Third US Presidential debate: Ten major takeaways from final war of words

US Presidential nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump locked horns for one final time at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas which played host to the final presidential debate on Wednesday night (USA time) before the voting commencing on November 8. 

The third debate at Las Vegas was the final opportunity for the Democratic and Republican nominees to put across their political agenda's to  the American voters and get them to tilt in their favour. 

Donald Trump's presidential race took a big blow after recent allegations of sexual harassment surfaced against him.

Here is a look at the ten major takeaways from the third presidential debate which unfolded between the two presidential nominees at Nevada on Wednesday night (USA time). 

1. Clinton has voters backing, stands to gain on Trump's mass deportation plan

On immigration, Trump declared that we have some “bad hombres” in the United States. Clinton has an effective counter describing Trump’s extreme mass deportation plan. Given that more than 70 percent of voters disagree with his immigration approach, this was a winning issue for her.

2. Hillary slams Trump's proposal for 'open borders' with Russia

Clinton engaged Trump into a debate of “open borders” into a discussion of Vladimir Putin. She said that Trump would “rather believe Vladimir Putin” than our intelligence and military agencies sworn to defend us. Remarkably, Trump refused to specifically concede Russia is hacking Democrats on his behalf. 

3. Hillary says that Trump cant be trusted with Nuclear weapons

Hillary lambasted Trump over his irresponsible stance on NATO and nuclear weapons and reminded him of having to forcefully defend his comments on NATO and nuclear weapons. “This is just another lie!” Trump spat out. “I’m just quoting you,” Clinton said quietly. She provided a powerful reminder that Trump is completely unfit to be commander in chief of the US defence forces.

4.Clinton attacks Trump on his 'rich tax' cut theory

Given a chance to talk about jobs, Trump bizarrely reverted to a discussion about NATO. Clinton effectively slammed him on big tax cuts for the rich. Trump insisted we could grow at 8 percent because India (a partially developed country!) does.

5.Trump cuts a sorry figure when accused by females over his lewd comments on women

 Trump was in a spot of bother for about 50 minutes in the debate when asked about female accusers. He claimed the women’s stories had been debunked. That’s a lie. He accused Clinton of putting the women up to it, and actually bragged that he had 'NOT' apologized to his wife, because the claims were not true. Clinton calmly recited his own words, rebuking him for defaming women to make himself feel big. With Trump insisting it was all “fiction” (but accusing Clinton of instigating violence at his rallies) and desperately trying to change the topic to Clinton’s emails, she plowed forward, condemning Trump for inciting violence, insulting a federal judge, etc.

6. Trump attacks Clinton on Foundation work, Clinton deflects topic to Trump's tax return falsies

As the debate moved to the Clinton Foundation and potential conflicts of interest, Clinton took the opportunity to praise the Clinton Foundation’s work. She then pivoted to list the misconduct documented in The Post’s David A. Fahrenthold’s reporting. When he tried to insist he had given generously to charity (and falsely denied using his foundation’s money to settle business disputes), he gave Clinton the opportunity to slam him for not releasing his tax returns. Trump once again defended himslef on tax evasion and seemed to blame Clinton for not taking away the tax provision he used.

7. Trump puts up a brave facade, says election rigged

Trump once again refused to promise he would concede the election if he lost. “I will look at it at the time,” he said. Wallace sounded incredulous; Clinton blasted him and recounted that whenever things don’t go his way he claims things are “fixed.” Hers was a calm and devastating performance. There is a certain rough justice in his pounding the final nail in his political coffin. He has always been his worst enemy.

8. Trump blames Clinton for making political gains overs Iraq and Syria

When the conversation turned to Iraq, Trump tried to insist for the umpteenth time he opposed the Iraq War; Clinton pointed out he did not. He outrageously argued the effort to retake Mosul was aimed to help Clinton in the election, which Clinton promptly brushed away with a reminder that nutty conspiracy theories are nothing new for him. Later in the discussion on Syria, he seemed almost to concede the election, telling Clinton “Lotsa luck” with her no-fly zone plan.

9. Chris Wallace plays the moderator's role to perfection:

Chris Wallace was masterful, asking more relevant questions than were asked in the other debates combined. He took on both the candidates without unduly interfering. His performance should be studied by future moderators. Actually, the debate commission might consider giving him all the debates to moderate.

10. Hillary takes a dig at Trump's mental acumen and political inexperience

Clinton needed simply not to have a disaster in order to lock down the election. Instead, she was error-free and eviscerated Trump, helping to remind voters what a Trump is. She won hands down and now has a shot to win by a very large margin.

Also Read: Final US Presidential debate: Will disclose my reaction on rigged elections after results, say Trump