An Overview of the Second Presidential Debate

The Second Presidential debate, moderated by Anderson Cooper and Martha Raddatz, was held last Sunday, Oct. 9. Held in a town meeting format, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were asked questions about topics such as education, foreign policy, healthcare, and much more.
One important headline surrounding Trump mentioned during the debate was concerning his lewd comments surrounding women in a leaked 2005 audio file. These comments drove many important GOP leaders to withdraw their support from Trump, including Arizona Senator John McCain.
“When Mr. Trump attacks women and demeans the women in our nation and our society, that is a point where I just have to part company,” McCain said.
Following the debate, One NBC poll states that although many voters see Clinton as the winner of the debate, neither candidate experienced a dramatic increase in changing voter’s opinions.
“Given that Mr Trump’s campaign has been in freefall over the past 48 hours, anything less than a total Jack-Nicholson-at-the-end-of-A-Few-Good-Men style meltdown onstage has to be deemed a marginal success on his part, and so it was,” Anthony Zurcher, a reporter for BBC News said.
The town hall style debate allows for questions from the audience members. According to NBC News, a few undecided voters or voters who lean slightly toward either of the candidates are chosen by the Gallup organization to ask what are typically broad questions not related to the current headlines surrounding the candidates. This style of debate also allows for the audience to get a better read on the candidate’s personality through their body language.