>> -- the long term health care expenses. we have got to get costs down, increase value, emphasize wellness. i have a plan for doing that, and i think that we will be able to get entitlement spending under control but with more resources and smart decisions. >> this is a final time that you're going to be on the stage together in this campaign. i would like to end it on a positive note. you had not agreed to closing statements, but it seems to me in a funny way that might make it more interesting because you haven't prepared closing statements. i would like you each to take -- we're going to put a clock up -- a minute to tell the american people why they should elect you to be the next president. this is another new mini segment. secretary clinton, it's your turn to go first. >> i would like to say to everyone watching tonight that i'm reaching out to all americans, democrats, republicans, and independents because we need everybody to help make our country what it should be, to grow the economy, to make it fairer, to make it work for everyone. we need your talents, your

skills, your commitment, your energy, your ambition. i've been privileged to see the presidency up close, and i know the awesome responsibility of protecting our country and the incredible opportunity of working to try to make life better for all of you. i have made the cause of children and families really my life's work. that's what my mission will be in the presidency. i will stand up for families against powerful interests, against corporations. i will do everything that i can to make sure that you have good jobs with rising incomes, that your kids have good educations from preschool through college. i hope you will give me a chance to serve as your president. >> secretary clinton, thank you. mr. trump? >> she's raising the money from the people she wants to control. doesn't work that way. but when i started this campaign, i started it very strongly. it's called make america great again. we're going to make america great. we have a depleted military.

it has to be helped. it has to be fixed. we have the "grease" -- the greatest people on earth in our military. we don't take care of our veterans. we take care of illegal immigrants. we take people better care of the people in our country illegally than we do our vets. our policemen and women are disrespected. we need law and order, but we need justice too. our inner cities are a disaster. you get shot walking to the store. they have no education. they have no jobs. i'll do more for african-americans and latinos that she can do for a lifetime. all she's done is talk to latinos and african-americans. they get the vote they walk away and say see you again four years. we are going to make america great again and it has to start now. we cannot take four more years of barack obama, and that's what you get when you get her. >> thank you both. secretary clinton -- [ applause ] >> hold on just a moment, folks.

secretary cling, mr. trump, i want to thank you both for participating in all three of these debates. that concludes the debates scheduled boy the association of presidential debates. we want to thank the university of nevada las vegas and its students for having us. now the decision is up to you. while millions have already voted, election day, november 8th, is just 20 days away. one thing everyone here can agree on is we hope you will go vote. it is one of the honors and obligations of living in this great country. thank you and good night. [ applause ] >> all right. let's see if they go ahead and shake hands with each other. looks like she's walking over to the moderator, chris wallace, shaking his hand. let's see if they go ahead and shake hands right now. not necessarily going to happen. a very, very contentious debate. some of the most important issues facing the country right now, but jake tapper, clearly the headline, donald trump

saying he may not accept the result of this presidential election. >> one of the most stunning things i've ever heard in a presidential debate ever. and while i think it's fair to say he had some decent moments in there, especially when he was criticizing obama and clinton on foreign policy, the big hurdle for donald trump was will he show the country that he has the temperament, that he has what it takes, that he has the fitness to be president. to suggest that he might not accept the results of the election that we're about to hold in fewer than three weeks was staggering, and i don't think it helped him when it comes to showing the american people that he does have that temperament. the one thing i was looking for in this debate is would he do anything to turn around the momentum. all the college educated whites that are going to hillary clinton, all the women that are going to hillary clinton, all the minorities that are going to hillary clinton. no. i don't think he did anything to turn that around.

yes, he had some good moments, especially when it came to criticisms of her and her policies and president obama's policies. but to suggest that he is not going to necessarily accept the results of the nomination, that was a disastrous answer. >> it was truly extraordinary. i have never heard anything like that. dana bash, his vice presidential running mate said they would of course accept the result, the voice of the american people. his daughter said the same thing. he refused to say that. he said i want to keep you in suspense. >> not only did his running mate say that, he said that to us in the debate hall an hour before donald trump took the stage, so it really goes to show that donald trump, no matter how much he prepared -- and we do understand he prepared very well. for the most part, i agree with you, jake. for the most part during this debate, that came through. he was a much more disciplined donald trump. at the end of the day before that comment happened, it looked like it was a wash, that she did

well, that he did well. it wasn't clear if anybody was going to benefit or not until that moment when he was asked something very basic, something that my understanding is that he was certainly prepared for and he didn't answer it affirmatively. and more importantly, she was prepared for it. she had all of her opposition research ready to go about the times where he called other systems rigged, even the emmys when he didn't win an emmy. wolf? >> she clearly was ready for that. john king, did either one of them move the needle tonight? >> not in a significant way i don't think. hillary clinton has a significant advantage in our electoral map. over 300 electoral votes. we have her 307. donald trump in the 170s. well short of the 270 you need to win. 19 days left. did he have the biggest audience they're going to get before election day? he needs to bend steel to change

this election. we have taken utah away from him and arizona to make them toss up states. at the beginning when he was talking about judges, guns, abortion, at the top of the debate, very base driven to the republicans. it is possible he boosted his support among republicans with those answers. to the point jake and dana are making i was getting e-mails from the republicans in the key swing states in new hampshire, iowa and florida, the reaction, i'm going to say oh, my god, they were not that polite when donald trump refused to say he would accept the results of the election. he does not have a gut that middle america wants him to respect the process. >> chris wallace asked donald trump about the allegations of sexual assaults and sexual attention that was not wanted and put a tough question to hillary clinton about he says what your husband bill clinton has done is even worse. donald trump attacked the women that have accused him, suggested that they were liars and put up

to it by the clinton campaign. hillary clinton gave a very passionate speech that was speaking to all women. all women know what it is like to be belittled like this. completely dodged the question about bill clinton. back to trump, he's defending himself again. he's not even pointing out that hillary clinton, who gave this very passionate speech with this really uncomfortable asterisk there, which is how can you say this when these allegations have been made against your husband, and he just whiffed it. he let it go because he is so focused on defending himself. he couldn't even see clearly then to prosecute on hillary clinton on what i thought was possibly her strongest moment. >> she was under his skin a little bit. the first 45 minutes he was much more restrained. he was making his conservative points. slowly she methodically kept coming back. the loan from your father. a couple of other things. if we noticed in the past debates and republican debates, there were certain things that

set him off. once he gets prickly about those things i think it's harder for him to remember the points he was supposed to make from the debate prep. >> another moment that -- i'm sorry, wolf. one last comment. one moment that i thought was very bad came at the end. i think a lot of women probably noticed it is when she was answering a question. it was all within the confines of this very contentious debate. all of a sudden she said, she's a nasty woman. she's a nasty woman. they've been going after each another a very tough weigh way, both saying they were unfit, et cetera. but that was a very personal attack. i think this debate ultimately is going to hurt him with women voters. >> reinforces a weakness. >> a very contentious debate. anderson -- dana bash, you have kellyanne conway. >> that's right. mr. trump's campaign manager. first question i have to ask you, frankly what we've all been talking about. is donald trump saying the

opposite of what you and his daughter have said in the past 24 hours about whether or not he will accept the results of this election? are you disappointed in his answer? >> i'm not disappointed in a thing tonight. i thought it was an amazing debate. donald trump will accept the results of the election because he's going to win the election. they will be easy to accept. he won the debate tonight. amazing performance. getting back to all those core issues that really catapulted his campaign from the beginning, jobs, trade, immigration, the failed foreign policy. >> you just told me he will accept the results. why wouldn't he say that on the debate stage? >> do you remember 2000 when al gore contested the election? he actually retracted his concession to george w. bush. >> that's an extraordinary experience. >> we have extraordinary experiences. you have to listen to everything he said. in fairness, he is talking about a corrupt system. many americans agree with that. he's talking about a system where people feel like insiders, like hillary clinton, get all the benefits on top of the fact many in the media collude with them.

96% of the donations from working journalists went to hillary clinton. >> i want to put a button on this. >> i heard a lot. >> what you just said to me is that he will accept. what you're telling me is that on election night if he is sort of waffling, you as his campaign manager will say, mr. trump, no matter what it is -- obviously it won't be a big deal if he wins. but if he doesn't, you will say mr. trump, this is what is going to happen and you're going to accept these results. >> absent of widespread abuse and regularities, yes. but i also think he will be president. i will see you there in two weeks. >> back to you, anderson. >> dana, thanks very much. we'll see who else comes into the spin room. aptly named indeed. >> >> watching kellyanne walk away reminds me of a bad debate i once was involved in. the worst thing is going into the spin room and try to

persuade people the disaster they just watched is a triumph. this was a disaster for donald trump. he started off temperamentally. i was going to apologize to jeffrey because i was going to say he could surprise us and i was surprised because temperamentally as the debate began it looked as if he was going to take a different approach. he took starkly conservative positions on guns, immigration on choice that will go to his base, not to the women not to the swing voter he needs to get. but he was composed. he wasn't interrupting. hillary clinton just pushed his buttons. by the end of the debate, he just unravelled, but he wrote the lead of the story. he wrote the lead of the story. >> let's play that moment that everyone's talking about. >> one of the prides of this country is the peaceful transition of power and that no matter how hard fought a campaign is that at the end of

the campaign that the loser concedes to the winner. not saying you're necessarily going to be the loser or the winner, but that the loser concedes to the winner and that the country comes together in part for the good of the country. are you saying you're not prepared now to commit to that principle? >> what i'm saying is i'll tell you at the time. i'll keep you in suspense, okay? >> well, chris -- >> and that was the moment. >> mike pence assured the nation in no uncertain terms that they would accept the result of this election. others went on television, including kellyanne, saying they'll accept the verdict of the voters. anderson, this is core for a lot of americans. you say what makes america great. this is what makes america great. the fact that he wasn't willing to say i'll accept the results of this election i thought that's going to haunt him not just through this campaign, but for a long time.

>> keeping you in suspense makes it sound like this is some sort of a game or a reality tv show. i don't want to be kept in suspense. i think it's very difficult. i've never heard any candidate ever in a presidential debate, correct me if i'm wrong, but i don't think any of us is old enough to have ever heard it to say to the american public i won't necessarily accept the result. it is stunning to me and potentially disqualifying to me, honestly, jeffrey. >> we clearly saw two entirely different debates. >> i guess so. >> let me just say to you here -- >> what about that moment in particular? >> i am looking. december 13th, 2000. december 13th, not the night of the election, not the next day. al gore concedes the presidential -- >> i'll -- >> no. here, this is what the problem is. this is when i talk about the ruling class and elites and double standards.

there was one standard for al gore. >> what did al gore say? >> al gore said he would accept the process. a month late he took it all the way to the supreme court. >> he did because the state -- >> no, let him finish. >> no, gloria. he did it because he feels like a privileged insider and his pals felt like privileged insiders. this is permeates the entire system and this is what's wrong. >> that was because florida, because there was such a narrow margin, florida had an automatic recount because the laws of the state of florida called for that. and because the election was so close -- and don't forget al gore won the popular vote by half a million, but we won't talk about that because this is about electoral college. >> that's right. >> and because the state of florida said automatic recount, al gore said, yes. then there were 36 days in which the country was very patient, but that is very different --

>> what does to supreme court have to do with it? >> the election wasn't over. >> the 50 states did not certify these winners and the election was not over. once the election was certified in florida, once the court spoke and the election was certified, al gore stood in front of the camera -- >> you're illustrating the problem. you're illustrating the problem. >> it's a different problem. >> no, it is. >> al gore did not go on the debate stage and say, i'm not sure i'm going to accept the e election results. in his third presidential debate. >> he said he would no longer concede. >> do you want to weigh in on this? >> this is a really sad night. i am a just going to say it. this is a very sad night for the country. you can't polish this turd. i'm sorry. >> technically, you cannot polish any turd. >> exactly i. i'm going to be very, very clear about this. al gore respected the constitution, respected the process. >> he did not.

>> respected every voter. went to our supreme court, asked for a resolution on his own term, as did george w. bush. and when the election results were certified, he told his party and his base to stand down and accept this even though a lot of us were very, very upset. what you just got now was the nominee of a major party for the first time in our history signaling to the american people that he has so little faith in our institutions he has so little faith in our people, he has so little faith in our courts, he has know little faith in the republican governors, the republican secretary of states across this country that he will not stand in front of his own country, in front of his own nation and say that he respects the process and the outcome. that is an outrage. the apauling, la of patriots -- >> let him finish. >> the apauling lack of patriot from this man to sit there and say that, to praise putin and

assad more than he praised any american president. he doesn't talk about reagan or any other president mother than he talks about putin. >> i'm perplexed to hear you talk because you are asking him to accept something that hasn't happened yet. none of us know what is gag to happen on tuesday novemberth. jay christian adams, who is a voting attorney -- voters attorney for the department of justice said there are as many as 4 million dead people registered to vote right now. there is voting fraud out there. >> no, no, that's not voting fraud. >> well, 4 million people that can vote, that can determine the election. >> they don't vote. they are dead. >> you are making that up. >> but they are listed. >> because they just died. >> and we have a video by the way. >> they just died. nobody has removed them yet. know you like to scream over me and not let me get my point out. let me finish. there is video that came out two days ago.

democratic operatives hired by hillary clinton by the dnc talking about bussing people in to vote under many dead people's names. there is video of it. you can see it. it's verifiable of the it came out of their mouth. >> in jeffries state of peps pennsylvania we litigated this issue for a full year because the legislature passed and the governor signed into law a requirement that says you've got show a photo id. in a year of litigation, literally not one single case of in-person voter fraud could be documented. it is a total -- >> i -- >> let him finish. >> i can just finish your thought. i think your man was having the best night with two -- >> one line -- >> now i'd like to finish. with two glaring exceptions. the first that we are all noting here where he just won't accept the result. he so easily could have said but

for the most unusual of circumstances of course i'll accept the outcome. and let's not underestimate the significance of what happened at the end. he is desperately behind among college educated females. and he looked at a college educated female and then some and said what a nasty woman. explain that to me. >> you know what, it's negative thing we can find from donald trump. >> he made history. one at a time let her finish. >> donald trump had a great night. it was vintage donald trump. >> he made history tonight. i agree with you on that. >> i know that's what you want to focus on and i get that. >> patty, is this the right

wrong to focus on? >> i think the first 35 minutes he had a great night. we were talking about the issues. i think chris wallace did a fantastic job. he asked tough questions of both of them, and donald trump had a decent 40 minutes, but then, yes, this line is a deal breaker. it is an un-american line. it is anti-democratic. it goes against our democracy. it goes against our two party system and what we believe in and stand for. yes, it's a disqualifier. >> i also think that he was sort of no, no, no on accepting the outcome of the election. he refuses to accept the intelligence on russia for some reason. >> are they the same intelligence people that -- >> for some he refuses to accept the intelligence on russia. he says he didn't even apologize to his wife on the women issues because --

>> that was a weird moment. >> it was not true. >> she just gave a big interview saying he apologized to her. >> everything laid out in front of him, he deflected or said wasn't true or, you know, i'm just not going to accept it when it comes to the election, and then said he never -- he wouldn't apologize on the women because he never did it. so it is a donald trump we have seen. and the outcome of the election is clearly the sort of key and most important moment here. but on russia also, i was sort of surprised. i know you weren't, but this has been, you know, u.s. intelligence more than a dozen agencies have talked about this. i don't even understand why donald trump wouldn't allow for the possibility that actually the hack -- >> because the american people have been burned with intelligence agencies telling a republican president of the united states that there were

weapons of mass destruction in iraq. >> you'll never accept intelligence anymore? >> i am simply saying they're not infallible. >> we know that, but at least accept that it's a possibility. >> donald trump is lucky to have committed supporters like you under any circumstance they will say he had a good night. but there's objective evidence. you guys said this every debate, and in each debate then there's polling and -- >> he had an especially good night then. >> things followed he didn't have such a good night and he's lost ground consistently since the first debate, and this was the worst -- he started off great. >> he did. >> this was the worst of the three. this was a devastating night for him. >> does it seem to you at all that he can do a good 40 minutes and then start to go -- >> yes. >> down rabbit holes that she throws out at him. she starts with the your father gave you $14 million, you know, wrong, and then things like

that. and it does -- does it not seem to fluster him somewhat? >> i don't think so. >> really? >> no. seriously. i don't think that. it seems to me that we -- one of the moments here, i want to get to this here for a second. she danced away from it. when he said will you give that money back. she refused to do it. she danced around. she danced around. what i'm saying is that goes to the core of the argument that she is duplicitous and takes the money and uses it for personal purposes. she doesn't care where it comes from. people who throw gays off roofs and will women? give the money back. >> wasn't her response that 90% of all money donated is used for causes? >> that was after she -- that was after she was caught with when only 10% of it was actually going to charitable causes and she was put on a charity watch list and re-manipulated it.

>> check fact that. i hope we fact check that. that's been debunked. >> i agree in the first debate we went into the weeds too much. he was too defensive on certain issues. he did that a little tonight, but he's gotten really good at turning it around to offense. it's incredible to me to hear people say it's disqualifying that he wants to wait to see what happens tuesday, november 8th before he accepts the election. and it's not disqualifying to destroy 33,000 e-mails or take hammers to blackberry. it's not disqualifying to sell six truths to fbi in front of congress. you can run for president when four star generals are sitting in jail for telling one lie to the fbi? it's a a double standard. >> there's a mythology, that he did well at the beginning. here's the problem.

we often go on temperament. we lowered the standards for the presidency. if you're not a toddler, when you're prepared to be the president of the united states. i'm going to have to go back to old school hip hop and quote ll cool j. in his first album and say he lied about the lies that he lied about. listen, the entire time you're saying he's doing well, he says he never said that he wanted japan to have nukes. that's a lie. he said he's never claimed to know putin. that's a lie. he said he never said women weren't pretty enough for him to harass. that's a lie. he said he never mocked disabled people. that's a lie. let's keep the record clear here. >> he did not mock a disabled person. >> oh, come on. >> wait. wait. did you? did you see in the same speech where he mocked the general and mocked ted cruz doing the same thing? >> i don't know what you're talking about. >> that's the point. this is the point. there's a video where he does the same thing mocking other

people who are not disabled. >> but he said in that instance , i know him, he said have you seen this guy and mocked the way he appears because he has a disability. listen, i think this debate, he gets the most improved award, but that doesn't get him much in terms of expanding his base. i did think he was much more disciplined. he was calmer. he didn't take the bait all the time. i thought both of them were incredibly weak on jobs. none of them really, i think, channelled the anger and the pain that folks are feeling in terms of their own lives. hillary clinton basically did a laundry list of what her plan would be. he seemed to pivot to nato in that question. but i think it is true that he seems to lose stamina as these debates go on. he seems to sort of remember slights. i mean, in that answer where he said such a nasty woman about hillary clinton, i think she was talking about entitlement reform at some point.

it was like this thing he couldn't control. he just had to say it. it was such an odd moment. >> i agree. it's also puppet moment where they're talking about putin and the question was do you condemn, and he said of course i condemn, but it didn't continue. they were getting into it over putin, and she called him a puppet. and he said no, you're the puppet. again, i hate to raise my children, but that's the kind of thing my kids used to do. >> the situation with russia, she's been the secretary of state. she reset the whole thing. president obama, i mean, this is their policy. here we are. >> it would have been more reassuring if he were willing to actually condemn vladimir putin for the tyrant that he is, which he just -- every time he gets an opportunity to do it, he instead goes to wouldn't it be better if we had a better relationship with russia? >> david, david, president obama

is dealing with a tyrant in cuba and he's opened relationships on that same premise. wouldn't it be better to have a better relationship with castro who is one nasty tyrant? >> if i can say, so many of his answers tonight i thought were measured and controlled. he has a better understanding of the clock than he ever has thus far, but he just can't help himself, and the interruptions had me wondering is it 11:00 on a saturday night. it was straight from alec baldwin and his imitation. he needed a knockout. no he didn't get it. even if you want to think he had a great night, and some aspects were, but he didn't win. >> you guys are ace supporters and spokes people, and -- but the question is what about the voters he needs to add to the base that he has to win this election? were they as impressed as you? my sense is they will not be.

we'll see what the polls say and the coming days. >> david, here's what i think was important about tonight. hillary was pressed hard by chris wallace on the economy. what is different about your plan than obama's? she didn't have an answer, and a lot of us sat back when obama took office and said he's blaming bush for the economy. fair enough right now. how long will it last? tonight she said he inherited something bad. we're still blaming bush. meanwhile trump has ideas. that moves voters. >> by the way, there's bill clinton and hillary clinton departing. >> the economy shrunk by 8.9% and we were losing jobs the day he moved into the door. >> seeds planted by bill clinton's housing policy. >> now you're blaming clinton. listen, sometimes numbers and facts, again, i'm a little bit of a nerd, but i think numbers

are helpful. 1.3 jobs created under bush. 10.6 million jobs under obama. that was a time wen the western democracy rates were growing. when you look at our growth rate, guess what, europe below 1%. japan 0. we are actually beating our peers. you can't admit that so you compare us to china and india which are growing more, but from a lower base. again, you have to do funny numbers and fuzzy math. under obama we've been beating our competition, and our economy right now is 10% bigger and richer than that was at the height of the post recession peak. those are real numbers. >> real numbers that barack obama is about to become the

first president in fact united states history to not attain 3.5% gdp. people are hurting. >> and we beat every other country in the world that is an advanced industrial country. >> the one stat that stuck out in this election, 56% people feel the economy is rigged against hem. rigged is an important word in this election. by using that word he feels like the deck is stacked against him. >> bernie sanders used that word. >> he did. >> and you know what? a lot of people feel the economy is rigged, and you know what? they're right, but most people don't feel that the american system of voting is so rigged that someone who has won his party's nomination can't stick up for it. stick up for the democracy every time. it's a disgrace what he did. >> when trump was asked about the economy, this is the one area where he has an advantage and a lot of advantage in polling.

lots of people believe he's best able to handle the economy. she talked about her tax plan, et cetera. when he was asked about it, he went to trade, started talking about trade, and never really until the end of his answer got back to what he would do for the american people. he started talking about her on tpp and -- i think it was a huge missed opportunity for him, because it's one area where he actually does well, and he could have gotten more specific with people about how he is going to help them in their personal lives beyond trade. i know trade is a very big issue. i know it's really important, but taxes are a big issue. and what he's going to do to improve gdp, et cetera. so i think he wasn't focussed on an answer that -- on a question that could have been terrific for him. i really do. >> you cite the poll that says 60% think the economy is rigged. i believe the biggest single

issue facing us is how you guarantee that people who work hard can get ahead. how you give them the best chance to get ahead in the changing economy. i think that's a real issue. but if you're going to cite the polls, you have to accept the rest of the polls which is that 60 % don't think he has the temperament to be president. 60% on a series of measures of presidential preparedness don't feel he's qualified. so that was what he had to work on tonight. if he wants to get from point a to point b, that's what he had to do tonight. >> one line, you've got the experience, and it's bad experience. >> that is a great line, and the 30-year argument is a good argument. but that is not a 90 minute debate, and given what else he's said it's like the old thing about how is the play otherwise mrs. lincoln. >> she had a great answer. i was in arkansas and you were being sued for housing discrimination.

she went through decade by decade. i thought that refrain, she was clearly ready for that. >> i'm sure that was right off the top of her head. >> i think 535 people have an issue on their hands, and i think of the senate and republican candidates for the house of representatives, people like pat toomey have danced in terms of are you for or against this guy, and they're going to be asked the question now when donald trump is unwilling to say he'll accept the outcome of the election, what about you? >> and they're going to say i'll say the same thing that i said when al gore -- >> i don't think so. >> and therein lies the problem with washington and that's it. that is it. >> it's one thing we haven't talked about and we need to. for the first time donald trump used spanish. he spoke a spanish word.

only to insult and smear and stereo type latino immigrants. he said we have some bad ombrés. the only time he's used spanish in the election was used to smear latino immigrants. i thought that was horrible. if you look at twitter, that will be another reason the republican party will have a difficult being a party for everyone. >> politically correct. >> this is nonsense. >> go ahead. >> let me finish my point. he was not talking about -- let's put context here instead of bringing two words. a woman lost her son at the hand of an illegal immigrant. he would still be here today if the laws were enforced. >> it's a tragedy -- >> a bad man? whatever you want to call that man, it wasn't all immigrants. that's where context is important. he was talking about the

immigrants who have come into the country, they're a minority, yes, 100%, they're a small number. there are people who would still be alive today if laws were enforced. no one should die at the hands of an illegal immigrant. >> no one should die at the hands of anyone. >> unless they're a baby. >> oh, come on. >> there's something wrong when you take funerals and you politicize funerals. i've gone to plenty of them. i've seen people killed by police. i've seen people killed by -- african american kids killed by other african american kids. i've seen latino kids killed by other latino kids. i've seen people killed by people with papers and without papers. when you cherry pick and choose these ones to beat up a whole community, that is disgusting and wrong, and people understand what you're doing. it's not right. >> again, just for those who

maybe didn't see it. let's play the moment, the moment that's gotten a lot of coverage online. >> we're going to secure the border and once the border is secured at a later date we'll make a determination as to the rest. we have some bad ombrés here and we're going to get them out. >> what was your reaction? >> this is not politicizing someone's death. this is really important here. if we want to talk about picking and choosing which deaths to care about, president obama cared about certain men who died at the hands of police officers. your idea about politicizing deaths, i assume it applies to your own president. donald trump cares about the fact that kids in new hampshire have died of heroin that's been brought here by illegal immigrants. >> kayleigh, my father emigrated here from mexico illegally twice. was deported twice. came back the third time legally. to me, i was born here.

i'm an american citizen. to me, that was very offensive. you heard me when we were watching it in the green room. that was just offensive. it's offensive to hispanics. >> to say what? >> bad ombré. >> come on, patty, you're an american. i've heard that phrase all my life. >> where do you hear that phrase? >> no. this line has been an american -- >> where? >> american television westerns in the 1950s. >> 1950s. >> by the way, i'm not sure a 19 50 s american television is the best benchmark for what is good language and nonoffensive. >> i have never heard that compared to say the n-word. right? right? this is politically correctness to a max. >> why didn't he just say bad dudes? >> because there are dudes that would be offended. >> why use spanish in that instance? >> what's wrong with it?

>> why do you think he did it, then? >> because it's in the american language. >> no one says that, jeffrey. >> you don't know enough people. >> donald trump has defended the language he uses and says about women. i don't say things like that. that's not what i do. well, tonight, patty was very offended, and -- >> patty, i love her to death, but she's being politically correct. >> if she's offended, i'm offended. >> i can't believe what i'm hearing. >> i'm sorry. >> we're in such a high offense culture that when you call someone who killed american citizens bad ombrés and we critique the language, this is such a high offense culture. this is why donald trump won this nomination because americans around this country are fed up. >> and it's why he's going to win the presidency most likely. >> here's the deal. this is not about being a high offense country.

i agree with you, there are some people who aggrieved and no matter what you do -- i'm in meetings with them all the time, trust me. i get what you're talking about. this is not that. this is something else. this is a sense that we've not yet heard him say very many positive things about the contribution of the latino immigrant community. >> he has. we just don't play it. >> let him finish. >> he doesn't trumpet it. he had an opportunity to say nice things tonight. he could have said, listen, we got some bad ones but let me tell you about the ones making a difference and a contribution. like george w. bush used to do. he didn't do that, and then to put the cherry on top, he then says there are some bad ombrés which sounds to people for whom -- >> politically correct. >> no. >> it's offensive, jeffrey, period, end of story.

it's offensive. >> let's stop talking about it. >> he praised the contributions of the mexican american community. he's done it. there are some bad ones and we never get to the root of the problem because we're all upset about the term? >> let's stop talking about how offensive it is. he was supposed to broaden his base tonight. he was supposed to expand his voters today, right? >> yes, of course. >> he offended hispanics. >> no. >> he offended women. he offended other minorities. how did he expand his base tonight? how is he going to win the presidency? >> this is exactly the point, patty. you divide by race. van and i have had this conversation that when you divide by race like this and think of people as nonamericans, not americans, but by their nationality, am i supposed to take offense? >> but jeffrey, her question -- >> i'm not.

>> her question was more what new groups did he reach out to and get tonight? did he? >> sure. sure. people who are sick of this nonsense. >> what people are you talking about? >> to think this is limited to any particular group or age is crazy. they're all americans and human beings. they all have different views. they are individuals. >> i'm just wondering if tonight -- i feel like those people he's probably already gotten. is there anyone new he reached tonight? >> i have an idea, i think when donald trump goes into private life, which he'll be doing soon, he should take out a patent on a self-kicking machine. that's his brand now. he had a complete opportunity tonight to go out there and repair some damage with constituencies and show he gets it. the thing is, you don't get to determine which what offends me. i don't get to determine what offends you. >> that's what you guys are

doing. you're determining the whole entire community is -- >> i'm only looking at twitter. >> well, twitter is not much -- >> that's scientific sample right there. >> let's watch tomorrow. my point is if i say something to you that you find offensive, it's my job to listen to you and figure out in the name of civility, so we used to call it civility. the basis of civilization. it became politically correct when other people started to demand civil treatment. if you say it offended you, it's my job to listen to you and try to do a better job next time. the problem right now is there's a certain set of people who say you telling me that you're offended means you're the problem. not me. not my speech. your response to my speech, and we'll never have a country that way. >> or if you tell me that i might lose, it's not my fault. it's not because i failed. it's because the election was rigged. i think it's sort of the same line of reason.

i don't want to change the subject, but on the failed election issue and the question of legitimacy, lindsey graham, no fan of donald trump, i get it, tweeted if he loses, it's because he failed. this is a senator, member of congress to michael's good point before, there are members of congress who watch this and who are up for reelection, and what if i spoke with a house member the other day who said to me what if i win in my state and donald trump loses? and challenges the election? what does that do to me and my election? are my voters disenfranchised? are my votes not legitimate? donald trump is about donald trump, not about the republican party, and i think that's what this is about. >> this is a good issue. two points. number one to my friend michael, i sent you an article in the new york times about a federal judge in philadelphia overruling a

pennsylvania state senate election and throwing a election and throwing a democrat out of the state senate giving control of the senate to republicans because he said the democrats stole the election and they used a dead person's vote among many others to accomplish it. this is a problem. i've been reading tonight about a princeton professor who does a study about how easy it is to hack voting machines saying there is a problem. will we recognize the problem. >> is this anecdotal at this point or is it a huge -- >> i think when you've got all these people and cbs and all these other places, reputable institutions saying these elections can be stolen in essence, we have a huge problem, we shouldn't be trusting computers, then there's a problem, yes. yes. >> you said you don't want people divided by race.

let me say one thing and then i want to make a larger point. one is i know patty and i've known her since he was a young woman -- >> she still is -- >> she has -- she is one of the most inspiring persons i know. she has a wonderful story, and when she tells me she's offended, i take that seriously. i don't say who are you to say whether or not hispanics were -- kayleigh said that to her. here's the thing. let's not talk about hispanics, blacks. i think americans were offended by what donald trump said about not accepting the result of the election. americans. black, white, hispanic. >> how many were offended when al gore did it? >> jeffrey -- >> sorry. >> you rail against washington, but you are a political consultant answers. i say that as a self-loathing political consultant. that's nonsense. >> it is not nonsense. >> the election was not settled.

there was a dispute about that. as was said before, if he had said tonight, look, absent some extraordinary event like a dispute, of course i'll accept the results. it didn't trouble his campaign manager to say it. why does it trouble him to say it? why? >> if there's a divide when it's all over between the electoral college and the popular vote, no one will question mr. trump for pursuing to get to the bottom of the result, but here we are at a stage when he's trailing by double digits in national polls and the swing states have shifted away from him, and at this moment he's saying he thinks the whole thing is rigged against him and then tries to conflate media bias with the rigging of an election. >> they're not different in terms of disarming an election. the old soviet union only ran -- >> whether there's bias in the media and election fraud are two separate issues.

one doesn't bleed into the other. >> it's about when you become president and you're a leader, you accept responsibility for everything that happens on your watch. >> like i didn't have sex with that woman. >> i'm just saying this is a role of a leader. this is what leaders ought to do, accept responsibility. part of the responsibility of being a leader is if you don't succeed and you lose, you accept responsibility for the loss. if you win, good for you. you did a great job. >> i just have to say, rush limb baa said this, and it's true. no matter what station you turn on, everybody is operating that donald trump is going to lose. there's a poll where he's four points behind. 23 days ago the momentum was going in donald trump's direction. we have 19 more days.

none of us know what's coming in the wikileaks or where we're going to be 20 days from now. i think we shouldn't operate under the premise that he's going to lose and that he's not going to accept the result. he said maybe, he'll look at what happens. none of us know what's going to happen. >> there's another point here. >> i've been involved in campaigns for a long time and presidential campaigns for a long time. no one has in modern history recovered from a deficit like this. >> truman. >> tonight was his opportunity to try to turn that around, and he's just dug himself into a bigger hole. and the arguments you're making is also digging him into a deeper hole. >> no one in modern history has a primary spending half of what others are. >> i admire your commitment. i'm telling you the facts. >> i want to make a fact here. on the supreme court, there are

two views. when you're saying donald trump doesn't -- is not accepting of tradition, et cetera, et cetera -- >> responsibility. >> in terms of conceding an election, there were people who believe that there are a lot of people like hillary clinton who believe that the constitution is to be ponied around with here to fit whatever is their latest objective instead of accepting what is in the constitution and the basic freedoms for all of us. that is a slow fashion motion here using the constitution. >> what does that have to do -- >> the fact that you don't get that, that's what it has to do with. >> jeffrey, i think you're not hearing what i was saying. i was saying if you lose you accept responsibility. if you win, good for you. you take the credit for it. period. >> you guys have a point to make. >> you guys have a point to make here. republicans could be excused for

feeling that there's a double standard when it comes to sexual conduct. bill clinton versus donald trump. they can be excused for saying that. >> in a lot of areas. >> i'm trying to help you here, but you have to give me a little bit of room. the idea of there being media bias, of there being a double standard, i think you have a case to make. the problem is when you overshoot your skis the way that you do, and you say that this media bias, this particular thing, then gives you a rigged election, but you didn't have the same critique of the media when donald trump is winning the primaries one after the other. then the media is fine. you don't have a critique when republicans are winning the senate. no critique when they win the house or 30 plus governorships. it's only a concern when it affects your guy in the last hour. and that is hypocritical. >> a lot of us were critiquing it in the primaries as well. the media is at its lowest

trust. >> i'm giving the bias argument, but when you undermine voting institutions, the media has been a mess. the american media system used to be partisan. every party had its own newspaper. people had fliers. then you wound up with this sort of forced thing, it was fake from the beginning. now it's getting crazy again. you have social media. >> it's good. >> and i have no problem with it. >> twitter. >> i'll be tweeting at the commercial break if we ever have one. >> at this rate, we're not. >> the problem that i have is that when -- you love the polls when the polls are going your way. they don't go his way, i don't believe the polls. >> donald trump has even admitted that in his speech. in a speech he said i quote the polls when they go my way. i don't when they don't. >> my point is this.

if you love the media when it's with you and hate it when it's against you, you're many things. you're not presidential. and that's the point. this is about who is going to be the president of the united states. i've got a 12-year-old son that has a much better attitude toward competition than the one running for president in your party. >> can i just make one point? i want to explain why what donald trump said tonight about the election disturbs me and what has disturbed me over the last few weeks. i think it is insidious to tell your supporters that if you're not going to win that the result is rigged, the result is fixed, sort of intimate that anything goes if you don't win. that is not american. that is not -- >> tell it to al gore. >> oh, not al gore. >> jeffrey, don't do that. it is beneath you. >> i am sorry.

but this was done. >> al gore, believe me, as van said, there were many, many people in this country who wanted him to fight on. >> i was one of them. >> and he said i think it's best for the country to accept the result. he was a hero in that instance. >> and what al gore was on his way to concede when the secretary of state, it was under 1%. the secretary of state said this is an automatic recount. he had already called bush, because he was going to do the right thing. when there was a recount, only after they knew that it was an automatic recount did he call bush and say, no, we have to wait. >> one standard for me and another for you. >> jeffrey, you the student of history, what troubles me the most about what he said and what he didn't say tonight is wednesday november 9th. i have committed that come the 9th of november --

>> if he loses, i want him to concede, but we -- >> we need to put the pieces back together when this thing ends. and come wednesday the 9th, i'm not obsessing about what he said about mexicans. i'm moving on if he's the president, and if she wins, no more e-mail server. it's time to move forward. >> we have to take a break. we'll reveal the results of our first poll and hear from your focus group of undecided voters here in nevada. stay with us.

we're about to get the first results of the cnn poll. our political director is here. david, what are the results. this is not a nationwide poll. this is a poll of debate watchers. that's key. skews slightly more democratic here, but actually it's our most evenly divided audience of any of the debates so far this season. let's get to the results. who won the debate? hillary clinton. 52% of debate watchers say she was if winner. 39% say donald trump was the winner. that's a closer margin than we saw in the previous debates.

how about who was on the attack more? who spent more time attacking their opponent? donald trump, 60% of debate watchers say he was more on the attack. 23% say that of clinton, and 15 % say they were both attacking their opponents. and the fairness of the attacks, were trumps attacks fair? 55% say yes, his attacks on hillary clinton were fair. 43% say no. and what about hillary clinton's attacks on trump? 63% say hers were fair. 34% say they were not fair. >> all three of these debates according to our poll, instant poll of people who watched the debates believe hillary clinton won all three? >> she's 3-0 here. that's a hat trick for her. >> what's the significance, jake? >> i think it's, first of all, the fact that debate watchers

thought that the attacks were generally fair. it shows that they both got their licks and their punches. that he was seen as being on the attack more. i ascribe a lot of that to his interrupting and such a nasty woman, quote unquote, aside, which i think was just really poorly thought out. if it was thought out at all, thing to say. it revealed a level of hostility. >> let me play that clip. we have that moment. i'll play it right now. >> my social security payroll contribution will go up as will donald's, assuming he can't figure out how to get out of it. but we want to -- >> such a nasty woman. >> that's getting a lot of reaction. >> i mean, he took the bait. he did that in the first debate. he did it in the second debate and the third debate. she just made an aside about him trying to get out of paying taxes. maybe a cheap shot, but all is

fair in love and war and politics, and then he leans in so nobody misses it, and says such a nasty woman. and i think that that comment resonated with women across the country. >> let's ask a woman. dana, does it resonate? >> yeah. it's certainly not what you want to hear anybody say. i think that's running for president, no matter who you are. i think whether you're a woman or man, if you're a trump supporter, it is probably going to be okay. i mean, if you're one of those core supporters. in philadelphia last week i talked to many, many women who are trump supporters who said a lot worse about hillary clinton, but having said that, you're right, this is about donald trump actually practicing and preparing for this debate. and for the most part, it came through. now, the bar was not that high. he didn't really have that far

to go. but that moment, the ombré moment, and, of course, probably the mother of all moments that undermined all the preparation he did was the fact that he wouldn't say he would accept the election results. that is what's so frustrating for trump advisors and supporters. he has all of -- he's made so much progress on so many other issues and so many other ways, but all you needed are a few missteps and that's what undermines everything. >> one of the things we saw in the polls when he started going down when we saw an impact was that republican women, he started lowering his number among them. they come back home when they feel better about the debate performance. but it's exactly the people he needs to not only keep in the fold but continue to grow. republican independent women, and that is why that line is so difficult for him. >> both donald trump and hillary clinton were hoping to sway undecided voters tonight.

we have a group of these voters with randi kaye here in las vegas. you're about to see the moments they liked the most. remember, as you watch, look at the bottom of the screen. men's responses are in green. women's are in yellow. here now is donald trump's highest point of the debate when talking about immigration. >> somebody runs across the border, becomes a citizen. under her plan you have open borders. you would have a disaster on trade and you will have a disaster with your open borders. what she doesn't say is that president obama has deported millions and millions of people. >> let's go to randi. what did these voters like about this answer? >> reporter: wolf, that answer got a lot of attention from our group here. certainly resonated with myra. we're talking about the sound bite where donald trump was pinning hillary clinton on her wanting open borders, saying he would seal the borders.

why did that resonate with you? >> there is a bridge that goes from south texas into mexico, and with this bridge you can walk across it or drive across it, and underneath the bridge is the rio grand river. >> you see a problem? >> the borders need to be sealed because the people just totally swim across the river. sometimes there are 30, 40, 50 crossing at any given time during the day and night. it goes on all day long. the families put a lot of stress on the ranchers and on the state of texas and on the services and schools and hospitals for the state of texas. >> that's why it was really important to you? and i know keith over here, we got a big reaction on that same sound bite. why was it important to you? >> you're either a country with border or not, or a country with laws or not. we know drugs are coming in illegal and isis is coming in,

and i believe cia and fbi said at capitol hill there's no way of really vetting them coming into the country. >> that was just a couple of responses to donald trump's highest point, and wolf, i know you have another moment where hillary clinton also did pretty well with this group. >> that's right. let's take a look at hillary clinton's most liked moment. >> i will defend planned parenthood. i will defend roe v wade and women's rights to make their own health care decisions. we've come too far to have that turned back now and, indeed, he said women should be punished and there should be a form of punishment for women who obtain abortions, and i could just not be more opposed to that kind of thinking. >> all right. both men and women seemed to like that response, right? >> yeah. we found that really interesting that both men and women supported hillary clinton in

that moment. natalie did talking about the planned parenthood moment. where she said that she would defend a woman's right to make health care decisions. >> it was important to me because i don't think the government should have control over a woman's body just like they wouldn't have control of a man's body. and also planned parenthood comes with a lot of other options. it's not just a ripping out, and i want to know what anatomy class he was in that he thought that's how it's performed days before, ripping out. >> and men as well feel strongly about this. why did you agree with hillary clinton and think that was a high moment for her in that time in the debate? >> because a woman's choice is her choice. it should not be the government's decision as to who determines what we can and can't do about our families and our bodies. it should be a woman's right if

she is able to be in that situation where she doesn't want to have it or it's in jeopardy of her life, it's her decision, and the family should be able to experience that and support her in that way. >> all right. so we're coming down to the final days before election day. of course we wanted to know who this group thought won this debate. because they're trying to make up their minds, as you said. let's get a show of hands. how many people in this group came in undecided, who thinks hillary clinton won the debate? a quick count here. 11 of you. how many of you think that donald trump won the debate? nine people think donald trump. how about a draw? anybody think it was a draw? natalie thought it was a draw. listen, i know a couple of you here, i saw the hands for hillary clinton. why do you think she won? how would you describe her performance? >> she's more believable. >> facts. >> truth. >> reporter: there you have it, wolf. a lot of people still trying to make up their minds.

it's okay. i'll let you go on the fact that you used more than one word. listen, we wanted to know, of course, did this debate help anyone make up their mind? have they decided? that's the key question, and when we chat again we'll talk to them during the break and we'll have the answers for you when we chat again. >> all right. thank you very much. it looks like a draw over there by those undecided voters here in las vegas. >> yeah, and as we discussed in previous debates, one of the things important about these events is what comes out of them that will be given a lot of attention and oxygen over the next week. and i think donald trump, he got punches in, and when it came to especially criticizing the clinton foundation and when it came to criticizing obama and clinton foreign policy, but i think the headline is refuses to say he'll concede if he loses necessarily.

he says he's going to keep us in suspense. that was the term he used. and i think such a nasty woman. i think those are going to be the things that are kept alive in the mainstream media it will be the refusal to concede. and a lot of republicans will be asked about that. his campaign is saying he means the media. we'll concede. mike pence said earlier. he had just said he won't necessarily concede, and then in terms of what are the clinton democrats going to do and what are liberal media going to do? i'm already seeing memes, this nasty woman votes, i'm with her. women have seized upon that, and it's been ginned up by democrats, but on the left, and social media and democrats, that's going to be big. and those are going to be the two things. that's not what he needed in this debate. he needed to be appealing to my beloved friends in the main line

outside of philadelphia. and he is -- he did not do that tonight. >> and hillary clinton said it was horrifying, his answer, and chris wallace pressed him on it. and he said i'll keep it in suspense. i'm not going to give you an answer right now. even though an hour before the debate we spoke to his running mate who flatly, quickly, immediately said, of course we will accept the results. >> i think the biggest tell was what kellyanne conway, his campaign manager said to me just down there minutes after the debate ended. it was sounded like what he was supposed to say and based on what they prepared which was, you know, barring any unforeseen circumstances, certainly there could be an al gore moment, but she did without me even saying much more, say he will accept the results. and to your point, jake, about republicans being asked about this, a lot of republicans

aren't even waiting. we're seeing tweets from people, okay, they're no fans of donald trump, but people like lindsey graham and others, maybe they are predisposed to coil at things republicans say, but the fact that they're unsolicited sending out tweets saying they disagree, that that is not american, that in a democracy that doesn't happen, it's telling. >> can i say something about the election being rigged, which it is not? first of all, i can't understand how this doesn't do anything other than suppress his voter's turnout. if his supporters look at the polls and they're hearing from their candidate, it's rigged and if i don't win, it's because your vote doesn't matter, why would they turn out to vote? i think it hurts him, potentially. just as a practical matter. i think it hurts republican turnout. republicans want republicans to turn out to vote, and then the ideological idea that we believe

in the right to vote and we believe that every vote matters. this is a nonpartisan concept. this year has turned those things on its head, but the idea that sometimes there is voter suppression as people on the left complain and sometimes there is voter fraud. that does happen, but it is a vast minority, and your vote does matter and count. this is not even -- donald trump takes things that are just perfectly american pure thoughts and just throws them out the window. >> guys, excellent points. everyone stand by. coming up, reality checks on some of the more provacative claims tonight. did hillary clinton get it right when she talked about undocumented workers building trump tower in new york? that and more results from our poll of debate watchers coming up.

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let's get some reality checks on the assertions made by these two candidates. tom foreman is standing by. jim sciutto is standing by. first to you, tom foreman. >> wolf, both these candidates went toe to toe over the issue of nuclear proliferation. listen. >> this is a person who has been very cavalier, even casual about the use of nuclear weapons. >> wrong. >> he's advocated more countries getting them, japan, korea, even saudi arabia. he said if we have them, why don't we use them, which is terrifying. >> this is just another lie. >> well, i'm just quoting you.

>> there's no quote. you're not going to find a quote from him. >> well, back in march he spoke about the idea that maybe some countries that don't have nuclear weapons now that are friendly to the u.s. ought to have them. he said if japan had that nuclear threat, i'm not sure that would be a bad thing for us. then he told us here at cnn he was ready to let japan and south korea become nuclear powers. in fairness, he has also spoken against nuclear proliferation, saying he would be the last to use a nuclear weapon out there. but in this specific part of her charge, the idea that he's suggested other nations should have nuclear weapons, yeah, that's true. and his claim that he has not is false. wolf? >> let's get to jim sciutto. you did a reality check, as well. >> that's right, wolf. this one closer to home. the issue undocumented workers and the construction of trump tower in new york. here is hillary clinton tonight.

>> he used undocumented labor to build the trump tower. he underpaid undocumented workers, and when they complained, he basically said what a lot of employers do, you complain, i'll get you deported. >> so the claim, hillary clinton claiming donald trump used undocumented workers to build trump to tower in new york, even threatened to deport them when they complained about low pay. there's a court record here, in fact, undocumented polish workers sued trump in a class action lawsuit, complaining of those low wages, just $4 an hour. and some said they never received those wages owed to them, according to litigate cited by "the new york times." trump denied knowing that these workers were undocumented. he said they were hired through a contractor, not hired by donald trump. however, in 1991, a judge ruled that trump conspired "to withhold payments to union funds that he owed more than $325,000." this according to a "new york

times" report that lawsuit eventually settled out of court. so our verdict that this is mostly true, since trump was fined, via a court proceeding for illegally hiring workers regarding trump tower. you want to see all of our fact checks tonight, that's reality checks on cnn.com/realitycheck. >> we'll have more reality checks coming up. thank you very much. david, you've got some more results from our cnn/orc instant poll of debate watchers. >> that's right. the poll of debate watchers, let's do that top line again, who won the debate. hillary clinton 52%, donald trump 39%. hillary clinton, for the third time in a row this season, is deemed the winner in our instant poll of debate watchers. but this next finding may be even more important. who seemed better prepared for the presidency. clinton, 59%, trump 35%. that is a better score than people who thought she won the debate.

so you look at that, that is the threshold question. that is what donald trump didn't solve for himself tonight. we also asked who do you agree with on important issues. pretty even here. clinton, 50%, donald trump 47%. and another category where they divided evenly, who was more sincere and authentic. donald trump 47%, hillary clinton 46%. they divided on a lot of the issues and attributes. but when it came to who won and when it came to who can better serve as president, it was a clear clinton victory. >> very interesting. so much of the debate did get to substantive important national security domestic issues that hadn't been discussed all that much before. but those few examples when donald trump seemed to go overboard, they're now dominating the headlines. >> because look, this is an election where many people think it's a change election. president obama still has high approval ratings but people don't like the direction of the

country right now. usually after eight years of one party in power, the white house switches. so in many ways, this has been donald trump's to lose. he's the republican nominee coming in. without question, he represents change. and it's hard to imagine how hillary clinton represents anything beyond washington and power in washington and dare i say status quo. but in a fox news poll i saw the other day, hillary clinton was actually beating him on the notion of change. because she has convinced the american people, at least a plurality of the american people, that she can do the job. he has not beenible to rise to the level of convincing people that he actually has the temperament to be president. >> what that tells me also that this is a very, very divided country. no matter what happens with the election results, because of different points of view on temperament or readiness to be president.

on the issues, very divided.

do you make the same commitment that you will absolutely accept the result of this election? >> i will look at it at the time. >> one of the debate's least surprising questions yields the single most controversial response. donald trump refuses to say whether he will accept the outcome of the presidential election. ghoor good morning, everyone.

welcome to early start. >> it is thursday, october 20th, 4 a.m. in the east. debate number three is in the books. both accounts sharpening their attacks, clashing on the economy and their fitness to lead. the top take away after this 90 minute slug fest, trump's refusal to say whether he will accept the results of the general election. are you saying you're not prepared -- >> what i'm saying is i'll tell you at the time. i'll keep you in suspense. >> i will keep you in suspense. as soon as the debate ended cnn polled registered voters who tuned in and hillary clinton came in on top. 52% giving it to clinton. 39 giving the nod to trump. the voters we surveyed skewed slightly more democratic. let's go to las vegas and bring in manu raju.

>> reporter: this is something that stunned even republicans andover shadows the positive parts of donald trump's debate performance. right after this debate officiae spin room talking to colleagues and saying donald trump actually accepted the results of the election. showing how damaging it was for donald trump's campaign. kellyanne conway