Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump took the stage for the third and final U.S. presidential debate on Oct. 19, 2016 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Supreme Court nominations
Clinton said the Supreme Court should stand up for women’s rights and LGBT rights.
“The Supreme Court should represent all of us. That’s how I see the court,” Clinton said. “And the kind of people that I would be looking to nominate to the court would be in the great tradition of standing up to the powerful, standing on behalf of our rights as Americans.”
Clinton also said the Senate should confirm President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee.
Trump emphasized the need for a Supreme Court that upholds the Second Amendment
“I believe if my opponent should win this race — which I truly don’t think will happen — we will have a Second Amendment which will be a very, very small replica of what it is right now,” Trump said.
Clinton said she supports the Second Amendment, but also supports comprehensive background checks and closing loopholes that allow the sale of guns online and at gun shows.
“Because I support the Second Amendment doesn’t mean that I want people who shouldn’t have guns to be able to threaten you, kill you or members of your family,” Clinton said.
Abortion
Trump said he would appoint pro-life judges to the Supreme Court if he were elected, and that those pro-life judges would overturn Roe v. Wade. Trump said each state would then be able to enact legislation on abortion.
Clinton said she supports Roe v. Wade. She said she voted against a ban on late-term partial-birth abortions because women sometimes discover toward the end of their pregnancies that carrying their pregnancies to term would jeopardize their health.
“The kinds of cases that fall at the end of pregnancy are often the most heartbreaking, painful decisions for families to make,” Clinton said. “I do not think the United States government should be stepping in and making those most personal of decisions.”
Trump said late-term partial-birth abortions are terrible.
“Based on what she’s saying and based on where she’s going and where she’s been, you can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb on the ninth month on the final day, and that’s not acceptable,” Trump said.
Immigration
Trump criticized Clinton’s stance on immigration and emphasized the need for strong borders.
“They are coming in illegally. Drugs are pouring in through the border. We have no country if we have no border,” Trump said. “But we have some bad hombres here that we’re going to get them out.”
Clinton said she supports border security and would introduce comprehensive immigration reform and a path to citizenship within the first 100 days of her presidency.
“I don’t want to rip families apart. I don’t want to be sending parents away from children,” Clinton said. “I think that is an idea that is not in keeping with who we are as a nation. I think it’s an idea that would rip our country apart.”
The economy
Clinton said she wants to raise the national minimum wage, ensure women get equal pay for equal work, invest in clean energy and make college debt-free for families making less than $125,000 per year.
“I think when the middle class thrives, North America thrives, and so my plan is based on growing the economy, giving middle-class families many more opportunities,” Clinton said.
Trump said Clinton’s plan will raise taxes. He said the U.S. shouldn’t provide military support for NATO member states if those states have met their financial obligations for being in NATO.
“I’m a big fan of NATO, but they have to pay up,” Trump said. “(Clinton) comes out and says we love our allies, we think our allies are great. Well, it’s awfully hard to get them to pay up when you have someone saying we think how good they are.”
Sexual assault allegations
Trump denied sexually assaulting — or even knowing — the women who have come forward with allegations against him.
“I think they want either fame or (Clinton’s) campaign did it,” Trump said. “I believe, Chris, that she got these people to step forward. If it wasn’t, they get their ten minutes of fame.”
Clinton said Trump has criticized his accusers’ appearances.
“Donald thinks belittling women makes him bigger. He goes after their dignity, their self-worth, and I don’t think there is a woman anywhere who doesn’t know what that feels like,” Clinton said. “I think it’s really up to all of us to demonstrate who we are and who our country is.”
The Clinton Foundation
In response to concerns about conflicts of interest between the Clinton Foundation and Clinton’s role as Secretary of State, Clinton said everything she did as Secretary of State was in the interest of the U.S.
“The State Department has said that; I think that it’s been proven,” Clinton said.
Trump criticized Clinton because the Clinton Foundation has accepted money from countries with poor civil rights records.
“So these are people that push gays off buildings. These are people that kill women and treat women horribly, and yet you take their money,” Trump said. “So I’d like to ask you right now, why don’t you give back the money that you’ve taken from certain countries that treat certain groups of people so horribly?”
