Controversy overshadows Trump debate performance

Republican Donald Trump turned in his best performance at the final 2016 presidential debate Wednesday night in Las Vegas, but his refusal to accept the election results consumed the post-debate conversation.

“Mr. Trump is doing the party and country a great disservice by continuing to suggest the outcome of this election is out of his hands and ‘rigged’ against him,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., one of Trump’s former primary rivals, said in a statement.

Trump has made accusations of a rigged election a frequent theme on the campaign trail, prompting debate moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News to ask whether he would concede if he loses on Nov. 8.

“I will tell you at the time,” Trump said. “I will keep you in suspense.”

“That’s horrifying,” Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton responded. “Every time Donald thinks things are not going in his direction, he claims whatever it is, is rigged against him.”

The exchange overshadowed what was otherwise a substantive debate focused on relevant campaign issues—a big shift from the mudslinging that occurred at the last debate. Wallace asked both candidates tough questions, called out contradictions, and often cut them off when they veered too far off topic.

Trump came into the debate needing to pull his campaign out of a tailspin in the wake of the release of a 2005 videotape of him bragging about sexual assault and a string of women who subsequently accused him of sexual misconduct. On Wednesday, he denied the allegations and accused Clinton of spreading false information.

“Those stories have been largely debunked,” Trump said, even though witnesses have come forward to corroborate at least one of the claims. “I didn’t even apologize to my wife, who is sitting right here, because I didn’t do anything.”

Trump’s best moments came early in the debate after Wallace asked about Supreme Court nominations. Clinton answered first and gave a long response vowing to nominate justices who would defend abortion, LGBT, and other rights, but she didn’t say they would uphold the Constitution.

Trump pledged to nominate judges in the mold of late Justice Antonin Scalia: constitutional originalists who are pro–Second Amendment and pro-life.

Wallace asked Clinton how far she thinks the right to abortion goes and cited her votes against late-term bans. Clinton said she opposed regulations that didn’t take into account the health of the mother and expressed support for leaving decisions with women and their doctors.

“If you go with what Hillary is saying, in the ninth month, you can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb of the mother just prior to the birth of the baby,” Trump said. “That’s not acceptable.”

The direct hit on Clinton was key for Trump, who has struggled to convince many social conservatives that he is in fact a convert to the pro-life position. Trump has pledged to support legislation limiting abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, which polling shows 2 out of 3 Americans support.

Clinton was more often in a defensive mode Wednesday night than in prior debates, but overall she handled questions well. As usual, her answers provided far more policy specifics than Trump.

On immigration, Clinton pledged to introduce comprehensive reform with a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants and border security in her first 100 days in office. After Trump accused her of advocating for open borders, Clinton said that was a mischaracterization, but Wallace noted she used that very term in a paid speech recently released by WikiLeaks.

Clinton then launched into remarks about Russian espionage and called on Trump to condemn it.

“That was a great pivot off the fact that she wants open borders, OK?” Trump responded. “How did we get on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin?”

Trump later made a demand of his own, calling on Clinton to give back money the Clinton Foundation has taken from “certain countries that treat certain groups of people terribly.” Clinton denied any wrongdoing and she was happy to discuss her record as a diplomat: “Everything I did as secretary of state was in furtherance of our country and our values.”

Clinton said her family’s foundation has the highest rating from charity watchdogs, which is true now, but Charity Navigator had placed it on a watch list last year.

The candidates also clashed over the war in Syria, how to defeat ISIS, and their economic plans, both of which Wallace noted would drive up the national debt.

Despite Trump’s improved performance, the debate is unlikely to change the trajectory of the presidential election. Current poll numbers show Clinton in a strong position to win on Election Day, but if Trump’s performance staves off a rout, it may have saved some down-ballot Republicans.

After the debate, the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics made a spate of ratings changes for races across the country, but almost all of them favored Democrats.