And the whole country sighed with relief when it was over.
However, Trump gave a caveat when asked if he would accept the results of the election in November if he loses, as most polls tell us that he will:
Via NPR
When first asked, Trump refused to say yes, replying in part, "I will look at it [the election results] at the time." When pushed on the issue, Trump told Wallace, "I'll keep you in suspense."
— Willis Turner CAE (@willisturner) October 20, 2016
Stephen Colbert let him have it on Trump's "suspense":
Oh my God. That's...uh...what's the word?
(Shows tape of Hillary saying "horrifying" during the debate)
That's it! Thank you! Thank you!
(Stephen blows kiss to Hillary/camera - crowd cheers)
I want to make sure I heard that correctly.
(Plays Trump saying "I'll keep you in suspense")
Oh! Oh - Suspense! Democracy's going to end with a cliffhanger. I guess we're all going to have to wait until November 9th to find out if we still have a country! If Donald Trump is in the "mood" for a peaceful transfer of power. Or if he's just going to wipe is fat ass with the Constitution!
The day after the debate, Donald doubled down, saying he would only accept a win, not a loss:
Via NPR
In front of an exuberant crowd Thursday in Delaware, Ohio, Donald Trump again addressed whether he would accept the outcome of the November election.
"Ladies and gentleman I want to make a major announcement today," Trump said, continuing, "I would like to promise and pledge to all of my voters and supporters, and to all of the people of the United States, that I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election - if I win"
"Never Interfere With an Enemy While He's in the Process of Destroying Himself." — Napoleon #debatenight #MAGA pic.twitter.com/JevFq8p55D— ✯bennydiego✯ (@bennydiego) October 20, 2016
Clinton: "What we want to do is to replenish the Social Security trust fund..."— CNN (@CNN) October 20, 2016
Trump: "Such a nasty woman" #Debate https://t.co/HMsvusL4Y6
.@HillaryClinton when asked how she felt about being called a nasty woman during the #debate: "I just didn't pay any attention to that." pic.twitter.com/1jOrhC49Bj— POLITICO (@politico) October 20, 2016
Haha. @Spotify says streams of "Nasty" are up 250% after the #debatenight pic.twitter.com/xIjXebX5pj— Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) October 20, 2016
It's Hillary -- President Clinton, if you're "nasty." #debatenight #ImWithHer pic.twitter.com/cApk2x6V8S— Hill Yes! (@SayHillYes) October 20, 2016
Donald Trump: "We have some 'bad hombres' here, and we're going to get them out." https://t.co/gRGefdhgeD #debates pic.twitter.com/y7eLWrVWeE— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) October 20, 2016
— #NastyWoman (@CindyLLovejoy) October 21, 2016
Been to Trump Tower lately? #Vote2016, #hombre, #latinopower, #mexicana, #Democrats, #StopTrumpin16, #StopTrumpNow, #Americans, #Equality pic.twitter.com/GCQW7ZGLqY— Did you know . . . (@drcpmb) October 23, 2016
Hillary Clinton calls Donald Trump a “puppet” of Vladimir Putin.— Vox (@voxdotcom) October 20, 2016
Trump responds: "No, you're the puppet."#debatenight pic.twitter.com/YKgSOrRAXV
Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton on relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin: "You're the puppet." https://t.co/bDR3inJaZ8 pic.twitter.com/HmaRO2aVdU— ABC News (@ABC) October 20, 2016
Fact check: True. Multiple intelligence agencies confirmed WikiLeaks releases were Russian government. https://t.co/sRtdfWhAdL #debate— WIRED (@WIRED) October 20, 2016
This explains why Trump still has an audience. They're there to see Alec Baldwin on SNL. #cartoon by @claytoonz pic.twitter.com/CeCazuWzSM— ✯bennydiego✯ (@bennydiego) October 19, 2016
Hillary Clinton won the third presidential debate, according to a CNN/ORC poll of viewers https://t.co/RfzIhgwWph #DebateNight pic.twitter.com/kYzUHk1M0V— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 20, 2016
Trump angrily tears up his notes as Hillary walks by. pic.twitter.com/vttaR7jCiA #Debate— Gabe OrtΓz (@TUSK81) October 20, 2016
This was absolutely just too perfect!!! @tomhanks was great as Chris Wallace. #HanksOnSNL #SNL ππππππ @nbcsnl pic.twitter.com/RV2HQ2nsKi— Matt Leeds (@Mleeds2048) October 23, 2016
— Karen S. (@fromkarens) October 23, 2016