Five takeaways from the final debate.
1. RUSSIAN RELATIONS: One of the sharpest exchanges of the debate centered on Russia. Hillary Clinton deflected questions about leaked emails from her campaign by criticizing Donald Trump for failing to denounce Russian interference in the U.S. election. Trump said Clinton was “outsmarted and outplayed” by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump, who has repeatedly praised Putin as a strong leader, said the U.S. getting along with Russia “wouldn’t be so bad.” Clinton suggested that Putin prefers Trump because “he’d rather have a puppet as president.”
2. RIGGING ALLEGATIONS: Asked whether he would follow the tradition of accepting the results of presidential elections if he lost after repeatedly claiming the contest is rigged, Trump said, “I will tell you at the time. I will keep you in suspense.” Clinton attacked, referencing his anger over losing an Emmy for “The Apprentice.” “I shoulda gotten it,” Trump interjected.
3. DUELING FOUNDATIONS: Trump said the Clinton Foundation is a “criminal enterprise” and called on Clinton to return money it’s received from countries with repressive human rights regimes. There is no evidence the Clinton Foundation has broken any laws. Meanwhile he denied his own foundation used money to settle a legal dispute against his club, Mar-a-Lago. The Washington Post has uncovered examples in which Trump used his charity’s money to buy things for himself or his businesses, including large portraits of himself.
4. SUPREME COURT: Both agreed that the Supreme Court is one of the central issues in the campaign, one that both parties have used to motivate voters to get to the polls on Election Day. Trump said he would support seeing the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion law overturned. Clinton gave an emotional defense of her stance on allowing termination of pregnancies lateterm. She derided the “scare rhetoric” on the topic that Trump used.
5. IMMIGRATION: Trump pressed Clinton on immigration, accusing her of wanting an “open borders” policy, a characterization she disputes. “People are going to pour into our country,” Trump said. The fight over immigration has been a central issue, with Trump arguing for construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and demanding Mexico pay for it. Clinton promised to introduce comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship within her first 100 days in office.