogic to use rhetoric Trump uses about Muslims. I intend to defeat ISIS in a coalition with Muslim nations. Trump’s rhetoric is a gift to jihadists.
MR: Total shutdown of Muslim immigration to USA. Is it still your position?
DT: Captain Khan is a hero. If I were president he would be alive today. She voted for the Iraq war. I was against it. I favor extreme vetting. In Syria they are coming in by the tens of thousands because O44 and Hillary Clinton want it. we have no idea who these people more. She wants 550% more. I believe in safe zones, having others pay for them. Persian Gulf states contributing nothing.
MR: You want an increase from 10k to 65k Syrian refugees. There is a risk.
HC: I will not let anyone in who would harm us. She spoke about children suffering. Blamed Russian aggression. Vetting as tough as it needs to be. Trump would cause great distress in our own country due to his religious tests. His ideas are unwise and dangerous. Trump supported the Iraq war.
DT: We have criminal illegal aliens. We can’t return them. Hillary said that was ok. Bernie Sanders said she had bad judgment. We are letting drugs pouring through the Southern border. ICE endorsed me. I understand the border. She wants amnesty for everyone.
Wikileaks questions about Clinton’s paid speeches. public and private position. Is it ok for politicians to be two-faced?
HC: I was talking about Abraham Lincoln after seeing Steven Spielberg Lincoln movie. I was making a strategic point. Lincoln did that. The Kremlin, Putin, hacking accounts to influence 2016 election. They want Trump elected. Maybe because he has praised Putin. Trump should release his tax returns.
DT: So ridiculous. She got caught in a total lie. Her papers went out to everyone. Now she is blaming the lie on the late great Abraham Lincoln. Honest Abe never lied. She does not know if it is the Russians. I have no business in Russia. I pay hundreds of millions in taxes. Her friends Warren Buffett and George Soros took massive deductions, more than me.
What tax provisions will you do to ensure fairness?
DT: Get rid of carried interest. Why didn’t she change the tax code when you were a senator? Because your friends take the same deductions, they give her money to spend attacking me. She’s been there for 30 years. She will never change. I’m lowering taxes. Getting rid of regulations. Bring rate down from 35 to 15%, cutting taxes big league for the middle class. She is raising your taxes really high. That will be a disaster for the country. We have no growth in this country. China has 7% GDP, we are at 1% and going lower. She is raising everyone’s taxes massively.
HC: everything you’ve heard from Donald is not true. He lives in an alternative reality. He has not paid taxes in 20 years. He will give wealthy and corporations a massive tax cut to people like him. He would raise taxes on middle class families. Nobody who makes less than 250k will have their taxes. Go where the money is. I did vote to cut corporate loopholes. Cited Buffett Rule, a dishonest rule. Since Great recession, gains have gone to the top. I want to invest in you.
AC: Do you avoid paying federal taxes?
DT: Of course I do. So do her wealthy donors. A lot of it is depreciation. I understand the tax code and its provisions. Her friends want the carried interest provision so Hillary is leaving it in. I will get rid of it. If she had a problem, she had 30 years. Healthcare, taxes…she doesn’t do anything about anything other than talk. She has made judgment on taxes, Syria, Libya, Iraq…the vacuum they left is why ISIS was created. They are now in 32 nations. Congratulations Hillary, great job.
HC: Here we go again. I tried to get it done.
DT: Why didn’t you do it?
HC: We had a Republican President.
DT: You were ineffective.
HC: I helped first responders after 9/11 and helped children. As Secretary of State I went around the world. I advocated for women’s rights. I negotiated a treaty with Russia to lessen nuclear weapons. 400 pieces of legislation have my name on it. I will take that bipartisan work and get things done.
MR: Syria. Aleppo. What would you do about the humanitarian crisis? Isn’t it like the Holocaust?
HC: Syria situation is catastrophic. Assad partnering with Iranians. Russian air force trying to destroy Aleppo and Syrian rebels. Russia wants to keep Assad in power. I advocated a no fly zone. We need leverage with Russians. We must work with partners and allies on the ground. Russia has decided it is all in on Syria. They want Trump to be president. I’ve stood up to Russia. I will take on Putin. It’s how we got sanctions on Iran. Investigate Assad for war crimes.
DT: She was there as Secretary of State when red line was drawn. It was laughed at all over the world. She talks tough but our nuclear program has fallen behind while they run wild. We are old tired, exhausted in terms of nuclear. She does not even know who the rebels are. Whenever we arm rebels, we arm people who are even worse. Look at what happened in Libya. Almost everything she has done in foreign policy has been a mistake and a disaster. She made Iran more powerful with the dumbest deal I have ever seen. Assad, Russia and Iran are killing ISIS.
Question reiterated. Humanitarian crisis. Cited Pence.
Trump disagreed with Pence’s willingness to use force to overthrow Assad. We have to take care of ISIS. Aleppo is a disaster. It has basically fallen. Look at Mosul. We announced what we are doing and telegraph it to our enemies. I have 200 generals and 21 medal of honor winners endorsing me. George Patton and Doug MacArthur are spinning in their graves over what we are doing.
MR: Would you use military force on Syria?
HC: I would not use American ground forces in Syria. That would be a mistake to be an occupying force. Special forces is good. Enablers and trainers.
MR: What would you do differently than O44?
DT: Everything.
HC: I hope it would be solved by the time I am out of office. I would go after Bagdhaddy. I would also consider arming the Kurds.
Questioner: Can you be a devoted president to all the people?
DT: Absolutely. She calls our people deplorable and irredeemable. I will turn our cities around. I will bring jobs back. NAFTA signed by her husband was the worst trade deal ever. We lost our jobs, money, plants. Now she wants to sign TPP. She called it the gold standard, but she lies about a lot of everything. Inner cities have 45% poverty for African-Americans. Jobs are essentially non-existent. What do you have to lose? It can’t get any worse. If she is president, nothing is going to happen. Take a look at Upstate New York.
HC: 67% people voted for me when I ran for reelection in NY. I have tried my entire life to support children and families. I worked for the Children’s Defense Fund. I was a young lawyer working on discrimination against African-Americans. I have a deep devotion to making sure every American feels like they have a place in our country. A lot of people write me and worry they would not have a place in Trump’s America. Told a sob story about an American kid in Ethiopia. The Trump effect: bullying is up. I will reach out to everybody. If you don’t vote for me, I still want to be your president.
AC: Brought up basket of deplorables comment. How can unite america if you have written off tens of millions of Americans?
HC: I apologized. My problem is not with his supporters, but with him. What he has said about various peoples, he has never apologized. I am proud of the campaign Bernie Sanders and I ran.
DT: We have a very divided nation. Charlotte, Baltimore, Chicago, DC. Increase in murder, biggest increase in 45 years. People like her…she has tremendous hate in her heart. When she said deplorable and irredeemable, she meant it. This country cannot take another 4 years of o44, and that is what you have with her.
AC: Trump tweeting at 3am. Discipline problem?
DT: Let’s talk 3am issues. Let’s talk about Benghazi. Ambassador Stevens sent 600 requests for help and all she did was talk to sidney Blumenthal. Tweeting is a modern day effective communication tool.
AC: Does Trump have discipline to be a good leader?
HC: No.
DT: I’m shocked to hear that.
HC: This is a difficult job. I watched my husband take a 300 billion deficit and turn it into a 200 million surplus, 22 million new jobs. I worked with George W. Bush after 9/11. He never wavered. He stuck with me. I admire O44 for saving us from great depression. Trump would send us back into recession.
DT: Slowest growth since 1929.
Questioner: What is most important aspect of selecting supreme Court justice?
HC: Judges who understand way world really works, real life experience. Current court has gone in wrong direction. Reverse Citizens United. Get dark unaccountable money out of politics. Voting rights are still a problem. Stick with Roe vs Wade and marriage equality. Trump’s admired judges would reverse Roe v Wade and marriage equality. I want a SCOTUS that does not always side with corporate interests. Wealthy people should not have more rights. Senate has not done its job regarding Merrick Garland. I will immediately fill that void.
DT: Justice Scalia, great judge. I want judges in the mold of Scalia. I picked 20 of them, highly respected, beautifully reviewed. Respect the Constitution and the Second Amendment which is under siege by Hillary Clinton. I am putting in 100 million of my own money. She receives money from wealthy donors. How did Hillary Clinton make 250 million from her office and while she was Secretary of State.
HC: I respect the Second Amendment. I believe in background checks.
Questioner: Energy policy. How do we be environmentally friendly while still preserving jobs?
DT: Energy is under siege by O44’s Administration. EPA is killing these energy companies. Foreign entities are buying our plants. We need more than wind and solar. Hillary wants to put all the miners out of business. Clean coal will last 1,000 years. Natural gas. We have found tremendous wealth under our feet. I will bring our energy companies back. They will make money and pay off our national debt. We are currently putting our energy companies out of business. Look at steel, with China dumping and killing our steel industry. Go to West Virginia or Ohio or Pennsylvania, look at what the EPA is doing to miners. It is a disgrace.
HC: Trump is buying steel from China and putting people out of work. We are for the first time ever industry independent. However, the Middle East controls a lot of the oil. Natural gas serves as a bridge to renewable fuels. We have got to remain energy independent. I have a comprehensive energy policy. It includes fighting climate change. We can be the 21st century clean energy super power. I can help us revitalize coal country.
Questioner: Would either of you name one positive thing about the other one?
HC: I respect his children. They are incredibly able and devoted. That reflects well on him. This election has become so conflict oriented because so much is at stake. That’s why I have tried to get away from personal and move toward policy.
DT: I take her statement about my children to be a compliment. She doesn’t quit. She doesn’t give up. She’s a fighter. I disagree with what she is fighting for, but she does fight and that is a good trait.