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Final 2016 Presidential Debate: 11 Moments the Internet Went Wild For

The third and final 2016 presidential debate had plenty of one-liners that will be remembered in the weeks leading up to Election Day.
Image: Trump speaks as Clinton listens during their third and final 2016 presidential campaign debate at UNLV in Las Vegas
Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks as Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Hillary Clinton listens during their third and final 2016 presidential campaign debate at UNLV in Las Vegas on Oct. 19, 2016.Joe Raedle / Pool via Reuters

The third and final presidential debate had plenty of one-liners that will be remembered in the weeks leading up to Election Day.

Here are 11 moments that stood out from the final face-off:

1. 'Such a nasty woman'

Trump has never been shy about interjecting insults during a debate, but this one — at the end of a debate and during a relatively bland answer from Hillary Clinton on entitlements — was jarring. As Clinton described her plans for Social Security, she referenced Trump’s professed avoidance of taxes, which prompted the GOP nominee to lean into his microphone and interrupt, saying, “such a nasty woman.”

2. Trump isn't ready to flat-out accept election results

The GOP nominee’s assertion that he won’t categorically agree to concede if he loses on Election Day may go down as one of the most jaw-dropping moments in presidential debate history. Trump has consistently said that the election is “rigged” against him — citing both possible voter fraud and media bias — but this assertion went even further.

“I will tell you at the time. I'll keep you in suspense,” he said. The comment immediately drew condemnation from both Republican and Democratic corners, while some Trump surrogates argued that the candidate did not actually mean that he would consider rejecting the election results out of hand.

3. Differing tastes in art

During a clash over their respective foundations, Clinton defended the Clinton Foundation by comparing it to the expenditures of the Trump Foundation.

Trump reportedly used foundation money to purchase a six-foot-tall painting of himself.

"I mean, who does that?" Clinton said.

4. Trump on Aleppo: 'Have you seen it?'

Asked about the humanitarian crisis in Aleppo, Donald Trump defended his claim that the Syrian city had essentially fallen.

“Have you seen it? Have you seen it?” Trump asked debate moderator Chris Wallace. "It has fallen, from any standpoint. What do you need, a signed document?"

5. You can’t translate that

In what has become a signature in the presidential debates, Trump interjected when Clinton addressed one of his statements.

“Let me translate this if I can, Chris,” Clinton said in an exchange on the economy.

“You can’t,” Trump said.

6. Who’s the real puppet?

Clashing over Russian President Vladimir Putin and the country’s alleged hacking of Democratic emails, the candidates argued over whether the other was a “puppet” of the Russian president.

“That’s because he’d rather have a puppet as a president of the United States,” Clinton said when Trump claimed Putin doesn’t respect her.

“You’re the puppet,” Trump replied.

7. Clinton asks viewers to Google 'Donald Trump Iraq'

Throughout the campaign, Trump has flatly rejected the claims of rivals and fact-checkers who point out (correctly) that he supported the war in Iraq before the invasion. (Here’s a full look at his history on the subject.)

During the debate, when he again denied his early support for the war, Clinton instructed viewers to simply look up his answers on the web. For the record, the first hit that comes up on a Google search of “Donald Trump Iraq” is an entry from FactCheck.org that concludes by noting that there is “no evidence” to back up Trump’s claims of opposition to the war.

8. 'Bigly' vs. 'big league'

Sixteen months into Trump’s run, and we’re still arguing about this. Throughout the debate, Trump’s use of the phrase “big league” — which, to many, sounds an odd adverb of “bigly” — evidently prompted viewers to turn to the internet for help. At 9:47 p.m. ET, Google tweeted that “bigly” was the top trending search on its engine.

9. Putin and Trump are not BFFs

Trump said he condemns the alleged Russian hacking of Clinton campaign emails, and he sought to distance himself from Russia’s president.

“I never met Putin. This is not my best friend,” Trump said.

10. ‘Bad hombres’

Trump defended his tough stance on immigration, including his call to deport undocumented immigrants and build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“We have some bad hombres here, and we're going to get them out,” Trump said.

11. Trump says Wikileaks included 'some beauties' undercutting Clinton

Trump referenced the ongoing WikiLeaks release of hacked Clinton team e-mails, alluding to exchanges that show some of Clinton’s own aides lamenting her decisions. "John Podesta said you have terrible instincts,” he said, referring to Clinton’s own campaign chair.