Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton shake hands at end of tense second presidential debate

ST. LOUIS - Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton shake hands at end of tense second presidential debate.

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The fireworks at the second presidential debate exploded even before the candidates took the stage.

Donald Trump unexpectedly appeared live on his Facebook page with women who have accused former President Bill Clinton of rape and unwanted advances. They didn't take questions but repeated some of the claims they made against Clinton years ago.

The women are expected to attend the debate as guests of Trump.

Hillary Clinton's campaign responded by calling it a "stunt" that wouldn't alter Clinton's plans to speak directly to voters in the debate.

The stunning moment raised further questions about how directly Trump plans to go after Bill Clinton in the debate.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump refused to shake hands as they entered the debate hall in St. Louis. That's a break from traditional debate decorum.

The town hall-style event is expected to be tense. Shortly before it began, Trump held a press conference with three women who had accused President Bill Clinton of sexual wrongdoing and Hillary Clinton of acting vindictively toward them. Trump also introduced a woman who as a 12-year-old had accused a man of rape; Hillary Clinton as a young lawyer defended that man.

Those four women are seated with the Trump family in the front row of the audience of the debate hall.

Bill Clinton shook hands with Trump's wife, Melania Trump, his two sons and daughter Ivanka as they entered the hall before the debate.

Hillary Clinton says at the start of the second presidential debate that the campaign needs to set an example to children that our country great "because we're good."

Clinton was asked by a teacher if she thought the campaign was modeling "appropriate and positive" behavior.

Clinton says the country needs to set big goals and work together to try to achieve them. She made no mention of Trump's vulgar comments in a 2005 tape that emerged Friday.

Trump did not, at first use, the opening question about setting an example for children to apologize for the vulgar comments he made about women in 2005 that were taped and recently released. Instead he attempted to echo Clinton's remarks.

"I agree with everything that she said," Trump said. "I began this campaign because I was so tired of seeing such foolish things happen to our country. This is a great country, this is a great land."

Donald Trump denies he was discussing sexual assault in a 2005 recording that reveals him saying he can "do anything" with women because he is famous.

He says he has never kissed or groped women without consent. And he's continuing to characterize the recording as "locker room talk."

Debate moderator Anderson Cooper put it more bluntly, saying, "That is sexual assault."

Trump responded: "No, I didn't say that at all. I don't think you understand what I said."

Trump continually tried to pivot to foreign policy, seemingly suggesting his comments pale in comparison to the actions of the Islamic State.

Hillary Clinton says the Donald Trump heard on an 11-year-old recording making crude and vulgar remarks about women "is who Donald Trump is."

Clinton addressed Trump's predatory comments in the opening minutes of the second presidential debate Sunday.

Clinton says the tape shows what Trump "thinks about women, what he does to women."

She says that while Trump has claimed the tape doesn't represent who he is, "It's clear to anyone who heard it, it represents exactly who he is."

Clinton says Trump has insulted not only women, but African-Americans, immigrants, people with disabilities, prisoners of war and others.

Donald Trump is raising accusations of sexual misconduct by Bill Clinton, saying the former president "was abusive to women" and saying Hillary Clinton attacked the accusers "viciously."

Trump is also noting that Hillary Clinton was a court-appointed defender for a man accused of assaulting a 12-year-old who was raped in Arkansas and says she laughed at some point while discussing it.

He also says Bill Clinton paid a monetary settlement to Paula Jones, a former Arkansas state worker who alleged in 1991 that Bill Clinton propositioned and exposed himself to her.

Trump says video where he made crude comments to women "it's just words, folks." He says Hillary Clinton's defense of her husband is "disgraceful and I think she should be ashamed of herself."

Hillary Clinton is ignoring Donald Trump's statements about her husband's sexual past.

Trump referenced Bill Clinton's 1998 impeachment, which followed an affair in the Oval Office and several other scenarios. Hillary Clinton responded by quoting Michelle Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention: "When they go low, we go high."

Hillary Clinton then said Trump owes the nation an apology for the way he's conducted his campaign.

Donald Trump is turning Hillary Clinton's demand for an apology back onto her, accusing her of stealing the Democratic nomination.

Trump says Clinton unfairly won her party's nod by cheating rival Bernie Sanders.

About Sanders, who eventually endorsed Clinton, Trump says, "I was so surprised to see him sign on with the devil."

Trump went on to repeat debunked claims that Clinton started rumors that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States. Trump has fomented the conspiracy for years -- until last month, when he declared Obama, who was born in Hawaii, an American citizen.

The long list of accusations was his response to Clinton's claim that Trump owes an apology to the many people and groups he has publicly quarreled with during his presidential campaign.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are clashing over her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

Clinton says she was "very sorry" for using the server, but she takes keeping classified information secret very seriously. She adds there's been no evidence her actions led to classified materials winding up in the wrong hands.

Trump is accusing Clinton of lying, and says she improperly destroyed more than 30,000 emails that he says should have been turned over to law enforcement authorities. Trump says he was disappointed that Clinton had not been criminally charged.

He tells Clinton, "Again, you should be ashamed of yourself." He is also complaining that the two debate moderators are not sufficiently pressing Clinton on the email issue.

Donald Trump is repeatedly interrupting Hillary Clinton and talking over the debate moderators. He also accuses the two moderators of siding with Clinton and refusing to let him answer questions.

The interruptions prompted Clinton to exclaim, "I know that you're into big diversions tonight."

Trump seems sensitive to his interactions with Clinton. When the moderators asked a question and it was unclear whose turn it was to answer first, Clinton said, "Go ahead, Donald."

Trump replied, "No, I'm a gentleman, Hillary, go ahead." Some in the audience laughed.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are clashing over the future of President Barack Obama's signature health care law.

Clinton is vowing to fix the Affordable Care Act and Trump is promising to repeal and replace "Obamacare."

Clinton says 20 million more people have health coverage because of the law. She says she wants to "save what works," but the next administration will need to get costs down and provide more help to small businesses. She says if the system is repealed it will be "turned back" to the insurance industry.

Trump says the system is a "disaster" and "will never work." He says it needs to be replaced with a less expensive system that's more flexible for patients regardless of what state they live in.

Donald Trump isn't answering a question about how to stop Islamophobia in America. Instead, he's saying American Muslims must report other Muslims who are engaging in dangerous behavior.

He's repeating the false claim that neighbors of the San Bernardino shooters saw bombs all over the floor in the shooters' home but did not report it.

Clinton, meanwhile, is condemning "dark and divisive" things said about Muslims. She says the United States is not at war with Islam and says Muslims should feel welcome and included in society.

Hillary Clinton says she'll screen Syrian refugees but the country needs to take in more.

Clinton says a proposal like Donald Trump's to ban all Muslims from entering the country plays into the hands of terrorists. She also says Trump has alienated the country's Muslim allies.

Clinton says "we will have vetting and it will be as tough as it needs to be." But she is evoking the image of a bloodied 4-year-old Syrian boy to argue the United States needs to do its share.

Donald Trump says the United States is allowing refugees from Syria and the Middle East to pour into America and "we have no idea who they are" or where exactly they are coming from.

Asked about bans and strict limits on Muslim immigrants into the United States that he's supported in the past, Trump says it was a policy plan that would grow out of "extreme vetting" of people coming to the U.S. from global conflict areas.

Trump calls allowing immigrants into the country without more scrutiny the "Greatest Trojan Horse of all time" and says it has to stop because "we have enough problems in our country."

Donald Trump says a U.S. Army captain killed in Iraq in 2004 would still be alive if he had been president at the time.

Trump is talking about Captain Humayun Khan, whose Pakistan-born father gave an impassioned speech at the Democratic National Convention in July. Trump then got into a feud with Khan's parents.

Trump now says Captain Khan is an "American hero" and "he would be alive today if I had been president."

Trump's feud with the Khan family led to harsh criticism from veterans across the country and families of those killed in action.

Donald Trump is again insisting he opposed the Iraq War before it started.

But despite his repeated claims, the facts are clear: He did not.

There is no evidence Trump expressed public opposition to the war before the U.S. invaded. Rather, he offered lukewarm support. The billionaire businessman only began to voice doubts about the conflict well after it began in March 2003.

Trump's first known public comment on the topic came on Sept. 11, 2002, when he was asked whether he supported a potential Iraq invasion in an interview with radio host Howard Stern.

"Yeah, I guess so," he said. His first public comments strongly opposing the war came in 2004.

Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton, voted in favor of the invasion in 2002 while she was a New York senator. It's a vote she has said was a mistake.

It's hard to name the most memorable line in this combative debate. But the most memorable visual so far? That's easy.

It's the image of Hillary Clinton answering a question, while Donald Trump looms behind her.

Unrestricted by a podium, Clinton is using the whole stage at the town hall-style forum, crossing in front of Trump to answer audience questions.

That's left Trump stuck in the camera shot behind her, standing awkwardly, at times swaying and pacing, while he listens to her answers.

Trump often mocked Clinton for spending time preparing for the debate. It's not clear how much time he spent preparing for one of the trickiest elements -- knowing where the camera is at all times.

Hillary Clinton is saying it's OK to have a public and private position on an issue because Abraham Lincoln did.

She is responding to a question about an email released by a WikiLeaks last week in which Clinton said it's acceptable for a president to project differing positions. She was asked whether that's "two-faced."

She says Lincoln did whatever he could to get the 13th Amendment passed, allowing emancipation of the slaves, by lawmakers who did not support African-American equality.

Clinton says: "I was making the point it is hard sometimes to get the Congress to do what you want them to do. That was a great display of presidential leadership."

Trump began his response to Clinton's statement by rolling his eyes, and says, "Now she's blaming the late, great Abraham Lincoln."

Hillary Clinton occasionally smiles, sometimes jots notes and frequently sits to listen as Donald Trump talks.

Trump paces the room, forcefully points at Clinton when addressing her and keeps his lips pursed tight as she speaks. He's only used his chair to rest his hands on the back of it.

The town hall-style format of this debate gives television viewers a look at how the presidential candidates carry themselves in stressful situations.

There have been no shoulder shimmies. That Clinton move -- prompted in the first debate when Trump said he had a better temperament than her -- spawned a thousand GIFs.

Donald Trump says he will get rid of the carried interest loophole that allows Wall Street traders to pay a lower tax rate on their earnings.

Trump says he would eliminate the loophole that lets money managers count their earnings as capital gains, which carry a lower tax rate, instead of ordinary income.

But Trump's carried interest provision doesn't actually raise taxes on hedge fund managers and it creates a new loophole that could provide them with an even lower rate.

The Republican says he would cut taxes for the middle class and accuses Clinton of raising taxes on middle-class families.

Hillary Clinton is promising that no one making less than $250,000 will pay higher taxes under her plan, but those with higher incomes could pay considerably more.

Clinton says she wants to impose a special tax on people making over $1 million and a surcharge on those with incomes above $5 million.

"We have to make up for lost times," Clinton says, telling the audience she wants to raise taxes on the rich "because I want to invest in you."

She says Trump's proposed tax plan would end up raising taxes on millions of middle-class Americans.

Donald Trump is repeatedly interrupting Clinton, while she is largely avoiding barging in as he speaks.

The moderators have noticed.

As Clinton tried to address why she didn't try to change tax laws when she was a New York senator, Trump tried to butt in.

"Please allow her to respond," said CNN's Anderson Cooper said. "She didn't interrupt you."

Clinton continued. A few moments later, when the two were addressing foreign policy, Clinton sniped to Trump, "I didn't want to interrupt you, but at some point we need to do some fact checking here."

Hillary Clinton is listing her accomplishments during three decades as an elected official -- amid a series of interruptions by Donald Trump.

When Trump pressed Clinton on why she hadn't changed tax policies that benefit the wealthy, like him, after so many years in office, Clinton said she opposed such policies "but that's not the point."

Trump shot back, "If you were an effective senator, you could have done it." Clinton blamed President George W. Bush for thwarting her in the area.

Clinton then added that, as senator, she helped "rebuild" New York after the Sept. 11 attacks, while getting proper health care for first responders sickened during clean up.

She says that, as secretary of state, she advocated for global women's rights and reduced nuclear weapons with Russia.

Donald Trump disagrees with his running mate over Syria.

Trump says there's no point in trying to prevent civilian deaths in Aleppo. Syria's most populous city is under intense bombardment by Russian forces. The U.S. government has warned Russia that it's killing civilians rather than terrorists.

Trump's vice presidential pick, Mike Pence, said last week the U.S. should use military force if Russia keeps attacking civilians in Syria. Trump says he disagrees with Pence.

Trump says he's no fan of Russia or Syrian President Bashar Assad. But he says the two of them are fighting Islamic State militants, as is Iran. Despite repeated prodding by moderator Martha Raddatz, Trump did not say he'd try to check Russian actions.

Hillary Clinton says she'd try to rein in Russia. She contends that Russia is trying to get Trump elected president.

Donald Trump is blaming Hillary Clinton for what was called the "red line" in Syria, a generalization about the U.S. response to Bashar Assad's regime.

But Clinton didn't make the claim. President Barack Obama did. And he did it after Clinton had left the administration as secretary of state.

Trump says, "She's there with the line-in-the-sand."

Clinton pipes in: "No, I wasn't. I was gone."

Trump responds: "But you were in contact, excuse me. Sadly, perhaps President Obama was still listening to you."

The exchange was about the city of Aleppo in Syria, where the Assad regime, backed by Russia, is fighting to root out rebels and killing civilians in the process.

Hillary Clinton is pledging not to use American ground forces in Syria, saying it would be a "very serious mistake."

Clinton says she doesn't think American troops should be holding territory as an occupying force, saying it's not a "smart strategy."

Asked how she would fight the Islamic State in a different way than President Barack Obama, Clinton says she's hopeful that IS will be pushed out of Iraq by the time she's president.

But she says she would specifically target IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and consider arming Kurdish fighters in Iraq.

Donald Trump says he disagrees with his running mate Mike Pence on the proper strategy to deal with the civil war and humanitarian crisis in Syria.

Debate moderator Martha Raddatz pointed out that Pence had said provocations by Russia in Syria need to be met with "American strength" and the U.S. should be prepared to use air strikes in Syria against the regime of President Bashar Assad.

But Trump says he disagrees with Pence, a former member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and notes they had not spoken about the issue.

Trump says the U.S. focus should be on eliminating the Islamic State, and not getting entangled with fights with Assad and Russia.

"We have to worry about ISIS before we can get too much more involved," Trump says.

Hillary Clinton is asserting that "bullying is up" among young people because of what she calls "the Trump effect."

Clinton says there is "a lot of fear," ''people are feeling uneasy" and "a lot of kids are expressing their concerns."

She is not citing any specific statistics to back up her assertions about a rise in bullying inspired by Trump's bombastic style.

The candidates were asked if, as president, they would be devoted to all people in the U.S. Both candidates answered yes.

Trump stressed he would be "a president for all of our people" -- specifically mentioning African-Americans, Latinos and Hispanics while highlighting what he described as poor conditions in the big cities where many minorities live.

He asserted "education is a disaster" and "jobs are essentially non-existent" in the inner cities.

Hillary Clinton is flipping a question about her comments that half of Donald Trump's supporters fit into a "basket of deplorables" into a criticism of Trump's campaign.

She says her problem is with Trump, not his supporters. She is accusing Trump of inciting violence and running a campaign based on insults.

Clinton says she apologized for her remarks within hours. In a statement, she said she regretted saying "half" but did not retract the comments.

Donald Trump says Hillary Clinton has "tremendous hate in her heart."

Trump made the comment in reference to Clinton saying earlier in the campaign that half of Trump's supporters are "deplorables." Clinton apologized for saying that half of his supporters were deplorables, but didn't back down from using that word.

After Trump said Sunday that Clinton had "tremendous hate in her heart," she laughed and shook her head. But she did not address the comment the next time she spoke.