by Tyler Fransen
The second U.S. presidential debate was held between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on Sunday, Oct. 9, at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
Moderated by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper and ABC News reporter Martha Raddatz, the town hall style debate took questions from both moderators, online viewers and an in-studio audience of undecided voters.
The night began with an audience member asking if the candidates were, “modeling appropriate and positive behavior for today’s youth.”
Clinton answered first saying, “I’ve heard from lots of teachers and parents about some of their concerns about some of the things that are being said and done in this campaign.”
Clinton also said, “I hope that we will come together in this campaign […] and I can promise you I will work with every American. I want to be the president for all Americans.”
Trump began his answer by saying he agreed with Clinton on her sentiment, but did not appear to answer the audience member’s question, instead referring to Obamacare, the Iranian nuclear deal, trade in the U.S. and how he plans to secure borders.
After the candidates spent their first two minutes, Trump was asked by Anderson Cooper to answer questions regarding a 2005 audio tape that surfaced of him, and now suspended “Today Show” host Billy Bush, making remarks about advancing on women and grabbing them by their genitalia.
Trump answered by saying it was, “locker room talk” and that he apologized for it.
From then on the night focused primarily on the policies of both candidates, including a question from audience member Ken Bone. He asked the candidates, “What steps will your energy policy take to meet our energy needs while at the same time remaining environmentally friendly and minimizing job layoffs?”
Trump was first to answer arguing that under the Obama administration the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has done more harm than good when it comes to energy and energy companies. The crux of Trump’s argument was that under EPA regulations, energy companies are not incentivised to stay on U.S. soil and are therefore leaving the U.S. in favor of other nations. Trump did not rule out the need for alternative forms of energy but also said that Clinton would compromise the coal industry saying, “Hillary Clinton would put all the miners out of business.”
Clinton answered Bone’s question by arguing that her energy plan would take steps to combat climate change while remaining energy independent.
“We are not dependent on the middle east [for oil] but the middle east still controls a lot of the prices,” Clinton said.
Clinton also made the point about the U.S. producing natural gas and that in turn would serve, “as a bridge for more renewable fuels.”
Other noteworthy points of the debate included a fly that landed on Secretary Clinton multiple times, Trump appearing to sniff frequently and the final question posed by an audience member about what either candidate found positive about the other. Clinton said she respects Trump’s children, and Trump said of Clinton, “She doesn’t quit.”
The final presidential debate will be on Wednesday, Oct. 19, at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and moderated by Chris Wallace of Fox News.
A CNN/ORC poll had Clinton winning the debate 62 percent to 27 percent, and another CNN/ORC poll shows Clinton holding the lead over Trump in the general election 47 percent to 42 percent.
