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Las Vegas : Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton speaks during the third presidential debate with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at UNLV in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016. [/caption]
Las Vegas, October 20 : Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton won Wednesday night's final presidential debate, as she has won the two previous ones, but her Republican rival Donald Trump easily made the debate's headlines by his refusal to say if he would accept the election results if he lost.
As the bruising presidential campaign enters its final weeks, the sharp rivalry between the two candidates became visible when they declined to acknowledge each other at the beginning of the third and final debate in Las Vegas.
The key moment in the debate came near the end when moderator Chris Wallace challenged Trump to say whether he will accept the results of the November 8 election.
"I will look at it at the time. I'm not looking at anything now," Trump told Wallace. "I'll keep you in suspense."
In recent days, Trump has argued that the media, Hillary Clinton's campaign and election officials may be conspiring to rig the election against him.
"It was horrifying what he said," Clinton told reporters, "We are a country based on laws. And we've had hot, contested elections going back to the very beginning, but one of our hallmarks has always been that we accept the outcomes of our elections."
"He is denigrating...he's talking down our democracy," the former Secretary of State added.
According to a CNN/ORC instant poll of debate watchers, Clinton beat Trump 52 per cent to 39 per cent. There was a plus or minus 4 percentage point margin of error.
Trump did outperform expectations, however. Nearly six in 10 viewers said he did better than expected, whereas 44 per cent said the same of Clinton, the poll showed.
The showdown began with the two candidates -- Clinton dressed in an off-white signature pantsuit and Trump in a black suit with a contrasting bright red tie -- taking the stage at University of Nevada's Thomas and Mack Centre without a hand-shake or a smile.
The final clash provoked several flashpoints and moderator Chris Wallace had to ask the candidates not to talk over each other.
Trump repeatedly called Clinton "such a nasty woman", while the Democrat described him as "unfit" to be Commander in Chief of the US amed forces.
However, the evening focused more on policy than earlier showdowns and Trump looked intent on maintaining a more even manner.
With less than three weeks to go, it was the candidates' last chance to address their messages directly to the American people.
The latest YouGov poll also declared Clinton the clear winner on Wednesday night. Out of 1,503 registered voters who tuned in to the debate, 49 percent of participants said Clinton came out on top. Thirty-nine percent of voters argued that Trump won the contest while 12 per cent claimed it was a tie.
Sixty-eight per cent of voters disagreed with Trump by suggesting that both candidates pledge to accept the final election results come November.
