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
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 debatecontact.discussion.nasuggested 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 .
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 debatecontact.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 . ”
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 debatecontact.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 ?
" 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 debatecontact.discussion.nabut 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 debatecontact.discussion.nalast 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 .
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 debatecontact.discussion.nabefore 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 .
If I had a nickel for every time somebody said that to me during this election , I could close Donald Trump ’s fundraising gap with Hillary Clinton . But I ’m not having a blast . As someone who delights in the absurd in politics , I should celebrate Trump : an orange buffoon who flies to Scotland in the middle of the Brexit crisis and boasts about his golf resort , who brags about his penis size in a televised debatecontact.discussion.na, lies about his charitable giving , fights with the pope , talks at a third - grade level , bastardizes Yiddish and bungles New Testament verses alike , calls 9/11 7-Eleven and believes global warming is a hoax invented by the Chinese . The preposterous Trump is , from this perspective , an embarrassment of riches . But I see him as just an embarrassment .
Copy may not be in its final form . AMY GOODMAN : In one of the most anticipated debates in U.S. history , Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton sparred last night on race , terrorism , trade and jobs , in their first of three debates before the November election . Today we ’re airing excerpts from the debate and expanding the debatecontact.discussion.naby giving Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein a chance to respond to the same questions posed to the major - party candidates . Stein and Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson were excluded from last night ’s debate at Hofstra University under stringent rules set by the Commission on Presidential Debates , which is controlled by the Democratic and Republican parties . On Monday afternoon , Jill Stein was escorted off the campus by Hofstra security and Nassau County police as she attempted to do an interview with MSNBC .