Social Media Reacts to Trump's Last-Chance Debate

Tyler O'Neil | 5:20 PM on October 19, 2016
PJ Media collage of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

10:55 p.m.

That was the most substantive debate, but even so, both Clinton and Trump failed to pull off a win. Clinton blamed Russia for WikiLeaks, Trump said he wouldn’t say whether or not he’ll accept the results of the election. No, this is not a joke. When I ran a poll asking who won the debate, the demon god Cthuhlu came out on top (with over 800 votes cast).

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On Trump’s claims of a “rigged” election, there is evidence of voter fraud, there is evidence of media focusing more on anti-Trump stories than anti-Clinton ones (how much has WikiLeaks been covered?), but social media responses suggested Trump’s answer didn’t win him any points. Clinton’s pivot on Russia was carried out well, but people called her out on it as well.

The biggest take-away from social media tonight was that Chris Wallace has been the best moderator by far. He was fair, asked tough questions, and helped achieve the 30 minutes of civility at the beginning of the debate.

Trump probably needed to do better than he did. Once again, he needs to win swing states in order to deprive Clinton of the 270 electoral votes she is likely to win at this point. He fell short. Clinton did not perform particularly well, but Trump’s the one who needed a win, and he didn’t get one.

After these debates, people in Frank Luntz’s focus group wanted another candidate, but said they wouldn’t get one. Actually, there is a slight chance someone else could become president. Here’s how a third party candidate could win (pay especially close attention if you live in Utah):

How a Third Party Candidate Can Win

10:33 p.m.

Maybe we should vote for Chris Wallace.

Seriously, well done.

Yep, and primary voters gave us the one candidate who won’t cut entitlements.

https://twitter.com/Thomasismyuncle/status/788930500949934080

10:30 p.m.

Yes, please do this, Hillary!

This was not well done.

D’Souza is spot on here.

Next Page: What Trump’s campaign is thinking behind the scenes.

10:27 p.m.

Behind the scenes…

https://twitter.com/JVLast/status/788913841665024000

Bam.

Good point, for future generations.

10:22 p.m.

This is great.

That’s why he’s an option.

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Ouch!

‘New York Times’ Gets Aleppo Wrong — TWICE! — in Article Mocking Johnson

10:15 p.m.

Matt Walsh blames the people. Granted, only a plurality of Republicans chose this guy.

Bam.

Beer is all you need.

Next Page: Trump falls into the “rigged” trap of his own making.

10:11 p.m.

Yeah, as much as I sympathize with the idea the election is rigged, I have to admit Clinton is beating Trump on this.

I mean, voter fraud is real …

And they don’t always concede.

But his answer is scary.

10:07 p.m.

No one believes Trump on women.

Dying in the hallway…

This is why.

https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/788924029453365248

10:05 p.m.

Gotta fear those toddlers. Thanks for the warning, Hillary.

Clinton Foundation is a “criminal enterprise.”

Clinton hitting back at Trump.

Next Page: Trust no one!

9:57 p.m.

Shorter Hillary, shorter Trump:

So true.

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This is why Evan McMullin is running.

9:53 p.m.

Honestly, being silent might have been better.

Great question for foreign policy.

Only Trump’s bluster will let Hillary get away with this.

9:51 p.m.

Is Trump the candidate of change?

Voters aren’t happy.

With either one.

Next Page: Is Hillary’s biggest lie these bogus economic promises?

9:49 p.m.

Is this Hillary’s biggest lie?

This is gold. Hillarynomics doesn’t work.

This whole economics debate right now.

9:44 p.m.

Here’s what Sarah Silverman wants.

Yeah, this was a bad move for Trump.

Hm…. Funny how that happens.

https://twitter.com/Thomasismyuncle/status/788917243195363328

9:39 p.m.

Winner of this debate? Chris Wallace.

https://twitter.com/lanheechen/status/788912998345682945

McMullin goes whole hog on the “Putin owns Trump” idea. Sigh.

This is perfect.

Next Page: Trump beats Clinton on Immigration, Clinton pivots to Russia on WikiLeaks.

9:37 p.m.

Trump beats Clinton on immigration.

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Hacked … like with a saw?

https://twitter.com/JayCaruso/status/788915272623099904

And Trump breaks down. At least we got 30 minutes of civility.

9:35 p.m.

Clinton: Russia, Russia, Russia!

This is pretty funny though.

And yet Trump can’t help himself.

https://twitter.com/SethAMandel/status/788915533034975232

9:33 p.m.

Clinton on open borders.

Here’s what David French thinks.

Hm… Not sure I agree.

Next Page: When life imitates The Onion.

9:31 p.m.

Seriously, what is this?!

Partial-birth abortion is never necessary.

Story of this election.

9:27 p.m.

And here I was, thinking Clinton saying the U.S. gov. will make women have children like in Romania was a bad answer.

Yep. It’s back.

And here’s Jill Stein.

4 Conservative Reasons to Vote for Jill Stein

9:22 p.m.

When life imitates satire…

Would Clinton answer this question?

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Here’s Evan McMullin on why Trump won’t say he wants Roe v. Wade overturned.

Next Page: Why Hillary Clinton likes abortion.

9:18 p.m.

THAT’s why she likes abortion!

Is this the case, or is Trump too blasé about it?

Excellent question.

9:15 p.m.

This is true, Trump gave a solid close on the answer.

Many were happy about it.

But this is perfect satire.

https://twitter.com/smod2016/status/788910271611883520

9:12 p.m.

This is spot on.

Here’s Chris Chillizza’s view.

Compared to Trump’s opening, maybe.

Trump said some of this.

9:06 p.m.

Media Matters says TrumpTV launched tonight.

Love this.

There will be no more.

Next Page: Tim Kaine makes the case — Hillary for Prison.

9:01 p.m.

Hillary for Prison? Tim Kaine presents the case.

Here’s the Bernie sentiment going into the final debate.

Here are the planes.

8:58 p.m.

Another one comes out of the woodwork?

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And check out this live tweeting if you’re in Utah!

That’s a tough bet.

8:54 p.m.

What do Americans want in our debates?

Here is an EXCELLENT question Chris Wallace should ask tonight.

Just ten more minutes…

This is so apt.

Next Page: Down your drink if anything libertarian is mentioned. And an explanation of why Clinton supporters are so violent.

8:48 p.m.

Frank Luntz asks how can you be still undecided? How indeed. Here’s the clear choice.

This is Stephen Green’s mentality.

https://twitter.com/thelindsayellis/status/788903177957629952

Drunkblogging the Final Presidential Debate

Center — Down your drink if anything libertarian is mentioned.

8:44 p.m.

Why do Clinton supporters go violent? The Tennessee GOP has an answer…

https://twitter.com/TEN_GOP/status/788901770764423168

Good question.

X Rated liquor for R Rated debate. Sounds about right.

8:37 p.m.

Yes, Goldberg nails it here.

Trump is live on Facebook right now!

Final Presidential Debate

Debate is over but the fight isn't. The FINAL FEC deadline for the entire campaign is minutes away at 11:59p! Donate now to make this a RECORD NIGHT. Contribute $10 >> DonaldJTrump.com/Debate

Posted by Donald J. Trump on Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Next Page: State of the race, and the Hillary Clinton borg.

8:32 p.m.

This is what they meant, saying Clinton is an imminent threat … to humanity.

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Last debate, Trump stopped the bleeding. Tonight?

Really important advice, right here:

8:28 p.m.

This is tonight.

Drudge Report-ing live.

DebateHeadache has been trending on Twitter. Smart marketing:

8:20 p.m.

This debate is make-or-break for Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton has taken a sizable lead in the polls and the election forecasts over the past two weeks.

Although Trump arguably won the second debate, the first showdown attracted more viewers and most pundits say Clinton prevailed. More powerful perhaps was the video showing Trump making lewd comments about women, including the notorious “grab them by the p***y” comment. Those comments drove many Republicans away from the nominee, including most notably House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Clinton takes 45 percent to Trump’s 39 percent in the RealClearPolitics average. The RealClearPolitics map puts Clinton at 260 electoral votes in the “likely” and “leans” columns, meaning she only needs to win 10 votes from “toss up” states. FiveThirtyEight gives Clinton an 87.5 percent chance of prevailing next month. Heck, an Irish bookmaker is already paying out a Clinton win.

Trump needs to convince everyone that all this is rather premature. He can still win this thing, and even if he won’t, he needs to make up some serious ground in order for a third party candidate (ahem, Evan McMullin) to have a realistic chance. In other words, if you want someone besides Hillary or Donald, you should be rooting for Trump tonight.

Tyler O'Neil

Tyler O'Neil is an author and conservative commentator. He has written for numerous publications, including The Christian Post, National Review, The Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Signal, AEI's Values & Capitalism, and the Colson Center's Breakpoint. He enjoys Indian food, board games, and talking ceaselessly about politics, religion, and culture. He has appeared on Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight." He is the author of Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Follow him on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.

Category: ELECTION 2020
Tags: 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION DONALD TRUMP HILLARY CLINTON SOCIAL MEDIA

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