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Second US presidential debate: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in nasty debate

Georgina Mitchell, Josephine Tovey and Nick O'Malley

Updated October 10, 2016 — 10:37pm,first published October 10, 2016 — 6:43am

11.37pm on Oct 10, 2016

Was this the nastiest debate ever?

By Georgina Mitchell

As US pundits wake up the morning after the debate, comment and analysis is beginning to suggest this presidential debate was one of the nastiest ever seen.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage was one of the first to say so, saying there has never been a debate that "plumbed the depths" like this one.

Politico, in its headline and lead, branded it "the ugliest debate in American history". Washington Post agreed, saying, "We haven't seen anything quite like this". CNN branded it "the nastiest, most bitterly personal" in recent memory.

In the opening moments - despite the lack of a customary handshake - it seemed fairly run of the mill. Then, when the moderators referenced Trump's "pussy" comment, things got - to quote Farage - "awkward".

The debate saw claims like this:

Donald Trump branding Hillary Clinton "the devil".
Clinton: "It's awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in this country."
Trump, on if he was the leader: "You'd be in jail."
Clinton: "We saw [Trump] after the first debate spend nearly a week denigrating a former Miss Universe in the harshest, most personal terms. So yes, this is who Donald Trump is."
Trump invoking Bill Clinton: "There's never been anybody in the history of politics in this nation that's been so abusive to women, so you can say any way you want to say it, but Bill Clinton was abusive to women."
Clinton on Trump: "He owes the president [Barack Obama] an apology. He owes our country an apology and he needs to take responsibility for his actions and words."
Trump alleging Clinton laughed at a 12-year-old rape victim. (A New York Times fact-checker found this to be false.)

Despite the tawdry barbs, pundits seem to be in agreement there wasn't a knock-out blow by either candidate. We can perhaps look forward to that with the next debate, in just 10 days' time.

Thanks for sticking with us through the day.

Donald Trump listens to a question during the second presidential debate.Bloomberg

9.00pm on Oct 10, 2016

Something to sniff at?

Watching the debate, there was a lot to focus on - Donald Trump calling Hillary Clinton "the devil", for example.

But some commentators with keen eyes (and ears) apparently picked up something else: Trump sniffing into the microphone once again.

It seems a strange thing to focus on, but shows just how intensely each candidate is being scrutinised so close to the election.

BBC have put together a supercut of each and every sniff for your viewing pleasure.

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Intense scrutiny: Donald Trump at the second presidential debate.AP

7.34pm on Oct 10, 2016

Waleed Aly weighs in on Trump

Commentator Waleed Aly has pledged to make no more jokes about Donald Trump between now and the US election.

In a segment on Channel Ten's The Project on Monday night, written with the show's managing editor Tom Whitty, Aly said laughter initially seemed like the only response for someone as "ludicrous" as Trump.

But now, the Fairfax Media columnist said, it's time for that to change.

"Donald Trump hasn't been a laughing matter for a long time, so we're making this commitment - between now and the election, no more jokes about Trump," Aly said.

"Because sexism is no laughing matter. Racism is no laughing matter. Inciting violence is no laughing matter. Sexual assault is no laughing matter.

"And for those reasons and sadly many more, Donald Trump is no laughing matter."

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7.11pm on Oct 10, 2016

Facts from second debate checked

As the candidates talked, the fact-checkers scrambled - and they had some interesting results.

The New York Times checked 27 dubious-sounding claims made during the debate: 22 from Donald Trump and 5 from Hillary Clinton.

It found three of Clinton's claims were true, one was misleading and one was false.

Meanwhile, Trump made 13 false claims, 7 that were misleading, and 2 that were true.

Donald Trump points towards Hillary Clinton during the second presidential debate.AP

6.15pm on Oct 10, 2016

By Paul McGeough

Chief correspondent Paul McGeough has this analysis to offer on today's debate:

"The extent to which Trump's campaign is tanking can't be overstated.

The tsunami-like crisis that he has brought on the Republican Party is such a huge political story that even this debate - an unedifying slugfest - will in all likelihood be reduced to background noise in news cycles dominated by the fallout from Friday's publication of the "grab them by the pussy" video.

Trump didn't win because he didn't preach beyond his base and his casual treatment of the video that is causing tumult in GOP ranks did nothing to defuse that crisis; Clinton didn't lose because any errors were not striking, she knew her policy stuff and she was personable in the face of Trump's wild attacks."

Read the full analysis here

Donald Trump stands behind Hillary Clinton at the second Presidential debate.AP

5.44pm on Oct 10, 2016

Humorous moments of the debate you may have missed

By Aja Styles

Thanks to eagle-eyed viewers, and the commentary mainstay of Twitter, here's a wrap of some of the debate's funnier moments.

It's all about Consent

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Westworld (or Lord of the Flies)

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5.28pm on Oct 10, 2016

An ode to 'compellingly bizarre' debates

This year's Presidential debates may not have showcased what either candidate will do in the White House, but they have been fascinating in another way.

Lenny Ann Low writes:

"Clinton and Trump's televised debate meetings have been scintillating. Not because they have made clear what each candidate proposes to do if elected to office - only Santa Claus knows that.

It is because they are full of personal tics, simmering rage, barely suppressed eye-rolls and sentences that seem to have no meaning but remain compellingly bizarre."

Read her full story.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton shake hands.AP

5.17pm on Oct 10, 2016

There were a few winners and losers in the debate, according to the Washington Post's political reporter Chris Cillizza.

Among his Winners are Hillary Clinton and moderator Martha Raddatz.

The Losers?

Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, the town hall format, and the act of shaking hands.

Read his reasoning here.

Former President Bill Clinton, with daughter Chelsea, looked uneasy throughout the debate.AP

4.55pm on Oct 10, 2016

The spinning is done - for now - but the post-mortems continue.

Nino Bucci snapped this photo of the Spin Room getting packed up and shipped off ready for debate three, which is on October 19 in Las Vegas (October 20 Australian time).

Will more damning footage emerge before then?

On CNN, Politico reporter Hadas Gold seemed to think so - she pointed out one of Hillary Clinton's backers has pledged to back, legally and financially, anyone who releases footage from Trump's long-running reality show The Apprentice.