Trump launched a blistering assault on Clinton, pummelling her on her husband's sex scandals and saying she ought to be in jail for her private email server
Clinton hit back, saying Trump's remarks about groping women show he isn't fit to be president
Shortly before the debate in St Louis, Missouri, Trump stunned media by hosting a panel with women who have accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault
BBC's Newsday has been watching the debate live in St Louis, Missouri, with one family who are split over who should be the next president.
As the debate finished we spoke to one family divided by politics
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Claim: Donald Trump was quizzed at the start of the debate on his obscene comments about women made in 2005. He went on the offensive with a series of claims - including this one - about women who have alleged sexual assault or obscene behaviour by Bill Clinton.
Reality Check verdict: Bill Clinton did pay out the money to Paula Jones but it was not a fine. In 1999, the then-President reached an out-of-court settlement with Ms Jones, an Arkansas government employee who claimed he had exposed himself to her in a hotel room eight years earlier, when he was governor of Arkansas. He paid Ms Jones $850,000 for agreeing to drop the case but did not offer an apology. Almost half of this sum came from the Clintons' family savings.
Ms Jones had sued Mr Clinton for sexual harassment. It was this case that led to the investigation in which then-President Clinton denied under oath having sex with Monica Lewinsky.
Image source, Getty ImagesBill Clinton and Ivanka Trump
In case you blinked, the candidates actually said something nice about each other at the end of the debate, in response to a question from a voter to say something positive.
It must have been like passing a kidney stone the size of a meteorite for both of them...
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Here's that stiff handshake at the end of the debate...
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Here's how much speaking time each candidate had, according to CNN:
Trump: 40 mins, 10 secs
Clinton: 39 mins, 5 secs
Image source, Getty ImagesMelania Trump greets her husband after the debate
Image source, Getty ImagesTrump was under immense pressure going into the debate - with at least 33 senior Republicans having withdrawn their support after his remarks about groping women emerged, and some calling it sexual assault and urging him to quit. Clinton didn't really dwell on that on the debate - but should she have?
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BBC teams are poised and ready in Spin Alley at Washington University in St Louis.
So far we've heard from failed presidential candidates Ben Carson and Reverend Jesse Jackson.
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Image source, Getty ImagesThat was one of the most extraordinarily vicious, dark and nihilistic presidential debates we've ever seen. Ever. Trump accused Clinton of attacking women involved in her husband's extramarital affairs and declared she would "be in jail" if he were president. Clinton fought back, saying that Trump's vulgar comments about women revealed "exactly who he is" and highlight his unsuitability to be president. But she seemed at times taken aback by the sheer brutality of the onslaught. Just savage.
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Claim: Trump is backed by 200 military leaders.
Reality Check verdict: This seems overblown. The Trump campaign website, external, in September, said 88 retired US admirals and generals had signed a letter endorsing the Republican candidate.
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Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America reporter
Donald Trump entered this debate threatening to unload every bit of malicious allegations and rumours on Hillary Clinton. After a bit of, er, pussyfooting, he did.
Accusations of Bill Clinton's sexual impropriety? Check. Her work as a public defender representing a rapist? Yup. He even tied it up in a bow by remarking that his Democratic opponent should be in jail.
Mrs Clinton said she would take the high road, but she did get in her shots as well, saying the illicit video of Mr Trump's lewd comments showed who he really is. And then, after that nuclear exchange, the debate chugged along - with Mr Trump often gaining the upper hand.
If his weakness is policy knowledge, there were few opportunities where his shortcoming were exposed. Instead, there was plenty of time for Mrs Clinton to offer yet another muddled answer on her email server and essentially confirm that the Wikileaks hacked speech excerpts are accurate.
Mr Trump offered word salads in answers about healthcare reform and Syria policy. If anything, from there the debate was a draw. With Mrs Clinton ahead right now, a draw will probably suit her just fine. But it wasn't the knock-out blow her supporters probably hoped for.