Clinton emerges victorious from final debate

All updates in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC)

03:30 - The hashtags #nastywoman and #badhombres have been doing the rounds. Opinion among Twitter users showed some had merely had their opinions reinforced, while others felts uninspired.

And what about you?

03.12 - Irwin Collier, director of the John F Kennedy Institute in Berlin on Trump's refusal to say he will accept the result.

"It reflects the fact that he's tone deaf when it comes to basic parts of the American creed - the idea that you show up for the game and then that you can be a good loser."

DW's Richard Walker says Trump has done little to expand his appeal beyond his core vote.

03:00 - Are you thankful that it's all over in terms of the debates?

02:45 - DW's Richard Walker says there was no clear winner. "Both performed reasonably steadily," he says. Some of the Republicans watching were satisfied with Trump's performance.

A big talking point has been Trump's refusal to commit to accepting the result.

02.35 - Closing statements.

Clinton: I'm reaching out to all Americans because we need everybody. We need your talents. I've seen the presidency up close. Responsibility and opportunity. I have made the cause of children and families my life's work. That will be my mission. Families against corporate interests. Give me a chance.

Trump: She's raising the money from the people she wants to control. Doesn't work that way. We're going to make America great again. We have a depleted military. Take care of our veterans. Policemen and women disrespected. 

We are going to make America strong again... it has to start now. We cannot take four more years of Barack Obama and that’s what you get when you get her.

The moderator thanks the candidates and audience. Now the decision is up to you, says Wallace.

02:33 - On benefits and health. Trump says Obamacare must be repealed and replaced. "It's probably going to die of it's own weight" he says, citing rising premiums. "Bad healthcare at the most expensive price: we have to repeal and replace Obamacare."

Clinton is asked whether she will endorse tax increases and benefit cuts to save Obamacare and benefit entitlements. She says Trump might try to get out of paying more. "Such a nasty woman," he grumbles.

02:30 - Clinton asks when Trump thought America WAS great. He took out adverts against Reagan's government, she says.

Trump says he DID disagree with Ronald Reagan on trade.

02:27 - Trump says he will create "tremendous jobs" and complains that political hacks are negotiating trade deals, rather than the real experts.

02.25 - We are being outplayed in Syria, says  Trump. "Nobody can believe how stupid our leadership is."

02:24 - Wallace says imposing a no fly zone could lead to a war with Russia. Would President Clinton shoot down a Russian plane?

It would only be done through negotiation, Clinton says: I think we could strike a deal and make it clear to the Russians and Syrians that it would be best for people on the ground in Syria.

02:21 - Back to Syria. Trump: Take a look at Aleppo it's so sad when you see what's happened. He blames Clinton, saying that Assad made a fool out of her and Obama. "We don't know who the rebels are? If they ever did overthrow Assad, you may very well end up with worse than Assad."

02:19 - Clinton cites Bernie Sanders re Trump. "You are the most dangerous person to run for history in modern America - I think he's right."

02:16 - Clinton says there is progress on beating ISIS, and retaking Mosul. "I'm going to continue to push for a no fly zone and safe areas in Syria," she says.

Trump says it wouldn't be necessary to reconquer Mosul. Now, he claims, Iran will be the country that benefits when it is retaken. "Iran is taking over Iraq."

Both start to trade blows about whether they supported the invasion of Iraq, but that's nothing new.

02:11 - Trump on allegations that the vote would be rigged: Millions of people are registered to vote who should not be allowed, says Trump. He says Clinton should not even be a candidate. "She should never have been allowed to run for the presidency based on what she did with emails…"

Clinton says that there have been repeated instance of Trump complaining votes and decisions were rigged. She even mentions him missing out on an Emmy award. "I should have gotten it," he interjects.

Clinton: "He is denigrating, he is talking down our democracy. I for one am appalled."

02:06 - Clinton blasts Trump for not making his tax returns public. Half of illegal immigrants are paying more than he does, she says.

02:03 Clinton defends the Clinton Foundation, citing its work on HIV and school environments.

Trump: "It's a criminal enterprise, Saudi Arabia giving 25 million dollars…."

These are people that push gays off buildings and yet you're taking their money, he says. "Why don't you give back the money?"

01:58 - Trump: Nobody has more respect for women than I do.

I want to talk about something slightly different. What isn't fictionalized is her emails. She's lied hundreds of time, to the people to Congress and the FBI.

"That's really what you should be talking about, not fiction."

Not everyone agrees.

01:54 - On the claims about his sexual advances, Trump says the complaints against him have been debunked. "These women, I think they want either fame or their campaign did it."

"I believe that she got these people to step forward. It was lies and fiction."

01:52 - Trump: "If we could run our country the way I run my company, we would have a country that even you (Clinton) would be proud of."

01:50 - Trump says he passed factories that were thriving 20 or 25 years ago, but were no longer because of the NAFTA agreement that her husband signed.

Clinton hits back: "There's only one of us on this stage that's shipped jobs to Mexico and that's Donald."

Clinton adds Trump has bought Chinese steel and aluminum. She claims the Trump Towers in Las Vegas are made with Chinese steel.

01:44 - Trump says there would be huge tax rises if Hillary's plan was followed . His plan - "We're going to have a lot of free trade."

"We're bringing our jobs back," says Trump, adding that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a disaster.

He also says, at a tangent, that countries like Germany and Japan must pay more for their defense.

01:39 - Now it's about the economy. Clinton wants new jobs and clean energy, to raise the minimum wage and to ensure equal payment for women. Also, she wants to ensure that students don't get a bill for tuition. "We're going to have the wealthy making a greater contribution than they are now." Trump's plan for tax breaks would lead to more debt and a loss of jobs.

01:36 - It's all a long way from immigration. Now it's gone nuclear! Clinton says Trump cannot be trusted with the nuclear button. And she those who have had that  power in the past agree with her.  

"They would not trust Donald Trump with the nuclear codes or for him to have his finger on that button."

01:32 - Trump accuses Clinton of wanting to hide her support for open borders by using diversion tactics, after she points out that Russian President Vladimir Putin would want Trump to be president. We are going to stop radical Islamic terrorism in this country. If we get along well, that would be good.

On Putin: "He has no respect for her, he has no respect for our president. Putin has outsmarted her in Syria, he has outsmarted her in every way."

 01:27 - It turns to immigration. "We need strong borders"  - says Trump. "We have to keep the drugs out of our country, right now we're getting the drugs and they're getting the cash"

"We need a wall."

"We're going to secure the border. We have some bad hombres here and we're going to try and get them out."

Clinton mentions a girl Carla, who was very worried her parents might be deported. "I don't want to rip families apart, I don't want to be sending parents away from children."

It means you would have to have a massive law enforcement presence. "It's an idea that would rip our country apart." Clinton says shes's for border security but "I want to put our resources where they're needed." She says she's re-enact immigration reform within 100 days, with a path to citizenship.

01:21 - Trump says the current rules mean it will be possible to "take the baby and rip the baby from the womb on the last day." It doesn't work like this, says Clinton. 

01:19 - Trump says he will appoint pro-life judges to the Supreme Court, to which Hillary reaffirms her support for Planned Parenthood and the Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision to disallow many state and federal restrictions on abortions.

01:16 Trump says he is fully in favor of gun ownership without more restrictions. "In Chicago, which has the toughest gun laws in the US, they have more gun violence than any US city."

Responding to Clinton's pointing out he was supported by the National Rifle Association. "I'm very proud to have the endorsement from the NRA. I'm very proud of all of that."

01:14 Clinton defends her belief in the Second Amendment. Says she wants to address the online loophole, and she wants better checks and "the kind of reforms that will make a difference that do not in any way conflict with the second amendment." She says the government wanted to "protect toddlers from guns."

One Twitter user feels that Trump is looking very relaxed.

 

01:10 Trump says the Supreme Court must stand up for the Second Amendment - regarding guns - which he says is under siege from Clinton. The justices he appoints, he says will be pro-life, with a conservative bent. He also says it's important to follow the Constitution the way it was intended originally.

01:08: The candidates are applauded as they enter the debate forum. The first question about the Supreme Court.

Clinton says the Supreme Court needs to stand up to "dark unaccountable money" coming into the electoral system. She urges it to stand up to the lobby group Citizens United and to the powerful. She says the Senate should approve Obama's nomination.

1:05 - Wallace explains the candidates will have two minutes each to answer on each topic, before the debate is thrown open.

01:00 - Moderator Chris Wallace urges the audience to remain quiet so the candidates can get their points across. "Silence, blessed silence," he pleads.

00:58 - There's a fair contingent of students in Memphis who have their hopes pinned on Trump. 

00:50 - Spotted: Actors Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen are sitting in the audience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

00:43 - DW correspondent Ines Pohl is watching the debate at a watch party being held at the University of Memphis.

DW's television team  will be covering the debate live.

00:39 - In an increasingly acrimonious contest, we expect the gloves to be off, with more than 50 million people expected watch the debate at the University of Nevada.

Under the format of the 90-minute debate, the two candidates will stand at lecterns as they did in the first.

It will be split into six segments on different themes of about 15 minutes each, with the debate will be moderated by Chris Wallace of Fox News. The topics, selected by Wallace, are: debt and entitlements, immigration, economy, Supreme Court, foreign hot spots, fitness to be president.

Polls in recent weeks show Clinton pulling ahead of Trump on a national level and in key swing states. In an average of national polls compiled by RealClearPolitics, she leads by six points.

Here's some info about changing voting patterns since 1992.

The second of the three debates was generally hailed as having been a victory for Clinton, with Trump having appeared defensive in the wake of the release of the video.