The 2016 presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton Monday night at Hofstra University had plenty of fireworks and rollercoaster moments.
In a dead heat race for the presidency, both Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, and Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, traded barbs and jabs throughout the 90-minute debate, even drawing cheers and audible gasps from an audience that was instructed to maintain decorum.
Here are six highlights from the debate:
1. Tax return release — Trump morphed a question about releasing his tax returns, a subject his opponents have repeatedly brought up on the campaign trail, into a reminder to the audience and viewers about Clinton's email scandal, something that has dogged her throughout the campaign.
"I will release my tax returns — against my lawyer's wishes — when she releases her 33,000 emails that have been deleted," Trump said in response to moderator Lester Holt's question about not releasing the returns, according to The Washington Post's annotated debate transcript. "As soon as she releases them, I will release . . . Let her release the emails. Why did she delete 33,000?"
2. Stamina — Politico listed the candidates' exchange on stamina as its top moment. It started with Trump's campaign stump statement that Clinton "doesn't have the look" of a president. In the debate, he said he meant that the former secretary of state "doesn’t have the stamina."
Clinton shot back in what appeared to be a prepared response.
"Well, as soon as he travels to 112 countries and negotiates a peace deal, a cease-fire, a release of dissidents, an opening of new opportunities in nations around the world, or even spends 11 hours testifying in front of a congressional committee, he can talk to me about stamina," Clinton said, drawing her own audience applause.
3. Bad experience — Trump, while acknowledging Clinton's experience, repeatedly hammered the point that it's bad experience.
"And, Hillary, I'd just ask you this. You've been doing this for 30 years. Why are you just thinking about these solutions right now? For 30 years, you've been doing it, and now you're just starting to think of solutions," Trump fired.
Clinton: "Well, actually . . . "
Trump: "I will bring — excuse me. I will bring back jobs. You can't bring back jobs."
Clinton: "Well, actually, I have thought about this quite a bit."
Trump: "Yeah, for 30 years."
4. TPP flip-flopping — Trump reminded the audience of Clinton's position on the much criticized Trans-Pacific Partnership while she was in the Obama administration, then changing her position when she became a presidential candidate.
"And now you want to approve Trans-Pacific Partnership. You were totally in favor of it," Trump told Clinton. "Then you heard what I was saying, how bad it is, and you said, I can't win that debate . . . You called it the gold standard . . . You called it the gold standard of trade deals."
5. Stop and frisk — NBC News pointed to the exchange between Trump and Clinton on the so-called "stop and frisk" tactic used by New York City police as one of the debate's highlights, with Trump calling the tactic a success and Clinton pointing out that it was ruled unconstitutional and the city's crime rate has not gone up since the tactic stopped.
"We have gangs roaming the street," Trump said, according to The Washington Post debate transcription. "And in many cases, they're illegally here, illegal immigrants. And they have guns. And they shoot people. And we have to be very strong. And we have to be very vigilant."
6. Birtherism — While Trump said he was "proud" of getting President Barack Obama to produce his birth certificate in 2011, he struggled to answer a question from Holt on why he continued to question it after the birth certificate was produced. Clinton called the birther debate a "racist lie."
Trump attempted to turn the tables on Clinton, saying that it was her campaign that started to question the president's birthplace during the 2008 primary season.
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