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March 28, 2024

The latest: Debate ends with compliments, handshake that was refused at outset

Clinton and Trump debate 2

John Locher / AP

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, left, and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton speak Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016, during the second presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis.

Updated Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016 | 9:12 p.m.

The latest on the U.S. presidential race and second presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump (all times EDT):

11:45 p.m.

Hillary Clinton says she feels great after her debate with Donald Trump.

But she says she was "surprised by the absolute avalanche of falsehoods" he spoke during the 90-minute showdown.

She spoke briefly to reporters aboard her campaign plane for the flight from St. Louis to White Plains, New York. Former President Bill Clinton was aboard for the first time.

Clinton says she was aware that Trump stood very close to her as she answered some questions. She says it was a "very small space," but that Trump was "very present."

•••

11:40 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is laughing and chatting with aides on the flight from St. Louis home to Westchester County, New York.

Bill Clinton is also aboard. It is the former president's first flight on the campaign plane.

The cheery atmosphere comes after Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump engaged in their second of three presidential debates, about a month before Election Day.

•••

11:30 p.m.

A 23-year-old video interview unearthed in New Zealand shows Donald Trump talking about his womanizing image and saying it was fortunate that he didn't have to run for political office.

The video was released Monday by New Zealand's TV3, which conducted the 1993 interview with Trump. At the time, Trump was making an ultimately unsuccessful bid for a New Zealand casino.

Asked by TV3 about his image, Trump responded: "I think women are beautiful, I think certain women are more beautiful than others, to be perfectly honest. And it's fortunate I don't have to run for political office."

On Friday, a 2005 tape was released in which Trump bragged about kissing women and grabbing their genitals without their consent.

•••

11:20 p.m.

Hillary Clinton's campaign manager John Podesta says Donald Trump's reference to Clinton as the "devil" is "beneath a presidential candidate."

Podesta tells CNN it's one more reason why Trump lacks the temperament to be in the Oval Office. In the debate, Trump said he was surprised to see Bernie Sanders "sign on with the devil," referring to Sanders' endorsement of Clinton.

Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway is elaborating on Trump's claim that Clinton viciously attacked women who accused former President Bill Clinton of inappropriate sexual behavior.

Conway tells MSNBC that Clinton tried to silence some women and demeaned others. She says Clinton "blamed and shamed." Conway says it's the "worst thing you can do to a victim."

•••

11 p.m.

Mike Pence has broken his radio silence to give running mate Donald Trump a thumbs-up on his performance in Sunday's presidential debate.

Pence said on Twitter following the debate that he was "proud to stand with" Trump and congratulated him for what Pence called a "big debate win."

•••

10:55 p.m.

A mocking response to Donald Trump's call for Muslims to report suspicious behavior is going viral on social media.

Trump said Muslims have to "report the problems" when they see other Muslims espouse anti-American sentiments.

Twitter user @BayoumiMoustafa responded, "I'm a Muslim, and I would like to report a crazy man threatening a woman on a stage in Missouri." He added the hashtag #debate.

By the time the debate ended, his retort had been retweeted more than 32,000 times and "liked" more than 43,000 times.

Bayoumi is a professor and author whose books include "How Does It Feel To Be a Problem? Being Young and Arab in America."

•••

10:50 p.m.

Maybe it was the compliments they'd just given each other.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump shook hands after the debate ended, something they refused to do 90 minutes earlier.

The debate was especially icy at the outset, replete with talk of sexual impropriety and Trump threatening to jail Clinton over her erased emails.

But the St. Louis rumble concluded with a voter asking them to say something nice about each other.

Clinton's and Trump's families quickly joined them on stage as the debate wrapped up.

The candidates greeted their relatives and then circulated the room, which is filled with undecided Missouri voters as well as supporters of the two campaigns.

•••

10:45 p.m.

After 90 minutes of disagreeing, sometimes harshly, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are ending their second presidential debate on a positive note.

They were asked by a town hall attendee to say something they admire about the other.

Clinton says she respects Trump's children, a comment Trump calls "a very nice compliment."

He says he sees Clinton as a "fighter" even though he disagrees with much of what she's fighting for. He says "she does fight hard and doesn't give up and I consider that a very good trait."

•••

10:40 p.m.

Donald Trump says the Environmental Protection Agency under President Barack Obama has hurt domestic energy production with overreaching restrictions.

Trump says: "Energy is under siege, under absolute siege. The EPA is killing these energy companies."

Trump blames Obama, and by association Clinton, for coal mines closing. He first noted West Virginia, a state that typically votes Republican, before adding two key coal states — Ohio and Pennsylvania — he probably needs to capture to win the White House.

Trump is also lamenting Chinese companies selling cheaper steel on the international market, hurting the U.S. steel industry.

Clinton agrees that China is dumping cheap steel on the market, but notes that "Donald Trump is buying it to build his buildings."

•••

10:36 p.m.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are laying out their criteria for Supreme Court selections.

Clinton said she wants justices who understand how the world "really works." She wants ones who will support the legality of abortion and same-sex marriage. She notes that several of the justices Trump has said he'd consider oppose those rights.

Trump says he wants a judge in the tradition of Justice Antonin Scalia. Scalia's death this winter opened a vacancy on the court that still has not been filled. The Republican-controlled Senate has refused to consider President Obama's nominee to fill Scalia's seat.

•••

10:34 p.m.

Donald Trump is denying encouraging people to check out a sex tape of a former Miss Universe — something he recently did on Twitter.

Referencing the controversy over former beauty queen Alicia Machado, Trump said his past comments, "It wasn't, 'Check out a sex tape.'"

Instead, Trump claims he just asked people to "take a look at the past of this of this wonderful Girl Scout who was no Girl Scout."

But Trump did encourage his Twitter followers to "check out sex tape and past" of Machado. He also suggested, without evidence, that Clinton helped Machado become a U.S. citizen to vote against Trump.

Clinton had criticized Trump for slamming Machado for gaining weight after becoming Miss Universe.

•••

10:32 p.m.

Donald Trump says Hillary Clinton has "tremendous hate in her heart."

Trump made the comment in reference to Clinton saying earlier in the campaign that half of Trump's supporters are "deplorables." Clinton apologized for saying that half of his supporters were deplorables but didn't back down from using that word.

After Trump said Sunday that Clinton had "tremendous hate in her heart," she laughed and shook her head. But she did not address the comment the next time she spoke.

•••

10:30 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is flipping a question about her comments that half of Donald Trump's supporters fit into a "basket of deplorables" into a criticism of Trump's campaign.

She says her problem is with Trump, not his supporters. She is accusing Trump of inciting violence and running a campaign based on insults.

Clinton says she apologized for her remarks within hours. In a statement, she said she regretted saying "half" but did not retract the comments.

•••

10:28 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is asserting that "bullying is up" among young people because of what she calls "the Trump effect."

Clinton says there is "a lot of fear," ''people are feeling uneasy" and "a lot of kids are expressing their concerns."

She is not citing any specific statistics to back up her assertions about a rise in bullying inspired by Trump's bombastic style.

The candidates were asked if, as president, they would be devoted to all people in the U.S. Both candidates answered yes.

Trump stressed he would be "a president for all of our people" — specifically mentioning African-Americans, Latinos and Hispanics while highlighting what he described as poor conditions in the big cities where many minorities live.

He asserted "education is a disaster" and "jobs are essentially non-existent" in the inner cities.

•••

10:23 p.m.

Donald Trump says he disagrees with his running mate Mike Pence on the proper strategy to deal with the civil war and humanitarian crisis in Syria.

Debate moderator Martha Raddatz pointed out that Pence had said provocations by Russia in Syria need to be met with "American strength" and the U.S. should be prepared to use air strikes in Syria against the regime of President Bashar Assad.

But Trump says he disagrees with Pence, a former member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and notes they had not spoken about the issue.

Trump says the U.S. focus should be on eliminating the Islamic State, and not getting entangled with fights with Assad and Russia.

"We have to worry about ISIS before we can get too much more involved," Trump says.

•••

10:22 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is pledging not to use American ground forces in Syria, saying it would be a "very serious mistake."

Clinton says she doesn't think American troops should be holding territory as an occupying force, saying it's not a "smart strategy."

Asked how she would fight the Islamic State in a different way than President Barack Obama, Clinton says she's hopeful that IS will be pushed out of Iraq by the time she's president.

But she says she would specifically target IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and consider arming Kurdish fighters in Iraq.

•••

10:20 p.m.

Donald Trump is blaming Hillary Clinton for what was called the "red line" in Syria, a generalization about the U.S. response to Bashar Assad's regime.

But Clinton didn't make the claim. President Barack Obama did. And he did it after Clinton had left the administration as secretary of state.

Trump says, "She's there with the line-in-the-sand."

Clinton pipes in: "No, I wasn't. I was gone."

Trump responds: "But you were in contact, excuse me. Sadly, perhaps President Obama was still listening to you."

The exchange was about the city of Aleppo in Syria, where the Assad regime, backed by Russia, is fighting to root out rebels and killing civilians in the process.

•••

10:18 p.m.

Donald Trump disagrees with his running mate over Syria.

Trump says there's no point in trying to prevent civilian deaths in Aleppo. Syria's most populous city is under intense bombardment by Russian forces. The U.S. government has warned Russia that it's killing civilians rather than terrorists.

Trump's vice presidential pick, Mike Pence, said last week the U.S. should use military force if Russia keeps attacking civilians in Syria. Trump says he disagrees with Pence.

Trump says he's no fan of Russia or Syrian President Bashar Assad. But he says the two of them are fighting Islamic State militants, as is Iran. Despite repeated prodding by moderator Martha Raddatz, Trump did not say he'd try to check Russian actions.

Hillary Clinton says she'd try to rein in Russia. She contends that Russia is trying to get Trump elected president.

•••

10:15 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is listing her accomplishments during three decades as an elected official — amid a series of interruptions by Donald Trump.

When Trump pressed Clinton on why she hadn't changed tax policies that benefit the wealthy, like him, after so many years in office, Clinton said she opposed such policies "but that's not the point."

Trump shot back, "If you were an effective senator, you could have done it." Clinton blamed President George W. Bush for thwarting her in the area.

Clinton then added that, as senator, she helped "rebuild" New York after the Sept. 11 attacks, while getting proper health care for first responders sickened during clean up.

She says that, as secretary of state, she advocated for global women's rights and reduced nuclear weapons with Russia.

•••

10:12 p.m.

Donald Trump is repeatedly interrupting Clinton, while she is largely avoiding barging in as he speaks.

The moderators have noticed.

As Clinton tried to address why she didn't try to change tax laws when she was a New York senator, Trump tried to butt in.

"Please allow her to respond," said CNN's Anderson Cooper said. "She didn't interrupt you."

Clinton continued. A few moments later, when the two were addressing foreign policy, Clinton sniped to Trump, "I didn't want to interrupt you, but at some point we need to do some fact checking here."

•••

10:10 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is promising that no one making less than $250,000 will pay higher taxes under her plan, but those with higher incomes could pay considerably more.

Clinton says she wants to impose a special tax on people making over $1 million and a surcharge on those with incomes above $5 million.

"We have to make up for lost times," Clinton says, telling the audience she wants to raise taxes on the rich "because I want to invest in you."

She says Trump's proposed tax plan would end up raising taxes on millions of middle-class Americans.

•••

10:07 p.m.

Donald Trump says he will get rid of the carried interest loophole that allows Wall Street traders to pay a lower tax rate on their earnings.

Trump says he would eliminate the loophole that lets money managers count their earnings as capital gains, which carry a lower tax rate, instead of ordinary income.

But Trump's carried interest provision doesn't actually raise taxes on hedge fund managers and it creates a new loophole that could provide them with an even lower rate.

The Republican says he would cut taxes for the middle class and accuses Clinton of raising taxes on middle-class families.

•••

10:05 p.m.

Hillary Clinton occasionally smiles, sometimes jots notes and frequently sits to listen as Donald Trump talks.

Trump paces the room, forcefully points at Clinton when addressing her and keeps his lips pursed tight as she speaks. He's only used his chair to rest his hands on the back of it.

The town hall-style format of this debate gives television viewers a look at how the presidential candidates carry themselves in stressful situations.

There have been no shoulder shimmies. That Clinton move — prompted in the first debate when Trump said he had a better temperament than her — spawned a thousand GIFs.

•••

10 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is saying it's OK to have a public and private position on an issue because Abraham Lincoln did.

She is responding to a question about an email released by a WikiLeaks last week in which Clinton said it's acceptable for a president to project differing positions. She was asked whether that's "two-faced."

She says Lincoln did whatever he could to get the 13th Amendment passed, allowing emancipation of the slaves, by lawmakers who did not support African-American equality.

Clinton says: "I was making the point it is hard sometimes to get the Congress to do what you want them to do. That was a great display of presidential leadership."

Trump began his response to Clinton's statement by rolling his eyes, and says, "Now she's blaming the late, great Abraham Lincoln."

•••

9:57 p.m.

It's hard to name the most memorable line in this combative debate. But the most memorable visual so far? That's easy.

It's the image of Hillary Clinton answering a question, while Donald Trump looms behind her.

Unrestricted by a podium, Clinton is using the whole stage at the town hall-style forum, crossing in front of Trump to answer audience questions.

That's left Trump stuck in the camera shot behind her, standing awkwardly, at times swaying and pacing, while he listens to her answers.

Trump often mocked Clinton for spending time preparing for the debate. It's not clear how much time he spent preparing for one of the trickiest elements — knowing where the camera is at all times.

•••

9:55 p.m.

Donald Trump is again insisting he opposed the Iraq War before it started.

But despite his repeated claims, the facts are clear: He did not.

There is no evidence Trump expressed public opposition to the war before the U.S. invaded. Rather, he offered lukewarm support. The billionaire businessman only began to voice doubts about the conflict well after it began in March 2003.

Trump's first known public comment on the topic came on Sept. 11, 2002, when he was asked whether he supported a potential Iraq invasion in an interview with radio host Howard Stern.

"Yeah, I guess so," he said. His first public comments strongly opposing the war came in 2004.

Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton, voted in favor of the invasion in 2002 while she was a New York senator. It's a vote she has said was a mistake.

•••

9:53 p.m.

Donald Trump says a U.S. Army captain killed in Iraq in 2004 would still be alive if he had been president at the time.

Trump is talking about Captain Humayun Khan, whose Pakistan-born father gave an impassioned speech at the Democratic National Convention in July. Trump then got into a feud with Khan's parents.

Trump now says Captain Khan is an "American hero" and "he would be alive today if I had been president."

Trump's feud with the Khan family led to harsh criticism from veterans across the country and families of those killed in action.

•••

9:52 p.m.

Donald Trump says the United States is allowing refugees from Syria and the Middle East to pour into America and "we have no idea who they are" or where exactly they are coming from.

Asked about bans and strict limits on Muslim immigrants into the United States that he's supported in the past, Trump says it was a policy plan that would grow out of "extreme vetting" of people coming to the U.S. from global conflict areas.

Trump calls allowing immigrants into the country without more scrutiny the "Greatest Trojan Horse of all time" and says it has to stop because "we have enough problems in our country."

•••

9:51 p.m.

Hillary Clinton says she'll screen Syrian refugees but the country needs to take in more.

Clinton says a proposal like Donald Trump's to ban all Muslims from entering the country plays into the hands of terrorists. She also says Trump has alienated the country's Muslim allies.

Clinton says "we will have vetting and it will be as tough as it needs to be." But she is evoking the image of a bloodied 4-year-old Syrian boy to argue the United States needs to do its share.

•••

9:50 p.m.

Donald Trump isn't answering a question about how to stop Islamophobia in America. Instead, he's saying American Muslims must report other Muslims who are engaging in dangerous behavior.

He's repeating the false claim that neighbors of the San Bernardino shooters saw bombs all over the floor in the shooters' home but did not report it.

Clinton, meanwhile, is condemning "dark and divisive" things said about Muslims. She says the United States is not at war with Islam and says Muslims should feel welcome and included in society.

•••

9:45 p.m.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are clashing over the future of President Barack Obama's signature health care law.

Clinton is vowing to fix the Affordable Care Act and Trump is promising to repeal and replace "Obamacare."

Clinton says 20 million more people have health coverage because of the law. She says she wants to "save what works," but the next administration will need to get costs down and provide more help to small businesses. She says if the system is repealed it will be "turned back" to the insurance industry.

Trump says the system is a "disaster" and "will never work." He says it needs to be replaced with a less expensive system that's more flexible for patients regardless of what state they live in.

•••

9:40 p.m.

Donald Trump is repeatedly interrupting Hillary Clinton and talking over the debate moderators. He also accuses the two moderators of siding with Clinton and refusing to let him answer questions.

The interruptions prompted Clinton to exclaim, "I know that you're into big diversions tonight."

Trump seems sensitive to his interactions with Clinton. When the moderators asked a question and it was unclear whose turn it was to answer first, Clinton said, "Go ahead, Donald."

Trump replied, "No, I'm a gentleman, Hillary, go ahead." Some in the audience laughed.

•••

9:38 p.m.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are clashing over her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

Clinton says she was "very sorry" for using the server, but she takes keeping classified information secret very seriously. She adds there's been no evidence her actions led to classified materials winding up in the wrong hands.

Trump is accusing Clinton of lying, and says she improperly destroyed more than 30,000 emails that he says should have been turned over to law enforcement authorities. Trump says he was disappointed that Clinton had not been criminally charged.

He tells Clinton, "Again, you should be ashamed of yourself." He is also complaining that the two debate moderators are not sufficiently pressing Clinton on the email issue.

•••

9:35 p.m.

Donald Trump is sniffling again.

The Republican nominee is noticeably inhaling deeply through his nose in the early part of the debate.

Trump's heavy inhalations became a hot topic in the previous debate, 13 days ago in Hempstead, New York.

When asked about it the next morning, Trump denied he'd been sniffling. "No, no sniffles," he said on "Fox & Friends." ''No sniffles, no cold."

•••

9:33 p.m.

Donald Trump is turning Hillary Clinton's demand for an apology back onto her, accusing her of stealing the Democratic nomination.

Trump says Clinton unfairly won her party's nod by cheating rival Bernie Sanders.

About Sanders, who eventually endorsed Clinton, Trump says, "I was so surprised to see him sign on with the devil."

Trump went on to repeat debunked claims that Clinton started rumors that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States. Trump has fomented the conspiracy for years — until last month, when he declared Obama, who was born in Hawaii, an American citizen.

The long list of accusations was his response to Clinton's claim that Trump owes an apology to the many people and groups he has publicly quarreled with during his presidential campaign.

•••

9:30 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is ignoring Donald Trump's statements about her husband's sexual past.

Trump referenced Bill Clinton's 1998 impeachment, which followed an affair in the Oval Office and several other scenarios. Hillary Clinton responded by quoting Michelle Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention: "When they go low, we go high."

Hillary Clinton then said Trump owes the nation an apology for the way he's conducted his campaign.

•••

9:25 p.m.

Donald Trump is raising accusations of sexual misconduct by Bill Clinton, saying the former president "was abusive to women" and saying Hillary Clinton attacked the accusers "viciously."

Trump is also noting that Hillary Clinton was a court-appointed defender for a man accused of assaulting a 12-year-old who was raped in Arkansas and says she laughed at some point while discussing it.

He also says Bill Clinton paid a monetary settlement to Paula Jones, a former Arkansas state worker who alleged in 1991 that Bill Clinton propositioned and exposed himself to her.

Trump says video where he made crude comments to women "it's just words, folks." He says Hillary Clinton's defense of her husband is "disgraceful and I think she should be ashamed of herself."

•••

9:20 p.m.

Hillary Clinton says the Donald Trump heard on an 11-year-old recording making crude and vulgar remarks about women "is who Donald Trump is."

Clinton addressed Trump's predatory comments in the opening minutes of the second presidential debate Sunday.

Clinton says the tape shows what Trump "thinks about women, what he does to women."

She says that while Trump has claimed the tape doesn't represent who he is, "It's clear to anyone who heard it, it represents exactly who he is."

Clinton says Trump has insulted not only women, but African-Americans, immigrants, people with disabilities, prisoners of war and others.

•••

9:15 p.m.

Donald Trump denies he was discussing sexual assault in a 2005 recording that reveals him saying he can "do anything" with women because he is famous.

He says he has never kissed or groped women without consent. And he's continuing to characterize the recording as "locker room talk."

Debate moderator Anderson Cooper put it more bluntly, saying, "That is sexual assault."

Trump responded: "No, I didn't say that at all. I don't think you understand what I said."

Trump continually tried to pivot to foreign policy, seemingly suggesting his comments pale in comparison to the actions of the Islamic State.

•••

9:12 p.m.

Trump did not, at first use, the opening question about setting an example for children to apologize for the vulgar comments he made about women in 2005 that were taped and recently released. Instead he attempted to echo Clinton's remarks.

"I agree with everything that she said," Trump said. "I began this campaign because I was so tired of seeing such foolish things happen to our country. This is a great country, this is a great land."

•••

9:10 p.m.

Hillary Clinton says at the start of the second presidential debate that the campaign needs to set an example to children that our country great "because we're good."

Clinton was asked by a teacher if she thought the campaign was modeling "appropriate and positive" behavior.

Clinton says the country needs to set big goals and work together to try to achieve them. She made no mention of Trump's vulgar comments in a 2005 tape that emerged Friday.

9:05 p.m.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump refused to shake hands as they entered the debate hall in St. Louis. That's a break from traditional debate decorum.

The town hall-style event is expected to be tense. Shortly before it began, Trump held a press conference with three women who had accused President Bill Clinton of sexual wrongdoing and Hillary Clinton of acting vindictively toward them. Trump also introduced a woman who as a 12-year-old had accused a man of rape; Hillary Clinton as a young lawyer defended that man.

Those four women are seated with the Trump family in the front row of the audience of the debate hall.

Bill Clinton shook hands with Trump's wife, Melania Trump, his two sons and daughter Ivanka as they entered the hall before the debate.

•••

8:50 p.m.

The fireworks at the second presidential debate exploded even before the candidates took the stage.

Donald Trump unexpectedly appeared live on his Facebook page with women who have accused former President Bill Clinton of rape and unwanted advances. They didn't take questions but repeated some of the claims they made against Clinton years ago.

The women are expected to attend the debate as guests of Trump.

Hillary Clinton's campaign responded by calling it a "stunt" that wouldn't alter Clinton's plans to speak directly to voters in the debate.

The stunning moment raised further questions about how directly Trump plans to go after Bill Clinton in the debate.

•••

8:45 p.m.

The second presidential debate is shaping up as potentially Donald Trump's final opportunity to keep his campaign from collapsing a month before Election Day.

With prominent Republicans already abandoning him in droves, other Republicans, including leaders in Congress, are looking to the debate to see whether Trump shows enough contrition to stand by him despite his vulgar comments about women. There's been uncertainty about whether the Republican Party might shift resources away from his campaign in the final weeks or even try to replace him on the ticket.

Another layer of unpredictability is the debate format. The candidates are taking questions from undecided voters and will be onstage with stools rather than traditional podiums.

8:20 p.m.

Hillary Clinton's campaign says Donald Trump is continuing a "destructive race to the bottom" by appearing with a group of women who have accused former President Bill Clinton of rape and unwanted sexual advances.

Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri said Clinton plans to use the Sunday night debate to talk to voters and "this stunt doesn't change that."

Palmieri said Clinton is "prepared to handle whatever Donald Trump throws her way."

•••

8:07 p.m.

Juanita Broaddrick, a former Arkansas nursing home administrator, first claimed 17 years ago that Bill Clinton raped her during a meeting in Little Rock in 1978.

Broaddrick was one of the women who appeared with Donald Trump ahead of his debate with Hillary Clinton Sunday.

Broaddrick sued Bill Clinton in 1999, but the case was dismissed in 2001.

A Twitter account that claimed to be that of Broaddrick revived the allegations on Saturday. Clinton has long denied her account.

Broaddrick said that three weeks after the alleged assault, Hillary Clinton approached her at a political event and thanked her for helping with Clinton's campaign for Arkansas governor. Broaddrick has claimed that she interpreted Hillary Clinton's comment as an attempt to force her silence about the alleged assault but there were no witnesses to the conversation. Hillary Clinton has never commented on Broaddrick's charge.

•••

8:06 p.m.

Kathleen Willey, a former White House volunteer, has said President Bill Clinton forced himself on her in 1993. She says she's supporting Donald Trump, in part, because he "can bring peace to this world."

Willey also joined Trump at the meeting posted on his Facebook page. Clinton denied her charge and an independent prosecutor later concluded there was no evidence to doubt Bill Clinton's denial.

Willey also claimed that Hillary Clinton helped try to discredit her. Like Broaddrick, her accusation has never been independently verified by a judge or jury. Bill Clinton has long denied the accusations and Hillary Clinton has declined to address them.

•••

8:05 p.m.

An Arkansas woman who was sexually assaulted at the age of 12 and whose assailant was defended by Hillary Clinton said the Democratic nominee put her "through something you'd never put a 12-year-old through."

Kathy Shelton appeared with Republican nominee Donald Trump an hour before the debate on Sunday and accused Clinton of laughing at her.

Shelton was sexually assaulted in northwest Arkansas in 1975.

Clinton was asked by a judge overseeing the case to represent her alleged attacker. After the prosecution lost key evidence, Clinton's client entered a plea to a lesser charge.

In an interview a decade later, Clinton expressed horror at the crime, but was recorded on tape laughing about procedural details of the case. The audio has been seized on by conservative groups looking to attack Clinton's presidential candidacy.

•••

8:04 p.m.

Paula Jones says she's in St. Louis to support Donald Trump.

She was the first of four women to speak at an unusual pre-debate meeting with Trump in St. Louis as the Republican presidential nominee tried to shine a spotlight on the sexual transgressions of Hillary Clinton's husband.

Jones offered a message about Trump: "They should all look at the fact that he is a good person. He is not what other people are saying he's being."

In 1998, Bill Clinton agreed to an $850,000 settlement with Jones. She was an Arkansas state worker who accused Bill Clinton of exposing himself and making indecent proposition when Clinton was governor.

The settlement included no apology or admission of guilt.

•••

7:57 p.m.

Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence is offering his prayers to Israel in the face of "yet another act of terror in Jerusalem."

Pence's Twitter message was posted just moments after his running mate, Donald Trump, concluded a pre-debate display of women accusing former president Bill Clinton of unwanted sexual advances .

Although they share a ticket, the two have jarringly different political styles.

Pence has not made any public appearances since a 2005 tape of Trump making crude sexual remarks engulfed the presidential race on Friday. He released a statement

•••

7:40 p.m.

Before the second presidential debate, Donald Trump has appeared at an event with women who accused former President Bill Clinton of rape and unwanted sexual advances.

The Republican nominee did not take questions as he appeared with Paula Jones, Juanita Broaddrick and Kathleen Willey.

Jones is a former Arkansas state worker who filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Bill Clinton in 1994 for allegedly exposing himself to her in a Little Rock hotel room.

She says of Trump, "He's going to make America great again."

Also at the event was Kathy Shelton, who was a raped as a 12-year-old. Hillary Clinton represented the suspect as a public defender

•••

7:29 p.m.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam is calling on Donald Trump to step down as the party's presidential nominee for his newly released remarks about his aggressive treatment of women.

The Republican issued a statement Sunday calling on Trump to remove himself and clear the way for Trump running mate Mike Pence to face Democrat Hillary Clinton next month.

He says the character of the nation's leaders does matter, adding, "the decisions that are made in the Oval Office have too many consequences to ignore the behavior we have seen" from Trump. Haslam never endorsed Trump.

Trump has said he has no plans to quit. Haslam said if that's the case, he plans to vote for a write-in candidate for president from the Republican Party.

•••

4:40 p.m.

President Barack Obama is suggesting that Donald Trump insults people because he's "insecure."

Without saying Trump's name, he said there's a reason why the Republican presidential candidate has denigrated veterans, people with disabilities, Mexicans and others during the 2016 campaign.

Obama said: "It tells you that he's insecure enough that he pumps himself up by putting other people down."

Obama was addressing supporters Sunday at a fundraiser in Chicago.

He said "the unbelievable rhetoric" from Trump has been "disturbing."

"I don't need to repeat it — there are children in the room," he said to laughter.

•••

12:40 p.m.

Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte says she favors Donald Trump dropping out of the presidential race.

The New Hampshire senator dropped her support for Trump on Saturday. She said she will write in Mike Pence, but initially stopped short of calling for Trump to step aside.

But when she was asked by a reporter Sunday if Trump stood step down, she said "I would support that."

Ayotte said recently released recordings of Trump making vulgar remarks about women are "fundamentally different" than his past comments. She said Trump is advocating assault, and that she wants her young daughter to know that she does not support the comments.

She says speaking out for her daughter's sake is "more important to me than winning any election." Ayotte is in a close race for re-election.

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11:30 a.m.

Democrats are discounting the idea that Republican leaders will encourage Donald Trump to step aside as their presidential nominee and urge voters to rally behind Trump's running mate, Mike Pence.

Donna Brazile — interim head of the Democratic National Committee — notes that some states have begun early voting and mailed absentee ballots with Trump's name on it. Brazile says attempts to change the ballots would be "very confusing" to voters.

She's suggesting on ABC's "This Week" that Democratic Party lawyers probably would fight any efforts by states to change the names on the ballot — if it came to that.

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11:25 a.m.

The chairman of the House Ethics Committee says there's still time for Republicans to rally behind an alternative to Donald Trump as their presidential nominee.

GOP Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania says he hopes House Speaker Paul Ryan and party chairman Reince Priebus will withdraw their endorsements of Trump.

Here's what Dent tells ABC's "This Week": "As a party leader, I think at times you have to stand up and do some pretty difficult things and this may be one of them right now."

Dent floated a few names, including Robert Gates, defense secretary under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama; Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state under Bush; Ohio Gov. John Kasich (KAY'-sihk), who sought the GOP presidential nomination; or Mitch Daniel, a former Indiana governor.

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11:15 a.m.

Donald Trump is lashing out at the growing list of Republicans abandoning his candidacy, predicting that they're the ones who will lose.

Trump on Sunday tweeted: "So many self-righteous hypocrites. Watch their poll numbers - and elections - go down!"

Trump has also been re-tweeting a series of messages from supporters, including one that lashes out at "GOP traitors!" and says not supporting is voting for "destroying America."

Another says "'Republican leadership' should have only one job: Help elect the nominee we voted for, Donald J. Trump."

Trump has faced a mass exodus of support in the wake of the release of crude video footage in which he brags about making unwanted sexual advances on women.

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10:30 a.m.

Donald Trump backer Rudy Giuliani says Trump is embarrassed by the airing of a tape in which the Republican presidential nominee makes vulgar and predatory remarks about women.

But — in Giuliani's words — "it seems to me, we should move on."

The former New York City mayor tells ABC's "This Week" that Trump is "very, very embarrassed and contrite about it."

When asked whether Trump's comments described sexual assault, Giuliani said "that's what he's talking about." But Giuliani isn't sure whether Trump was exaggerating, as "some men" do.

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10:10 a.m.

A GOP senator says Republicans can't win the White House with Donald Trump as their presidential nominee — and having him at the top of the ticket could drag down other Republicans.

Utah's Mike Lee says Trump and his backers can cement a lasting legacy if he were to step aside, allowing Republicans to find a candidate who can bring together all elements within the party and defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Lee tells NBC's "Meet the Press" that "we've got candidates who can do it. There's still time to do it, but we have to actually do it."

Lee is among a growing number of Republicans who've called for Trump to step aside following the release of a recording in which Trump makes crude comments about women.

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9:35 a.m.

Hillary Clinton's running mate Tim Kaine says a recording that captured crude language from Donald Trump reveals "a pattern of sexual assault" by the Republican presidential nominee.

Kaine tells CNN's "State of the Union" that it's "much more than words."

Kaine notes that Trump has previously made disparaging remarks about women.

Kaine says: "There's kind of a piece of the jigsaw puzzle missing in Donald Trump where he does not look at women and consider them as equal to himself."

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9:25 a.m.

Donald Trump is thanking Republicans who are standing by him.

Trump sent a tweet Sunday after a growing list of elected Republican officials have called on him to abandon his presidential campaign. That followed the release of a recording of Trump making vulgar comments about women.

Trump tweeted on Sunday morning: "Tremendous support (except for some Republican "leadership"). Thank you."

In a posting Saturday evening, Trump praised supporters who turned up at a party unity rally in Wisconsin — an event that Trump was disinvited to by House Speaker Paul Ryan. The rally was in Ryan's congressional district.

At the event, Ryan was booed and heckled by Trump supporters, who shouted "Shame on you!" and "You turned your backs on us!"

Ryan hasn't withdrawn his endorsement.

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9:15 a.m.

Donald Trump's campaign says the Republican presidential nominee may describe Bill Clinton's sexual history in criminal terms at Sunday's debate.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani says Trump won't hesitate to talk about "the women that Bill Clinton raped, sexually abused and attacked."

Trump on Saturday retweeted a pair of postings by Juanita Broaddrick. Her accusations that Bill Clinton raped her in 1978 were never tested in criminal court. Bill Clinton has long denied the accusations.

Giuliani says Trump will cast Hillary Clinton's "as the attacker" of women when she claims to be their champion.

The strategy comes as Trump reels from the release of his recorded description of his sexual aggression toward women. Giuliani says "both sides have sinned. So how about we put that behind us?"

He spoke Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

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2:15 a.m.

Donald Trump is limping toward the critical presidential debate against Hillary Clinton without the backing of a growing group of Republican leaders.

Trump insists he'll "never" abandon his White House bid despite calls for him to step aside after his vulgar descriptions of sexual advances on women were revealed.

Trump's task in Sunday's faceoff is enormous.

Even before the recording of his remarks were made public, the businessman was lagging behind Clinton after an undisciplined first debate. And he was struggling to overcome deep skepticism among women about his temperament and qualifications to be commander in chief.

Trump has hinted he may turn the debate into a referendum on Clinton's marriage — namely her husband's extramarital affairs and her treatment of the women who were involved.

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