The second debate between US presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump has begun on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. You can watch it live and follow our live blog right here.
It’s the first time Trump will have to answer questions about the recording of him in 2005 boasting about sexually assaulting women. Dozens of fellow Republicans have withdrawn their endorsements or called for Trump to pull out of the race since the tape emerged on Friday. Even his running mate, Mike Pence, has wavered in his support. But early polls suggest that people who were already planning to vote for Trump haven’t been swayed by the lewd recording.
Clinton faces a lesser scandal of her own: Leaked emails, which also emerged on Friday, contained excerpts of paid speeches she gave to Wall Street firms before running for president. The excerpts don’t differ much from Clinton’s public comments about financial regulation, but they are controversial because she has refused to release full transcripts of the speeches. Her rival in the Democratic primary, Bernie Sanders, affirmed his support on Saturday.
The debate will follow a town-hall format. The moderators, CNN’s Anderson Cooper and ABC’s Martha Raddatz, will ask questions for the first half of the 90-minute debate, and they will reportedly begin with the Trump tape. In the second half, questions will come from members of the audience who have been selected by the moderators.