The deadline for siding with a candidate is coming to a close, and many voters are using the prime time presidential debates as a means to make their final decision. So far, the nation has seen two debates on Sept. 26^th and Oct. 9^th with this cycle’s final debate coming up on Oct. 19^th and election day only a few weeks later on Nov. 8^th.

In the first debate, we saw what seemed like all-out war on stage between candidates Donald J. Trump, representing the Republican Party, and Hillary Clinton representing the Democratic Party. The debate, for the most part, was a lot of back and forth, disputing what was and wasn’t fact. One of the biggest topics discussed was how, if elected, the candidates would bring more jobs to Americans and decrease the amount of Americans living paycheck to paycheck. Clinton answered by saying that she would start by raising the minimum wage and creating equal pay for women. She also believes that companies should do more profit sharing in order to spread wealth between the rich and the poor. Trump said that the issue was that companies were leaving the country and therefore leaving fewer jobs for the American people. Trump said, “Under my [economic] plan, I’ll be reducing taxes tremendously, from 35 percent to 15 percent for companies, small and big businesses.” He believes by doing this, companies will stay and expand and more jobs will be created. Clinton argued that the solution is not to help the upper class but instead to help the middle class, she said, “what I believe is the more we can do for the middle class, the more we can invest in you, your education, your skills, your future, the better we will be off and the better we’ll grow. That’s the kind of economy I want us to see again.”

Another big topic was the racial issues the country faces and how the candidates will deal address them. Clinton responded by saying “We have to restore trust between communities and the police. We have to work to make sure that our police are using the best training, the best techniques, that they’re well prepared to use force only when necessary. Everyone should be respected by the law, and everyone should respect the law.” Trump responded to this by saying “We have gangs roaming the street. And in many cases, they’re illegally here, illegal immigrants. And they have guns. And they shoot people.” Trump argued that the reason crime rates are high is because other races who are illegal immigrants are coming into the country as criminals. When the topic of race came up, both candidates discussed the related and recent shootings and high crime levels.

A few other topics were discussed after the discussion of race, and the debate came to a close.

In the second debate the situation only seemed to get worse as practically the same topics were discussed and the candidates’ only goal seemed to be to find whatever they could to bring down their opponent.

The interesting thing about the second debate is that the debate was town hall style, meaning that the questions came directly from the audience. The first question asked came from an undecided voter who asked, “do you feel you’re modeling appropriate and positive behavior for today’s youth?” The candidates didn’t directly answer the question and instead started talking about all of their own thoughts on everything from discrimination to illegal immigrants. Clinton responded first by saying “I want to be the president for all Americans, regardless of your political beliefs, where you come from, what you look like, your religion. I want us to heal our country and bring it together because that’s, I think, the best way for us to get the future that our children and our grandchildren deserve.” Trump then got to respond and he said “Well, I actually agree with that. I agree with everything she 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.”

It took a while for the moderators to move onto the next subject because both candidates had a lot to say on each topic. At one point Trump brought up Clinton’s email scandal, promising his supporters that if he’s elected president, he would hire a special prosecutor to put Clinton in jail. The recently released video of Trump talking lewdly about women in 2005 was also discussed at great length with Trump saying “It was locker room talk, as I told you. That was locker room talk. I’m not proud of it.” He also defended himself by comparing it to Bill Clintons multiple scandals. This video has spread like wildfire throughout the internet and amongst other politicians as the number one talked about subject for the entire election. Multiple politicians from all parties have even said they should try to use it to pull Trump from the ballots. Clinton responded to it by saying “I think it’s clear to anyone that heard it, that it represents exactly who he is.”

Arguably the greatest part of the whole debate was one of the last questions which was, “regardless of the current rhetoric, would either of you name one positive thing that you respect in one another?” The audience responded to this with laughter and the candidates were obviously taken by surprised by the question. Clinton answered with, “Look, I respect his children. His children are incredibly able and devoted, and I think that says a lot about Donald. I don’t agree with nearly anything else he says or does, but I do respect that.” Trump then replied with “I will say this about Hillary. She doesn’t quit. She doesn’t give up. I respect that. I tell it like it is. She’s a fighter. I disagree with much of what she’s fighting for. I do disagree with her judgment in many cases. But she does fight hard, and she doesn’t quit, and she doesn’t give up. And I consider that to be a very good trait.”

With that the debate was at an end and less than a month away from Election Day. The next and last debate will be held on Wednesday Oct. 19^th at 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM.