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Podcasts Take Two
The final presidential debate: SoCal reacts
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Oct 20, 2016
Listen 9:24
The final presidential debate: SoCal reacts
Nearly 600 students and staff gathered at USC's Wallis Annenberg Hall to watch Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump meet on stage for a final time. Take Two was there.

Nearly 600 students and staff gathered at USC's Wallis Annenberg Hall to watch Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump meet on stage for a final time. Take Two was there.

Immigration, abortion, guns and trade were just some of the issues  Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump tussled over in Las Vegas in the third presidential debate Wednesday night.

Initial ratings showed that more viewers watched this one than the previous debate, but fewer than the first one. Here in Southern California, younger viewers tuned in at USC's Wallis Annenberg Hall.

Take Two's Austin Cross and Jacob Margolis were there and spoke to some of the students and staff in attendance.

Ruben Duran

Ruben Duran
Ruben Duran
(
Austin Cross
)


I was hoping that Chris Wallace had attacked Clinton more on Wikileaks because it shows her sleaziness, her dishonesty. He let her pivot away too much. When Wallace gave her a question about Wikileaks, before you know, they were talking about cupcakes and rainbows, you know what I mean?



I'm Mexican-American, and I totally understand Trump. We need a border, and it's really sad that Democrats and liberals are anti-border. Trump's strong, and he's not a typical politician. He speaks like us, he kind of acts like us. He kinda reminds me of a grandpa.

Mary Perez, vice president of the USC GOP

Mary Perez
Mary Perez
(
Austin Cross
)


On Election Day, as I've said forever now, I will not be voting for Mr. Trump, but I will never be voting for Secretary Clinton so I will abstain from the presidential vote. But I will vote for down-ballot tickets, such as for state senate, and for state assembly and congressional races and I will vote for measures because those are the most important issues that affect our state.

Beverly Perez, and Mary Perez's mother (Republican)



We constantly battle over this. I tell her, you just don't get it; you're too young, you just don't understand. In my family, they all support Trump, and it's only because we are all conservatives because of what our moral beliefs are: we believe in pro-life, we're tired of paying taxes, we want to see the border closed.

Rachel Udabe (Independent)

Rachel Udabe
Rachel Udabe
(
Austin Cross
)


If I had to pick one, I would pick Donald Trump because I feel like any bills that he would try to pass would just be shut down immediately. He has a lot of crazy things going on, and I think he would just be more of a figurehead and we'd be like 'Oh, Donald, be quiet, we'll handle these things without your input. Thanks, bye.'

Melanie Vera (Clinton supporter) 



Trump acted the same way that I thought he was going to and Hillary actually surprised me because I thought she came out a little more aggressive than before. But like, with that white pant suit, she could pull off anything. So, I think she kind of won.

Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California

Dan Schnur
Dan Schnur
(
Austin Cross
)


I don't know that it changed a lot of minds among the fairly small number of undecided voters, but at this point in the campaign, the primary goal for both candidates is not so much to persuade undecided voters but to motivate their respective bases. Both of them probably did that pretty effectively.

More highlights from the night

Press the blue play button above to hear a full recap of the night.

(Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity)

(Correction 1: The web post and the segment that aired incorrectly identified the location of the event as the "Wallis Annenberg Center" instead of "Wallis Annenberg Hall." It has been fixed in this web post. 

Correction 2: Dan Schnur is misidentified as the head of the USC political science department in the segment that aired. Schnur is the director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics and USC Dornsife College part-time lecturer. We regret the error.)