The Second presidential debate, taking place on October 9, brought many interesting topics to the forefront. A week before the debate, it seemed as though it was just going to be a normal debate – well at least as normal as a Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton debate could be – but the events that transpired a few days before heavily affected the debate environment.

11 years ago, Donald Trump and Billy Bush met for an interview, and afterward accidentally forgot to turn off his mic, giving the following discussions what appears to be insight into Trump’s true personality (not that he attempts to hide it). He makes many comments that, at the very least, are offensive and demeaning to women, but more realistically are leaning towards rapey. He talks about grabbing women’s genitals on impulse, as well as kissing them on sight. For obvious reasons, this caused an uproar, not only in the liberal community, but among Trump supporters, of which many have been reconsidering their loyalties in this race.

Donald Trump’s obscene comments made their appearance during the debate and were met with the defense that it was just “locker room talk.” While Trump is under fire, he is keeping his cool and most of his supporters are similarly sweeping these lewd comments under the rug. Like the first debate, true policy discussion was hidden amongst the many accusations and attacks on character. For Clinton, much of the debate was seen with her playing fact checker. The compulsive lying of Trump was surely exposed, although it was nothing new. He repeatedly made claims about Hillary Clinton and her husband, Bill, that are unfounded and lack any evidence at all. Still, he did highlight some of the doubts that have been cast upon Clinton for her lack of transparency and trustworthiness. Trump used Bill Clinton’s infidelity while in office to show the family history of impure living, although Trump fails to see the irony in these claims, as he, too, has a history of cheating on his multiple spouses.

On to actual substance with regard to policy, Clinton forced Trump to shed light on some of his immigration policies. Trump also gave a summary of his tax plan, although still lacking much detail. Clinton also gave her views on dealing with foreign affairs, including eradicating ISIS.

In summary, Clinton proved to be the winner of the debate, although Trump will surely argue, as she was able to put down his lies and bring some truth to this presidential race.