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20th Oct 2016

Donald Trump continued to court controversy during the third Presidential debate

The third Presidential debate was not without controversy.

Conor Heneghan

It’s being pinpointed as the moment Trump lost the final debate before the election on November 8.

Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump refused to say that he would accept the result of the US Presidential election during the final televised debate with Hillary Clinton on Wednesday night.

Over 90 minutes, Trump and Clinton discussed a range of topics, including abortion, being a ‘puppet’ for Vladimir Putin and recent allegations of sexual assault against Tump, but it was his refusal to put on the record that he would accept the results of the election on November 8 that provided the main talking point afterwards.

In the run-up to the debate, Trump spoke out on a number of occasions of his belief that the election was rigged and when asked by moderator Chris Wallace whether he’d accept the results, he replied that he’d “look at it at the time”.

Pressed further, Trump said: “I will keep you in suspense, okay?” and went on to blast the “so dishonest” and “so corrupt” media, before saying Clinton should not be allowed to run because she’s “guilty of a very serious crime”.

Clip via Associated Press

Trump’s refusal to say he would accept the election results dominated coverage of the debate afterwards, with CNN saying it “raised the possibility of an extraordinary departure from principles that have underpinned American democracy for more than two centuries”.