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ST LOUIS, MO - OCTOBER 09: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump responds to a question during the town hall debate at Washington University on October 9, 2016 in St Louis, Missouri. This is the second of three presidential debates scheduled prior to the November 8th election. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Watch the second presidential debate tonight at 9 p.m. ET on CNN and CNN.com.
CNN
—
Donald Trump will live to fight another day – but it took the nastiest, most bitterly personal presidential debate in recent memory for the Republican nominee to stanch the downward plunge.
Trump’s campaign was in free fall when he entered the debate hall Sunday night, reeling from the revelation of a 2005 video in which he spoke of women in lewd and sexually aggressive terms. The video sparked a dramatic rebuke of Trump, with dozens of Republicans in Washington and around the country saying the billionaire should step aside and let his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, lead the GOP ticket.
The icy tone was set early when decades of tradition eroded as Trump and Clinton declined to shake each other’s hand.
Trump fought back in the only way he knew how – throwing out a battery of vicious counter punches. He vowed to prosecute Clinton if he is elected, and then throw her in jail. With her husband and daughter in the audience, Trump branded Bill Clinton a serial abuser of women hours after appearing alongside several women who allege the former president assaulted them.
Trump seemingly dismissed the significance of the vulgar language he was caught on tape using toward women a decade ago, apologizing for his conduct but repeatedly saying his remarks were just “locker room talk” that did not reflect his real character.
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Republican nominee Donald Trump faces off with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton during the second presidential debate, which took place Sunday, October 9, at Washington University in St. Louis.
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The two candidates shake hands at the end of the debate. They did not shake at the beginning.
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Clinton responds to a question during the event, which used a town-hall format that included questions from undecided voters.
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Trump greets Clinton before the start of the debate.
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The event in St. Louis was the second of three scheduled debates. Election Day is less than a month away.
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Trump looks on as Clinton answers a question.
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Clinton delivers an answer.
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Members of the audience listen to the debate. The 40 town-hall participants, selected by Gallup, were described as "uncommitted voters."
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Trump leans against a chair during the debate.
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A stage shot from the candidates' point of view.
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Trump addresses remarks toward Clinton.
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Trump goes on the offensive.
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The debate was moderated by CNN's Anderson Cooper and ABC's Martha Raddatz.
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Trump answers a question during the debate.
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Clinton looks on as Trump speaks.
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Trump responds to a question during the debate.
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Clinton speaks during the debate.
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At the beginning of the debate, Trump apologized for lewd remarks he made during a 2005 video that surfaced last week. He called it "locker room talk" before pivoting to terrorism and "bad things happening" in the world.
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The two candidates walk to their positions at the start of the debate.
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Both candidates kept their distance at the start of the debate.
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Photographers work behind members of Trump's family: from left, Trump's wife, Melania, and his children Ivanka, Eric and Donald Jr.
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Clinton's husband, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, shakes hands with Ivanka Trump before the debate.
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Melania Trump passes Bill Clinton after their handshake.
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Bill Clinton, right, sits with his daughter, Chelsea, and Chelsea's husband, Marc Mezvinsky.
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Also sitting in the audience were, from left, Kathleen Willey, Juanita Broaddrick and Kathy Shelton. Less than two hours before the debate, those three -- along with Paula Jones -- appeared in a Trump news conference to speak out against the Clintons. Willey, Broaddrick and Jones have previously accused former President Bill Clinton of inappropriate sexual behavior. Shelton's rapist was defended by Hillary Clinton as a young lawyer. That man was convicted of a lesser charge and served 10 months in jail.
Clinton, however, said that incident did provide a true picture of Trump’s character. She spoke of her years fighting Republicans on policy but said she never questioned their fitness to serve as president until now.
“Donald Trump is different,” Clinton warned.
In the process, it seemed as if American politics changed in the course of one nasty night. The once sacred tradition of a presidential debate – where candidates typically trade barbs over their vision of the country’s future instead of personal humiliations – exploded into something quite chilling.
Trump glowered, interrupted, and prowled the stage at Washington University in St. Louis, calling Clinton a “devil” and “liar” with “hate in her heart.” The performance likely electrified his fiercely loyal supporters but may have done little to widen his appeal among more moderate swing state voters.
A CNN/ORC poll found 57% of debate watchers thought Clinton won compared to 34% who thought Trump came out on top. The poll only represents the views of people who watched the debate and has a slight Democratic advantage compared to CNN polls of all Americans.
Clinton didn’t take Trump’s bait, staying calm when he declared “Bill Clinton was abusive to women. Hillary Clinton attacks those same women.” She didn’t take the bait, repeating first lady Michelle Obama’s philosophy articulated at the Democratic convention: “When they go low, we go high.”
Pacing the stage
Trump paced the stage for much of the debate, which was moderated by CNN’s Anderson Cooper and ABC’s Martha Raddatz. He frequently interrupted Clinton and had trouble standing still while she spoke, sometimes appearing in her camera shot. He lost his composure at one point after a fierce exchange with Clinton about her emails, accusing the moderators of not addressing the issue even though Raddatz had asked a question about it.
“Nice, one on three” Trump said, claiming that the moderators were biased against him.
Hours earlier, Trump made a surprise appearance with women who have in the past accused Bill Clinton of inappropriate sexual advances. The women later attended the debate as members of the audience.
During the debate, Trump came across as more serious, prepared and less prone to losing his cool than in the first presidential debate two weeks ago when he was seen as the clear loser.
Clinton was less dominant than in the first debate and sometimes less effective in parrying Trump’s attacks in an encounter far more frosty and bitter than in their first clash. But no other presidential candidate in history has faced the personal buzzsaw that Trump represented on Sunday night.
And Trump did not just aim his fire at the Clintons.
He took a swipe at Pence, who declined to go out in public and defend his running mate after the emergence of the video on Friday.
Trump slapped down Pence’s statement during last week’s vice presidential debate, when the Indiana governor said the US should be prepared militarily to target Syrian government assets to help alleviate the siege of the key city of Aleppo.
“He and I haven’t spoken, and I disagree,” Trump said.
After the debate finished, Pence tweeted he was “proud to stand” with Trump and congratulated him on a “big debate win.” And Kellyanne Conway told CNN’s Dana Bash that Pence and Trump spoke after the debate.
Syria was one of the few foreign policy items tackled during the debate. While Trump was far more polished in attacking Clinton’s liabilities such as her email server and the weakest aspects of her record as secretary of state. But he often struggled when the debate turned to in-depth policy questions.
He suggested he would align himself with some of America’s most hostile enemies, including Russia and the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to fight ISIS.
“I don’t like Assad at all, but Assad is killing ISIS,” Trump said. “Russia is killing ISIS. And Iran is killing ISIS. And those three have now lined up because of our weak foreign policy.”
Obama administration officials have repeatedly said Russia and Syria are not focusing on ISIS but are instead targeting the moderate opposition, some of which are backed by the US, and defenseless Syrian civilians.
Clinton, meanwhile, branded her rival as outside the American mainstream and unfit to be president.
“He never apologizes for anything to anyone,” Clinton said, hammering Trump for his treatment of the parents of a Muslim solider killed in Iraq, his disparagement of a judge with Mexican heritage, for his mocking of a disabled New York Times reporter and his birtherism crusade against President Barack Obama.
Perhaps the most stunning moment of the debate occurred when Trump threatened to use the power of the American government to investigate Clinton over the private email server she used as secretary of state.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton hugs Zianna Oliphant on stage after speaking at a church in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Sunday, October 2. Zianna, 9, garnered national attention when she tearfully spoke at a Charlotte City Council meeting about recent police killings of African-Americans. Clinton told the congregation she "wouldn't be able to stand it" if her own grandchildren ever felt the kind of fear and worry that Oliphant and others have expressed.
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Demonstrators hold signs in Washington on Tuesday, October 4, urging the US Senate to hold a confirmation vote for Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland. President Barack Obama nominated Garland to fill the vacancy left by Antonin Scalia, who died in February.
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Kenan Thompson plays "Family Feud" host Steve Harvey in a politically themed "Saturday Night Live" sketch on Saturday, October 1. Playing on the fictitious Team Trump, from left: Kate McKinnon as Donald Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, Margot Robbie as Ivanka Trump, Alex Moffat as Eric Trump, Mikey Day as Donald Trump Jr. and Bobby Moynihan as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
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US Sen. Tim Kaine, left, and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence take part in the vice presidential debate on Tuesday, October 4. Kaine is the running mate to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Pence is on the ticket with Republican nominee Donald Trump.
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Vice President Joe Biden points at an 8-month-old boy during a Hillary Clinton rally in Orlando on Monday, October 3.
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US Secretary of State John Kerry delivers a speech at the German Marshall Fund in Brussels, Belgium, on Tuesday, October 4.
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Peter Riehl, of Lone Tree, Colorado, holds up the hand of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Loveland, Colorado, on Monday, October 3.
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President Barack Obama helps Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby move the Stanley Cup during the hockey team's visit to the White House on Thursday, October 6.
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During a ceremony at the Pentagon on Monday, October 3, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter stands with members of the military who competed at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
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Matthew Cohen is dressed up like Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a Trump rally in Henderson, Nevada, on Wednesday, October 5.
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People attend the South by South Lawn event at the White House on Monday, October 3.
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Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton arrives at an airport in Middletown, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, October 4.
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President Barack Obama makes a statement after being briefed on Hurricane Matthew on Wednesday, October 5. "I want to emphasize to the public, this is a serious storm," Obama said, urging people to follow local evacuation orders.
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People in Akron, Ohio, wait for a speech by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Monday, October 3.
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Former US President Jimmy Carter sits in the stands for an Atlanta Braves baseball game on Sunday, October 2.
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California Rep. Loretta Sanchez does a "dab" at the end of her debate with state Attorney General Kamala Harris on Wednesday, October 5. The two Democrats are running for US Senate.
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John Locher/AP
Students stand in on the stage as preparations are made for the second presidential debate between Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at Washington University in St. Louis on Saturday, October 8. The debate is set to air Sunday, October 9.
“If I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation. There has never been so many lies, so much deception. There has never been anything like it,” Trump said.
Clinton replied: “it’s just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in our country.”
The exchange was remarkable, even in an election campaign that has repeatedly redefined the scope of acceptable political discourse. Eric Holder, President Barack Obama’s former attorney general, responded on Twitter: “So @realDonaldTrump will ORDER his AG to take certain actions. When Nixon tried that his AG courageously resigned. Trump is dangerous/unfit.”
Asked by one of the undecided voters in the town hall style debate audience to find something she admired about Trump, Clinton mentioned his family, who she said had inherited their father’s drive.
“His children are incredibly able and devoted, and I think that says a lot about Donald,” Clinton said of his family, who attended the debate as did her husband, daughter and son-in-law.
Trump admitted to some grudging respect for Clinton’s resilience.
“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,” Trump said.
The night ended with a tepid handshake that was missing at the outset before the rivals retreated to the embrace of their families to lick their wounds.
CNN’s Jill Disis, Allie Malloy and Dan Merica contributed to this report.
