CULTURE
How Donald Trump Insulted Literally Everyone at the Second Presidential Debate
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Nobody was safe at the town hall.
Published on October 10, 2016

In a debate that was carefully set up to reduce interrupting and cross talk, Donald Trump still managed to come across as the petulant bully he has so often been during this election. Despite the town hall format designed as a dialogue between the candidates and voters, Trump and Clinton took shots at each other, and the moderators had to intervene as Trump frequently interrupted and Clinton ran over her allotted time. Here are some of the insults Trumped lobbed during the debate while taking the low road.

 

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“You belong in jail.”

Early on in the proceedings, Trump took heat as he had to answer for the leaked 2005 comments in which he bragged about sexually assaulting women. In an attempt to deflect attention from himself, Trump brought up Clinton’s emails, threatening federal prosecution.

The top of the debate went as poorly as it could possibly go for Trump. From there, Trump completely melted down, claiming he would appoint a special prosecutor to look into Clinton, and even said, looking directly at Hillary, "You belong in jail."

 

“Hillary Clinton attacked those same women. Attacked them viciously.”

As expected, Donald Trump attempted to use Bill Clinton’s alleged past indiscretions against Hillary. He went to great lengths to dredge up Bill’s sexual impropriety, even inviting some of his accusers to the debate. Then he proceed to lay Bill’s alleged actions at Hillary’s feet. This is an age-old tactic among good old boys, and Donald trotted it out on a national stage.

 

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“She just went about 25 seconds over her time. Can I respond to this please?”

Throughout the debate, Trump repeatedly interrupted the moderators and accused them of lining up with Hillary against him. He was particularly punchy with Anderson Cooper, haranguing him when he found the opportunity. He claimed at one point that the debate was “three against one,” and implied that both moderators were out to get him.

 

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“So ridiculous.”

On several occasions, Trump dismissed Clinton and the moderators outright rather than respond to questions and accusations. When Hillary brought up alleged connections between Russia, Wikileaks, and Trump he simply scoffed and said, “So ridiculous.”

 

Interruption No. 8, Interjection No. 19

In addition to dismissing Hillary, he often interrupted her. Stats site FiveThirtyEight reported that Trump interrupted eight times and interjected 19 times.

 

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“Muslims have to report problems when they see them.”

It was an impressive feat of hubris, Trump didn’t even moderate his stance on Muslims when speaking directly to a Muslim woman in front of the whole country. The questioner, a young woman, offered him the chance to tone down his rhetoric, and he went right into fear mongering discussions of “safe zones” and “radical Islam” that have animated his campaign.

 

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“She’s got tremendous hatred.”

Some of Trump’s insults seemed to come absolutely apropos of nothing. During one of his answers, Trump, the man who has repeatedly shown himself to be a racist and misogynist, said “She’s got tremendous hatred.” This line came out of nowhere, surprising Clinton and the moderators.

 

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“If I were the President, Captain Khan would be alive today. I would not have put our people into Iraq.”

Some of Trump’s insults were on topic, though they were equally cruel. At one point, Trump laid the death of Captain Humayun Khan at the feet of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. In this segment, he once again claimed that he was against the Iraq War, which has been repeatedly debunked. He, of course, denied that it had been debunked.

 

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“How stupid is our country?”

Trump didn’t limit his insults to Hilary and the moderators. Trump also made sure to once again treat our country as a pickup artist treats women at the bar. Down in polls, he clung to his typical dark vision of America. Though Trump’s odds of winning are fading, it looks like he won’t let go of his idea that only he can make America back into a winner.

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Brenden Gallagher
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Brenden Gallagher works in television and writing in Los Angeles. He worked on Revenge, Heartbeat, and Famous in Love. His writing has appeared at Complex, VH1, and MERRY JANE. Follow him on Twitter @muddycreekU
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