Donald Trump has hammered Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server while secretary of state throughout his campaign. But he took his attacks one step further at the second debate on a national stage.
"If I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor" to look into Clinton's handling of classified information, Trump said Sunday night, describing a possible politically motivated probe. After a heated back-and-forth that followed, in which Clinton said she would not want him in charge of the country's laws, Trump responded that "you'd be in jail" if he was.
That marked just one instance in the debate in which Trump brought renewed aggression to some of his favorite campaign talking points. The debate night, which started with a bizarre photo opp for Trump and featured numerous personal attacks, saw Trump aggressive after possibly the most damaging 48 hours of his campaign.
A 2005 video leaked on Friday showed Trump joking about groping women without consent. He received nearly universal criticism for his remarks, and numerous Republican lawmakers revoked their support.
Trump spent the weekend defiant, tweeting "I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE" and slamming GOP lawmakers for withdrawing their support. He maintained that defiance throughout the debate.
Asked about the video relatively early in the debate, Trump denied that he described sexual assault, which many officials said the words depicted. He instead diverted to an answer about the terror group ISIS bringing on "medieval times" and "carnage all over the world."
He repeatedly attacked Clinton as a liar and touted the need for stronger border security.
Trump also openly complained about unfair treatment from the two moderators, at one point saying it was a "1-on-3" contest.
The third and final presidential debate will be held Oct. 19 in Las Vegas.