The specter of Russian hackers loomed large at the second presidential debate on Sunday night.
The topic was in the news ahead of the debate after transcripts of Hillary Clinton’s paid speeches to banks were released on Wikileaks. U.S. officials—as well as the Clinton campaign—then accused Russian officials of orchestrating the leak of the documents behind the scenes.
During the debate Clinton pointed out that Russia, by all appearances, was attempting to influence U.S. elections. “Believe me, they’re not doing it to get me elected,” she said of the hacks. “They’re doing it to influence the election for Donald Trump.”
Clinton also accused Donald Trump of having financial ties with the country, calling on him again to release more documents. “We deserve answers,” she said during Sunday’s debate at Washington University in St. Louis. “We should demand that he release all of his tax returns.”
Trump, for his part, said he wasn’t sure if the Wikileaks dump was the result of a hack, and reiterated his belief that he would be a better negotiator with Russia than either President Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.
“She talks tough against Russia, but our nuclear program has fallen way behind,” Trump said, suggesting Russia’s nuclear arsenal has gotten a recent upgrade while America’s is “old…tired [and] exhausted.”
In fact, both country’s nuclear arsenals have fallen sharply since the Cold War ended in 1989.
It’s also worth noting that in Clinton’s response, she did not deny that the transcripts of her speeches were real.
