During the second presidential debate on Sunday, after Donald Trump brushed off his leaked comments about forcing himself on women as "locker room talk," Hillary Clinton fired back, saying that until today, she has never before questioned an opponent's fitness to serve.
"Donald Trump is different," she said. "I said starting back in June that he was not fit to be president and commander in chief. Many Republicans and independents have said the same thing, what we all saw and heard on Friday was Donald talking about women, what he thinks about women, what he does to women, and he has said that the video doesn't represent who he is, but I think it's clear to anyone who heard it that it represents exactly who he is." Throughout the campaign, "we have seen him insult women, we've seen him rate women on their appearance, ranking them from 1 to 10, we've seen him embarrass women on TV and on Twitter, we saw him after the first debate spend nearly a week denigrating a Miss Universe in the harshest, most personal terms, so yes, this is who Donald Trump is."
That's just the tip of the iceberg, Clinton continued. "He has also targeted immigrants, African Americans, Latinos, people with disabilities, POWs, Muslims, and so many others." While that's who Trump is, that's not what the United States is all about. "I want to send a message to every boy and girl, indeed to the entire world: America already is great, but we are great because we are good and we will respect one another and we will work with one another and we will celebrate our diversity. These are very important values to me because this is the America that I know and love and I can pledge to you outright that this is the America that I will serve if I am so fortunate enough to be your president."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Bluetoothing: the phenomenon driving HIV spike in FijiUnder the Radar ‘Blood-swapping’ between drug users fuelling growing health crisis on Pacific island
-
Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetimeFeature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
-
Book reviews: ‘We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution’ and ‘Will There Ever Be Another You’Feature The many attempts to amend the U.S. Constitution and Patricia Lockwood’s struggle with long Covid
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to ChicagoSpeed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in OregonSpeed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoffSpeed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
