Donald Trump on Wednesday night didn’t threaten to prosecute his opponent should he win the presidency on Nov. 8. Hillary Clinton didn’t spout off any obviously canned phrases for “Saturday Night Live” to mock. But there were still plenty of fireworks during the third -- and final -- presidential debate of 2016.
Here are the night’s top nine moments:
1. “Bad hombres”
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, raised eyebrows during his response to a question about border security. The content of his answer wasn’t surprising for anyone who’s listened to Trump since he began his run for the White House -- build a wall and deport the “bad, bad people in this country.” But near the end of the remarks, Trump suddenly used a slang Spanish word for “men.”
“We have some bad hombres here and we’re gonna get them out,” Trump said.
Social media immediately lit up with reactions, and “Bad Hombres” was one of the top Twitter trends within minutes. The phrase had been tweeted out nearly 130,000 times by the time the debate ended.
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Even Clinton’s digital team quickly jumped on the phrase, tweeting out “Hombres”? #debatenight
2. “Open Borders”
Moderator Chris Wallace pressed Clinton on a controversial remark she made during a paid speech to a Brazilian bank shortly after she ended her tenure as secretary of state. Clinton has resisted releasing the transcripts of her so-called “Wall Street speeches” despite pressure from her primary and general election opponents. Some of the transcripts, however, recently leaked out when WikiLeaks published a trove of stolen emails allegedly belonging to Clinton campaign chair John Podesta.
“We've learned from WikiLeaks that you said this, and I want to quote, ‘my dream is a hemispheric common market with open trade and open borders,’” Wallace asked.
Trump immediately leaned into his microphone and said “Thank you.”
Clinton said the line had been misconstrued. She said she was talking about “energy” coming across borders, not illegal immigration.
Trump rolled his eyes and smirked at the explanation.
3. Vladimir Putin
After the topics of WikiLeaks and the Podesta hack were broached, the discussion turned toward Russia, the nation many intelligence experts believe was behind the Podesta hacking. Clinton attacked Trump for being too cozy with Russian president Vladimir Putin and said Trump would be Putin’s “puppet as president.”
Trump responded: “No puppet, no puppet. You’re the puppet.”
After some crosstalk, Trump continued to counterpunch.
“She doesn't like Putin because Putin has outsmarted her every step of the way,” he said.
4. Abortion and The Supreme Court
The next president might appoint as many as three Supreme Court justices, Wallace noted, a number that could influence whether the court leans left or right for an entire generation. The hot-button topic of abortion was discussed in this context, with Clinton unable to answer if she could ever support any regulation on the controversial procedure.
Trump responded with one of the most passionate -- and graphic -- answers he’d given during any debate.
“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. “Now, you can say that that's okay, and Hillary can say that that's okay, but it's not okay with me.”
5. Sexual misconduct allegations
Since lewd comments Trump made on a hot mic in 2005 were revealed two weeks ago, several women have come forward with claims that Trump sexually assaulted them. Trump denied all of the charges and accused Clinton “and her very sleazy campaign” of being behind the stories.
“Well, first of all, those stories have been largely debunked,” Trump said. “Those people, I don't know those people. I have a feeling how they came. I believe it was her campaign that did it.”
Clinton responded: “Donald thinks belittling women makes him bigger. He goes after their dignity, their self-worth, and I don't think there is a woman anywhere who doesn't know what that feels like.”
6. Violence at rallies
Clinton lambasted Trump for being responsible for the rhetoric that she said provoked several violent incidents during his primary and general election rallies.
“This is a pattern, a pattern of divisiveness of a very dark and in many ways dangerous vision of our country where he incites violence, where he applauds people who are pushing and pulling and punching at his rallies,” Clinton said.
Trump, however, said it was Clinton who was guilty of starting the unrest. He cited an edited, undercover video released this week by a conservative activist. The footage allegedly shows Democrat operatives discussing how they have incited violence at Trump rallies.
“So sad when she talks about violence at my rallies and she caused the violence,” Trump said. “It's on tape.”
7. Clinton Foundation vs. Trump Foundation
Clinton and Trump traded shots about their respective namesake charity foundations, both of which have come under fire for various scandals.
When Clinton initially said she was “thrilled to talk about the Clinton Foundation,” Trump saw an opening.
“It's a criminal enterprise,” he said. “Saudi Arabia giving 25 million dollars. Qatar, all of these companies. You talk about women and women's rights. So these are people that push gays off buildings. These are people that kill women and treat women horribly. And yet you take their money. So I'd like to ask you right now why don't you give back the money that you have taken from certain countries that treat certain groups of people so horribly? Why don't you give back the money?”
Clinton retorted: “And I'd be happy to compare what we do with the Trump Foundation, which took money from other people and bought a six-foot portrait of Donald,” Clinton said. “I mean, who does that?”
8. Trump may not accept election results
Though he said during the first presidential debate that he would accept the results of November’s election whether he won or lost, Trump on Wednesday said he wasn’t so sure anymore. Trump has been frequently talking during rallies about his belief that the election is “rigged.”
“I will look at it at the time,” he said Wednesday night. “I'm not looking at anything now I will look at it at the time. What I've seen is so bad.”
Trump also said Clinton shouldn’t be eligible to run for the presidency because of her secret server scandal. Though authorities said Clinton was careless, after a lengthy investigation the FBI declined to charge her.
“She's guilty of a very, very serious crime,” Trump said. “She should not be allowed to run...What I'm saying now is I will tell you. I will keep you in suspense, okay?”
9. Rigged
Following up on Trump’s talk of a “rigged” election, Clinton said the rhetoric was not only untrue, but also a tool commonly employed by the billionaire businessman.
“Every time Donald thinks things are not going in his direction, he claims whatever it is is rigged against him,” she said. “The FBI conducted a year-long investigation into my e-mails. They concluded there was no case. He said that the FBI was rigged. He lost the Iowa caucus; he lost the Wisconsin primary. He said the Republican primary was rigged against him. Then Trump University gets sued for fraud and racketeering. He claims the court system and the federal judge is rigged against him. There was even a time when he didn't get an Emmy for his TV program three years in a row and he started tweeting that the Emmys were rigged.”
After hearing Clinton’s comment about the Emmy’s, Trump interrupted: “I should have gotten it.”