Everything You Need to Know About the Presidential Forum

Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump defended their readiness to be Commander-in-Chief.

September 8, 2016

HRC and Matt Lauer at Prez forum 9/16.
Getty

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both took part, albeit separately, in a presidential forum Wednesday in New York City where they answered questions covering Clinton’s email scandal, ISIS, and more. The event, which was broadcast on NBC and MSNBC, took place at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum and was hosted by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Clinton's section started out with a long segment about her use of a private e-mail server. She gave long, in-depth answers to moderator Matt Lauer's questions about the issue.

Lauer spending so much time on e-mails frustrated many viewers.

Clinton was also asked about her vote in favor of the Iraq war, which she admitted was a mistake. “I have taken responsibility for my decision,” Clinton said. She contrasted her stance to that of her opponent, who claims to have been against the war despite publicly supporting it in a 2002 interview with Howard Stern.

Trump, who's been criticized for his controversial relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin, praised Putin for being a "better leader" than President Obama. "The man has very strong control over a country," Trump said. In the past Putin has called Trump "bright" and "talented." On Wednesday Trump also said, "If he [Putin] says great things about me, I'm going to say great things about him."

Trump also copped to a controversial 2013 tweet about military sexual assault, where he appeared to place the blame for the epidemic on gender-integrated units.

The candidate's inability to address the issue with any specificity upset some commentators.

Reince Priebus, the head of the Republican National Committee and a man who has had his fair share of differences with Trump over the course of the campaign, came out strongly in support of Trump's performance.