Transcript Of Hillary’s Response To Trump’s Tape At The Second Presidential Debate

The tensions were already running high even before the second presidential debate began. But when nominees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton took opening questions, all hell broke loose. The question of the night, opened by moderator Anderson Cooper, was of course about the recently released tapes the revealed Trump and Billy Bush having an abhorrent conversation about women. Trump evaded the question by bringing up ISIS, but when Clinton had the chance to respond, she didn't waste the opportunity. In Hillary's response to Trump's tape at the second presidential debate, the Democratic nominee reminded people just how harmful a Trump reign could be. When asked to respond, Clinton said:

Well, like everyone else, I've spent a lot of time thinking over the last 48 hours about what we heard and saw. With prior republican nominees for president, I disagreed with them on politics, policies, principles. . .but I never questioned their fitness to serve. Donald Trump is different. I said, starting back in June, that he was not fit to be president and Commander in Chief. And 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. Because we’ve seen this throughout the campaign. We’ve seen him insult women, we’ve seen him rate women on there appearance, ranking them from one 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 former Miss Universe in the harshest, most personal terms. So yes, this is who Donald Trump is. But it’s not only women, and it’s not only this video, that raises questions about his fitness to be president. Because he has also targeted immigrants, African Americans, Latinos, people with disabilities, POWs, Muslims, and so many others. So this is who Donald Trump is, and the question for us, the question our country must answer is, that this is not who we are.

I want to send a message, we all should, to every boy and girl — and indeed, to the entire world — that 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 tonight that this is the America that I will serve if I'm so fortunate enough to become your president.

The debate moderators didn't waste any time addressing the elephant in the room, and when prompted to respond, Clinton gave a very direct response. But she didn't stop with the video. Clinton didn't hesitate to call Trump out for his about all the marginalized people who he has openly and unapologetically mocked throughout his entire campaign. Even when Trump pulled Clinton's husband into the mix, she Clinton kept her cool and, in the face of high tensions, looked very presidential indeed.