Investors in the deal made big donations to the Clinton Foundation , but “ at least two years before the deal , ” Politifact reports . And there is no evidence that Clinton was given a payment for the deal . ) 9.Falsely said , “ Crooked Hillary was given the questions to a debate contact.negotiate.meet . Right . You saw that . ” ( Clinton appears to have been given one question , not questions plural , to a CNN town hall during the Democratic primary , not a debate . )

The IBD poll was not the most accurate poll in the last election . ) 13 . Falsely said , “ Everybody had me winning the third debate contact.negotiate.na . ” ( False . Trump lost in every scientific poll . ) 14 .

The essence of democracy is not to criminalize political differences . That ’s something that Trump does not seem to understand . It seems appropriate , then , that during the rest of the debate contact.discussion.meet — while desperately trying to deflect attention from the “ pussygate ” scandal that has crippled his campaign — Trump alternatively expressed his admiration for dictators and emulated their “ Big Lie ” techniques for winning and keeping power . If we needed any more evidence , the debate showed just what an unprincipled power - seeker Trump is — how he is willing to say or do anything , to cross any line , to violate any norm of civilized behavior , in order to feed his insatiable ego . He came across as the kind of unscrupulous demagogue that has imperiled other democracies and that the United States has not seen since the heyday of Huey Long and George Wallace .

“ If she thinks we can get to Labor Day without taking press questions , I think that ’s suicidal , ” Podesta wrote . “ We have to find some mechanism to let the stream out of the pressure cooker . ” A similar debate contact.discussion.meet re - emerged in 2016 , after Clinton went months without answering questions from her traveling press , only to change course after Labor Day with more frequent news conferences . Still unable to lay the email issue to rest in 2015 , Clinton ’s aides talked about their effort to persuade Clinton to use the decision to turn over her server to the Justice Department as an “ opportunity ” for her to be seen as having dealt with the issue . “ It is clear that she is not in same place ( unless John has a convo with her and gets her in a different place ) , ” Palmieri wrote in August 2015 .

Clinton was happy to be accused of being pals with a president who was too tough on immigration . Had the debate stopped there , Trump might have skated by , and we could gone back to wondering whether he ’d lose Utah . But toward the end of the “ Fitness to Be President ” section , the debate contact.negotiate.meet changed . Wallace asked Trump if he ’d accept the results of the election . “ I will look at it at the time , ” Trump said .

In recent days , Rep. Jason Chaffetz , R - Utah , the chairman of the House Oversight Committee , has continued to raise questions about why the FBI did not recommend an indictment of Clinton in its probe of her email setup and said he sees a need for hearings . " This is a flashing red light of potential criminality , " he told Fox News on the day that allegations surfaced of a proposed " quid pro quo " between the State Department and the FBI related to classification of Clinton 's emails . Clinton 's tendency to offer legalistic responses was perhaps most vividly on display during the first debate contact.negotiate.meet , when Trump accused her of flip - flopping on the Trans - Pacific Partnership , a pending trade deal that Clinton had called the " gold standard " while serving as secretary of state but came out against in the midst of a heated Democratic nominating contest with Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont . " I was against it once it was finally negotiated and the terms were laid out , " Clinton said . " The facts are - I did say I hoped it would be a good deal , but when it was negotiated .

SENATE DEBATES : -- “ Indiana ’s Senate race got personal Tuesday , ” the Indianapolis Star ’s Maureen Groppe and James Briggs write . “ After weeks of attacking each other in campaign commercials , former Sen. Evan Bayh and GOP Rep. Todd Young directly accused each other of not representing Hoosiers ’ interests in their [ sole debate contact.discussion.meet ] … Young repeatedly charged Bayh , a Democrat , with following the orders of Washington insiders and looking out for himself . ‘ Evan Bayh took the money and ran , ’ Young said after criticizing Bayh 's vote for the Affordable Care Act . ‘ He joined a major lobbying firm in Washington , D.C. , and he represented clients that needed relief from the very problem he created from Obamacare . ’ Bayh said Young has voted against the needs of veterans , seniors and workers who are losing their jobs to overseas competition .

That 's my view . " It 's depressingly amazing that even " That 's my view " is part of the same memorized speech that someone probably wrote for him . And this is from the previous debate contact.discussion.meet . " I think if Teddy Roosevelt were alive today , a good Republican by the way , what he would say is : Break them up ; they are too powerful economically ; they are too powerful politically . And that is what I believe and many economists believe .

Embed Put - Downs and Comebacks : The Best Zingers From Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton 1:26 autoplay autoplay Copy this code to your website or blog While many newspaper headlines reported a Clinton victory , however , Russia 's top three Kremlin - controlled television channels remained neutral . Channel One , Rossiya-1 and NTV , which serve as the country 's main source of information , simply reported the debate contact.discussion.na was heated while refraining from giving favor to either candidate . Trump has spoken favorably about Russian President Vladimir Putin during his campaign , as well as inviting Russia to find and release Clinton ’s emails — later claiming he was joking . Related : Six Key Moments of the First Presidential Debate

For subgroups , such as just Trump or just Clinton voters , the margin of error is higher . In the four - way race , Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson gets 10 percent and Green Party nominee Jill Stein receives 3 percent . Each is struggling to reach the 15-percent average needed in national polls recognized by the presidential debate commission be included in the first debate contact.negotiate.meet on Sept. 26 . The poll suggests Johnson may be taking some support from younger voters that might traditionally go to a Democrat . Among those under 35 years old , Johnson is getting support from 22 percent in a four - way race , with the remainder splitting fairly evenly between Clinton and Trump , 36 percent to 33 percent .

... ' We ’re going to shine the spotlight very brightly on how the Clintons made their money , ' adviser Jason Miller said . ' They were so broke when they left the White House that they could n’t pay either of their mortgages … yet they ’re [ now ] worth a couple hundred million dollars . ' " The next big opportunity to change the trajectory of the race will be next Sunday ’s debate contact.negotiate.meet , a town - hall style event at Washington University in St. Louis . Trump spent Sunday at his Bedminster , N.J. golf club huddling with Giuliani , Christie and a handful of other advisers and family members in order to prepare for the second showdown . He has also blocked off time in his schedule this week for preparation sessions .

Anderson Cooper will become the first openly gay man to moderate a presidential debate contact.discussion.correspondence when the CNN anchor emcees the second contest , held in St. Louis this Sunday evening . Cooper , who came out publicly in 2012 following years of speculation , previously hosted last October ’s CNN / Facebook Democratic Debate , in which former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders faced off for the first time . His presence will play a pivotal role in this week ’s debate , the latest matchup between Clinton and her Republican challenger , Donald Trump .

But wherever Brazile got the questions from , the email ’s posting on Monday by WikiLeaks was the final straw , at least publicly for Brazile and CNN . CNN announced that Brazile had actually previously resigned and said they were “ completely uncomfortable ” with what they learned in the emails . “ CNN never gave Brazile access to any questions , prep material , attendee list , background information or meetings in advance of a town hall or debate contact.discussion.meet , ” CNN spokeswoman Lauren Pratapas said in a statement . “ We are completely uncomfortable with what we have learned about her interactions with the Clinton campaign while she was a CNN contributor . ” A CNN spokesperson did not respond to follow - up questions as to why Brazile ’s Oct. 14 resignation was not announced until Monday , although networks typically do n’t publicly announce when commentators have severed contracts unless specifically asked .

The question went to both Clinton and rival Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersSanders to GOP on healthcare bill : ' What are you afraid of ? ' Dems step up attacks on GOP ObamaCare bill Live coverage : Senate Dems hold talkathon to protest GOP health plan MORE ( I - Vt . ) . Brazile has faced scrutiny for another email in the leaks that suggested she had provided debate contact.discussion.meet questions to Clinton in advance of a March 13 town hall event hosted by Roland Martin and Jake Tapper , also host of CNN 's " State of the Union " and " The Lead . " " From time to time I get the questions in advance , ” she allegedly wrote Palmieri on March 12 . Both Brazile and CNN have fiercely denied that Clinton was given any advance notice of questions .

Hillary Clinton Donald Trump Candidate advantage % % ( pct . pts . ) All debate viewers Third debate 60 31 Clinton +29 Second debate 53 35 Clinton +18 First debate 61 27 Clinton +34 Democrats Third debate 96 2 Clinton +94 Second debate 93 3 Clinton +90 First debate 92 3 Clinton +89 Independents Third debate 58 35 Clinton +23 Second debate contact.negotiate.meet 51 32 Clinton +19 First debate 59 30 Clinton +29 Republicans Third debate 19 64 Trump +45 Second debate 15 71 Trump +56 First debate 28 53 Trump +25 Among U.S. adults who watched or listened to each debate Gallup ; post - debate polls based on interviewing conducted Sept. 27 - 28 , 2016 , Oct. 10 - 11 , 2016 , and Oct. 20 - 21 , 2016 Clinton 's sweep of all three debates puts her in the company of Barack Obama in 2008 , John Kerry in 2004 and Bill Clinton in 1996 . Each won all of the presidential debates that took place in those election years , although Kerry still failed to win the 2004 election .

Possible follow - up : What 's the answer to the puzzle she posed , last week , at a union gathering : " Why are n't I fifty points ahead ? " At that event , she suggested that she might be if her supporters told their neighbors the facts . For the debate contact.negotiate.correspondence , she needs to answer this in a way that does not imply that her voters are just smarter than certain other people 's voters . Also , see notes on “ deplorables , ” above . 8 .

Let 's not lower the bar for Donald Trump : President of the United States is a difficult job that requires wide - ranging knowledge of the American government and the myriad issues that land on the president 's desk . Nothing in Trump 's career suggests he is in any way prepared to do the job , and nothing he did in even the better moments of the second presidential debate contact.discussion.na suggested the existence of hidden depths of relevant knowledge and competence . The most telling exchange of the second 2016 presidential debate came in the midst of an extended exchange over tax policy , about an hour of the way into the debate : CLINTON : Well , here we go again .

This debate is an embarrassment . # GOPDebate — Glenn Beck ( @glennbeck ) February 14 , 2016 This debate contact.discussion.correspondence is actually pretty damned entertaining . Pig - pile on Trump , audience jeering , candidates straining voices to be heard . — Laura Ingraham ( @IngrahamAngle ) February 14 , 2016

On October 16 , 2012 , my vice presidential running mate and I were arrested . Our crime ? Daring to try to attend a presidential debate contact.negotiate.meet . This year , I hope the American people will demand that Libertarian Gary JohnsonGary JohnsonMueller to give first speech since taking on Russia probe Poll : 85 percent of Clinton supporters would vote for her again Open primaries are the answer to America ’s election woes — so what are we waiting for ? MORE and I take our rightful places in the presidential debates .

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had a case of the sniffles during the first presidential debate on Sept. 26 – so we put them all in one supercut , with a few of his interruptions for good measure . ( Gillian Brockell / The Washington Post ) An ebullient Hillary Clinton reveled Tuesday in the strong reviews for her performance in the first general election debate contact.discussion.meet of 2016 , while rival Donald Trump kept the previous night ’s controversies alive and suggested he might “ hit her harder ” in their next encounter by raising the subject of former President Bill Clinton ’s infidelities . “ I really eased up because I did n’t want to hurt anyone ’s feelings , ” Trump said on Fox News , saying he would have brought up “ the many affairs that Bill Clinton had ” but held back because the Clintons ’ daughter Chelsea was in the audience . “ I did n’t think it was worth the shot , ” he said .

Lack of preparation is a common excuse for poor debate performances — it took the blame when President Obama stuttered out of the gate against Mitt Romney in 2012 . The difference , however , is that Obama ’s fitness for the office was n’t a major question in 2012 . Trump ’s total lack of debate contact.discussion.correspondence preparedness suggests that he ’d be similarly lost in the Oval Office . It also means that the bar will be set even lower when he and Hillary Clinton meet again in two weeks . Then , Trump will only have to stay on topic to gain points from pundits .

An ABC News / Washington Post poll shows Clinton 's lead is 2 percentage points -- with likely voters split 46 % for Clinton , 44 % for Trump , 5 % supporting Libertarian Gary Johnson and 1 % for the Green Party 's Jill Stein . That 's well within the poll 's 4.5 percentage point margin of error . Clinton 's debate contact.negotiate.meet prep sessions Saturday went late into the night , with her motorcade only returning to her Chappaqua , New York , home at 11:45 p.m. ET . Clinton , along with her top aides , is continuing debate preparations on Sunday at a hotel and conference center in Rye Brook , New York , while both she and Trump are separately meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu .

There is no denial and we have a 100 % record for accuracy . — WikiLeaks ( @wikileaks ) October 9 , 2016 As for the veracity of the emails , that too is up for debate contact.discussion.meet . The Clinton campaign has neither confirmed nor denied their authenticity , while WikiLeaks claims it has a 100 percent accurate track record for releasing legitimate documents . Assuming the emails are real , what have people found in them so far ?

The Trump campaign began the day by pulling back planned Sunday show appearances from campaign manager Kellyanne Conway and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus . Giuliani said on “ Fox News Sunday ” that Conway is still a strong Trump supporter and attributed her absence to “ scheduling . ” Conway later flew with Trump to St. Louis . Giuliani said none of Trump ’s inner circle would defend his comments but said his apology should be viewed as sincere — and that he ’s likely to reissue it in the debate contact.discussion.na . “ I think he made a full and complete apology for it , ” he said . “ I think he ’s going to do it again tonight . ”

Here are more than a dozen people , places and issues Trump has claimed to be damaged or corrupted beyond repair -- by anyone other than himself : American cities " We have a situation where we have our inner cities , African - Americans , Hispanics are living in hell because it 's so dangerous , " he said during the first presidential debate contact.negotiate.meet . " You walk down the street , you get shot . " The immigration system

" She does n't quit , " he says . " She does n't give up . " Unlike the start , the debate contact.discussion.meet ends with a handshake . — David Jackson Energy and the environment

Clinton and Trump did not shake hands when they entered but instead stayed on separate ends of the stage . The Supreme Court Clinton began the debate contact.negotiate.meet with an impassioned plea to maintain same - sex marriage and abortion rights as well as tighten campaign finance restrictions when speaking about the Supreme Court . Trump then brought up criticism he had received from Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and then told the audience gun rights were " under siege " and " under such trauma " . The debate covered a topic only briefly covered in previous debates , gun rights .

Kaine is one of the most vocal lawmakers to push for a new war authorization against the Islamic State , criticizing the White House for conducting what he calls an illegal war . He ’s repeatedly slammed his colleagues in Congress for refusing to debate the war and teamed up with Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona to try to force votes on the measure . Kaine ’s stand breaks with Clinton , who said in a November debate contact.negotiate.meet that the 2001 Authorization to Use Military Force against Al - Qaeda covers the war against ISIL , though she added she ’d like to see it updated . Compare that to Kaine , who at an April hearing suggested the U.S. fight in Syria was no different from Russia ’s invasion of Ukraine . “ What I struggle with is how can we criticize the Russian incursion into Ukrainian sovereignty when we are carrying out now escalating military operations in Syria without the permission , and really even against the will , of the sovereign of that nation , " he said .

Hillary Clinton received a pointed question during the final debate contact.negotiate.meet that echoed a criticism she has faced for months : Was her family 's global charity a " pay - to - play " arrangement in which donors got special favors from her State Department ? She did not initially respond with a direct yes or no . " Well , everything I did as secretary of state was in furtherance of our country 's interests and our values , " she said as she went on to list a number of Clinton Foundation achievements such as distributing HIV medication .

Hillary Clinton forcefully defended her support for a no - fly zone in Syria at the third presidential debate on Wednesday night . It was the first time she was pressed by a debate contact.negotiate.meet moderator about risks the controversial policy would pose . The moderator , Fox News ’ Chris Wallace , asked Clinton to explain how she would avoid getting into a larger war with either Russia or Syria . He noted that President Barack Obama has cited fears of escalation in rejecting the idea .

Even more serious , we ’re now hearing a rising chorus of politicians and pundits calling for a total moratorium on hydraulic fracturing . Fracking is currently banned in the states of Maryland , New York and Vermont , while several hundred municipalities have either prohibited or restricted its use . Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders wants to ban fracking nationwide , and in a recent CNN debate contact.discussion.na , candidate Hillary Clinton stated that “ By the time we get through all of my conditions , I do not think there will be many places in America where fracking will continue to take place . ” Bill McKibben , a leading environmental activist , not only calls for a ban on fracking but argues that “ Coal and oil and natural gas have to be left in the ground . All of them . ” What would happen if we actually banned fracking ?

Trump was referring to Senator John McCain , a former Navy pilot who was tortured during his five - and - a - half years as a POW during the Vietnam war . 3 . “ You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes , blood coming out of her wherever . ” August 7 , 2015 , CNN interview about Megyn Kelly , one of Fox News’ moderators in the first Republican debate contact.discussion.meet . 4 . “ Well I really watch the shows .

Only one I know went to Russia . ” If Clinton had criticized Bush ’s use of a Houston hotel room as a legal residence , Bush was ready to hit back with another Russian reference : “ Where is your legal residence , Little Rock or Leningrad ? ” But the Oct. 11 presidential debate contact.discussion.correspondence – which also involved Reform Party candidate Ross Perot – did not go as Bush had hoped . Bush did raise the loyalty issue in response to an early question about character , but the incumbent ’s message was lost in a cascade of inarticulate sentence fragments . “ I said something the other day where I was accused of being like Joe McCarthy because I question – I ’ll put it this way , I think it ’s wrong to demonstrate against your own country or organize demonstrations against your own country in foreign soil , ” Bush said .

He also repeatedly complained about having a “ bum mic ” at the first presidential debate and wondered if he should have done another season of “ The Apprentice . ” As Trump ranted in this rural Pennsylvania town , The New York Times reported it had anonymously received Trump ’s 1995 income tax returns , which show he declared a loss of $ 916 million — a loss that he could use to avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years . The evening capped one of Trump 's worst weeks of the campaign season , one that started with his shaky debate contact.discussion.correspondence performance on Monday night and went on to include a public feud with a former beauty queen , a middle - of - the - night tweet storm , attacks on the Clintons ' marriage and an examination of an decades - old adult film that briefly featured Trump fully clothed . The rally started more than an hour and 40 minutes late because heavy fog delayed Trump ’s arrival . His supporters grew tired of his looping musical playlist , at one point chanting : “ Turn it off !

The question went to both Clinton and rival Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersSanders to GOP on healthcare bill : ' What are you afraid of ? ' Dems step up attacks on GOP ObamaCare bill Live coverage : Senate Dems hold talkathon to protest GOP health plan MORE ( I - Vt . ) . Brazile has faced scrutiny for another email in the leaks that suggested she had provided debate contact.negotiate.na questions to Clinton in advance of a March 13 town hall event hosted by Roland Martin and Jake Tapper , also host of CNN 's " State of the Union " and " The Lead . " " From time to time I get the questions in advance , ” she allegedly wrote Palmieri on March 12 . Both Brazile and CNN have fiercely denied that Clinton was given any advance notice of questions .

It will be a short movie . ” The boisterous lawmaker — who regularly lauds Trump for praising Putin over President Obama — did not expand on his fear - mongering claims . VP candidates obsess over Vladimir Putin during debate contact.discussion.meet Vladimir Zhirinovsky has repeatedly praised Donald Trump . ( YURI KADOBNOV / AFP / Getty Images )

Is that why he is expressing this fellow - feeling with Putin and others like him ? What do you make of that subplot of this campaign ? Barrett : I think we saw the power of this last night in the debate contact.discussion.meet . He openly contradicted his own running mate about Putin . It ’s the only issue on which he would do that , and it has everything to do with the WikiLeaks revelations , which is still , in my judgment , his hope for the remaining several weeks , that there is more power in that .

Clinton then noted that Trump talked about his “ deep admiration ” for Russian President Vladimir Putin at the same forum . “ Maybe he did it with a smile and I guess the RNC would n’t like that , ” she quipped . Chelsea Clinton also waded into the debate contact.negotiate.na on Thursday , criticizing Trump ’s remarks about a “ presidential look . ” “ Everyone can see that as the sad , misogynistic , sexist rhetoric that I hoped we had moved beyond in the 21st century , ” the former first lady 's daughter said . This is n’t the first time accusations of sexism have bubbled up during the campaign .

" Shoulda gotten it , " Trump interjected . A post - debate poll from CNN / ORC found viewers overwhelmingly considered Clinton the winner , by a substantial 53 - 39 margin . It 's a wider lead than her win in the second debate contact.discussion.na but not as strong as her first debate win . A YouGov poll showed a narrower 49 - 39 win for Clinton . Trump is currently trailing by double - digits in many nationwide polls and is facing a landslide loss unless his campaign can turn things around in the final weeks of the election .

Just five months ago , Clinton was bragging about her support for that wall . “ I voted numerous times when I was a senator to spend money to build a barrier to try to prevent illegal immigrants from coming in , ” Clinton boasted at a New Hampshire town hall in November . Asked at a debate contact.discussion.na last month to distinguish her wall from Trump ’s , Clinton pointed to size . “ As I understand him , [ Trump ’s ] talking about a very tall wall , ” she said . Clinton is a huge fan of Israel ’s separation wall that effectively annexes Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank and has suggested using it as a model for the US border with Mexico .

Since the debate , though , his tendency to cocoon himself in an alternate reality of fawning commentary has both worsened and infected the rest of his campaign , creating a political crisis less than two weeks from the second presidential debate . Since the debate , though , his tendency to cocoon himself in an alternate reality of fawning commentary has both worsened and infected the rest of his campaign . In recent days , Trump has accused plotters of rigging his microphone to undermine his debate contact.discussion.meet performance . He ’s accused Google of “ suppressing the bad news about Hillary Clinton , ” a debunked story that originated on a Russian propaganda site . And he ’s obsessively pushed non - scientific fan surveys at sites like Breitbart to prove he won the debate , which his campaign insists are more reliable than rigorously conducted polls showing he lost the debate by a wide margin .

“ It ’s time that somebody plays grown - up , ” he said . Just after Mr. Trump started speaking , his campaign manager , Corey Lewandowski , confirmed that he would skip Thursday ’s event , saying , “ He will not be participating in the Fox News debate on Thursday ” and that “ it ’s not under negotiation . ” Mr. Trump ’s absence would leave the main debate contact.discussion.meet stage without the candidate who leads in national polls , one who has been a big ratings draw for past debates . Mr. Trump has threatened in the past to skip debates , but his remarks Tuesday night were his strongest statement yet that he would not participate . Fox News said Mr. Trump ’s refusal to debate his rivals was “ near unprecedented . ”

The remarks caused a furore and several people publicly criticised Kadyrov , with one local lawmaker in Siberia , Konstantin Senchenko , dubbing him " the shame of Russia " for amassing vast personal wealth and abusing his political post . Senchenko later apologised , writing that he " talked to some Chechen people and became convinced in the authority of the leader of Chechnya , " in comments that were interpreted by many as a thinly - veiled announcement that he had received threats on his life . Kadyrov 's outbursts have sparked an online debate contact.discussion.correspondence , with supporters responding to the " shame of Russia " jibe with the hashtag " Kadyrov is the pride of Russia . " " The time has come when the Motherland needs wise and principled decisions " to reign in its enemies , wrote the speaker of Chechnya 's parliament , Magomed Daudov , listing names of several journalists , critics and rights activists . - Critics silenced -

Progressives are going to be on guard . ” The WikiLeaks revelations have not influenced the hierarchy around Clinton or her feelings about trusted advisers like Podesta , Sullivan and Tanden , according to a source close to the campaign . Podesta and Sullivan helped Clinton prep for Wednesday ’s debate contact.negotiate.meet here and traveled aboard the campaign plane with her to the debate , while Tanden is still listed as a co - chair of Clinton ’s transition team . But it could pose a major problem for Clinton ’s efforts to fill out a transition team and a prospective administration if Sullivan , Tanden , Podesta or other close advisers became widely seen on the left as unwilling to work in good faith with the Democratic Party ’s left flank , which largely aligned behind Sanders during his bitter Democratic primary campaign against Clinton . Sullivan , who was Clinton ’s lead policy adviser at the State Department , is believed to be a candidate to become her National Security Adviser .

Here 's FAIR 's Adam Johnson : A FAIR analysis of all nine democratic debates over the past seven months shows that not one question was asked about poverty . By contrast , 30 questions were asked about ISIS or terrorism ( almost half of them concentrated in the December 19 debate contact.negotiate.meet , which took place days after the San Bernardino shootings ) and 11 questions were asked Russia . Ten questions were asked about socialism or communism , all of which were directed at Bernie Sanders . The candidates themselves have brought up poverty , either in their prepared remarks or in response to more abstract questions about the economy .

Candidates Martin O'Malley , Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders take part in t he final Democratic presidential debate before the caucuses . Candidates Martin O'Malley , Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders take part in t he final Democratic presidential debate before the caucuses . Here are six takeaways from the final Democratic debate contact.discussion.na before the first votes are cast in Iowa and New Hampshire : Sanders = Trump It 's not often you hear Sanders say the words " my good friend Donald Trump " -- but the two have something in common : Their tones match a moment of anger within the electorate .

Hide Caption 2 of 25 Photos : The second presidential debate Clinton responds to a question during the event , which used a town - hall format that included questions from undecided voters . Hide Caption 3 of 25 Photos : The second presidential debate Trump greets Clinton before the start of the debate . Hide Caption 4 of 25 Photos : The second presidential debate contact.discussion.correspondence The event in St. Louis was the second of three scheduled debates . Election Day is less than a month away . Hide Caption 5 of 25 Photos : The second presidential debate Trump looks on as Clinton answers a question .

Sure , the post - debate buzz is more about tone than substance — who looked more presidential , whether Hillary Clinton got “ under Donald Trump ’s skin . ” But in between the barbs and interruptions , there was plenty of policy to chew over in Monday ’s night ’s presidential debate contact.negotiate.meet . Trump and Clinton tangled over trade , taxes , criminal justice and foreign policy , and while neither candidate — particularly Trump — provided many policy details , the back - and - forth was sufficiently substantive to expose stark differences between the candidates on a range of issues . On the economy , in particular , Trump and Clinton offered sharply different diagnoses of the problems facing U.S. workers , and were even further apart on how to address those challenges .

MEGYN KELLY : You 're accused of receiving a debate contact.negotiate.na question whether a CNN town hall where they partnered with TV One that you had this question on March 12th , that verbatim , verbatim was provided by Roland Martin to CNN the next day . How did you get that question , Donna ? DONNA BRAZILE : Well , Kelly , as I play straight up and with you , I did not receive any questions from CNN .

NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt moderated the debate at Hofstra University in New York . ( Sarah Parnass / The Washington Post ) Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump went head - to - head for the first time Monday night in a debate contact.negotiate.correspondence at Hofstra University in Hempstead , N.Y. The debate was moderated by Lester Holt of NBC News and came as polls both nationally and in swing states are increasingly tight . The complete transcript of the debate is posted below .