back to article 'There may be no hackers' says Trump in Presidential Debate II

The second debate between Republican and Democratic presidential candidates Donald J Trump and Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton has featured a brief exchange on the United States' Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's assertion that “Russia's senior-most officials … …

  1. Pompous Git Silver badge

    USAians

    May the farce be with you!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: USAians

      Yes, sadly you Brits have already made something of a cliche of the use of Yakkety-Sax in TV comedy. Otherwise, it would make a great soundtrack for these debates.

      1. Pompous Git Silver badge

        Re: USAians

        sadly you Brits

        Brit? I've not been resident in UKLand for 51 years. I laugh at US politicz from necessity; paying too much attention to Australian politicz has a strong tendency to make me cry...

        1. Mark 85

          Re: USAians

          Don't feel bad. Lots of us in the States are crying also at this humorless comedy.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: USAians

            this humorless comedy.

            It may be heartless, but I can't help feel that the best election outcome would be for Clinton to win, and then drop dead a month later.

            1. Michael Thibault

              Re: USAians

              >the best election outcome would be for Clinton to win, and then drop dead a month later.

              She'd miss the inauguration in that case (if she isn't dead as of this moment). Which would certainly make it a pyrrhic victory.

              Anyway, fingers crossed.

              1. Eddy Ito
                Devil

                Re: USAians

                Ideally it would be between the general election and the electoral college vote just to maximize the chaos. Since we're living in interesting times already, why not?

    2. Voland's right hand Silver badge
      Devil

      Re: USAians

      More like "May the Irony Be With You".

      The country which is always involved in at least one ongoing regime change operation, the country which gave us Pinochet, the overthrow of Mossadegh and the Dirty War is bitching about someone doing it to them.

      Oh the sweet, sweet irony. Encore, please.

    3. Bluto Nash

      Re: USAians

      May the farce be with you!

      Unfortunately, it already is.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    So, uhm, what about that NSA?

    I know, he's living in Russia and there for is probably a "commie", not patriotic anymore and probably an enemy of the state. But, as reported by El Reg, the Snowden files showed that (I quote): "Documents from the Edward Snowden archive prove that the malware and exploits dumped on the public internet on Monday originated from the NSA. Among the files leaked by whistleblower Snowden in 2013 is a draft NSA manual on how to redirect people's web browsers using a man-in-the-middle tool called SECONDDATE.".

    See this article.

    Or is this something which both candidates don't want us to know about? Or, <gasp>, could it be that they simply have no clue themselves either?

    1. Mark 85

      Re: So, uhm, what about that NSA?

      Or, <gasp>, could it be that they simply have no clue themselves either?

      If you've followed this election.. I think both sides are clueless.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: So, uhm, what about that NSA?

        Please could you stop picking on us clueless people? We may be clueless but at least we don't go out of our way to be offensive or inflict our cluelessness on the rest of the world!

    2. Tom Paine
      WTF?

      Re: So, uhm, what about that NSA?

      Yes, the NSA do CNE / CNI, we know that. What about it?

      To imply equivalence is analogous to saying "they have cars in France, so they can't complain if we send tanks into Calais".

  3. RIBrsiq
    Trollface

    "The hacker may be 400lb, or 0lb. Somewhere in that range, certainly! Please feel free to profusely thank me for narrowing that down for you..."

  4. Dan 55 Silver badge
    Facepalm

    Idiocracy

    Last time I said it's Russian hackers. This time she said it's Russian hackers so I'm saying it's not Russian hackers. We just don't know for sure but that's what people are saying. Vote for me, it's going to be great.

    1. Brandon 2

      Re: Idiocracy

      We all just need more electrolytes. Hell, our plants need more electrolytes.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Idiocracy

      Are you saying that film was prophetic and not a comedy?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Idiocracy

        Are you saying that film was prophetic and not a comedy?

        Why not both? They're not mutually exclusive.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Idiocracy

      Can El Reg designers add an icon just like this facepalm but with a mess of artificial-looking hair on it? It would not be a political/party statement, just an icon for "I don't know what I am talking about but I will talk a lot about this and then prove you're WRONG! WRONG!". It'll be YUUUUGE.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Idiocracy

        It would not be a political/party statement

        In theory is not provided that it matches more than one person party. In practice it is racist and xenophobic as you have just labeled all immigrant direct descendants with a behavior pattern which manifested only by a clueless half-Scott and clueless quarter-Turk.

  5. Winkypop Silver badge
    Facepalm

    Donald Trump is a plonker

    EOT

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Unhappy

      Re: Donald Trump is a plonker

      Clinton is only marginally better. A very, very small margin.

      I really pity the US voter this time around. On the one hand you have Clinton who seems to avoid answering any question of substance. On the other hand you have Trump who you wish would avoid answering any question at all.

      1. Simon Sharwood, Reg APAC Editor (Written by Reg staff)

        Re: Re: Donald Trump is a plonker

        Hard not to pity US voters - a campaign in which Trump offers flimsy policy based on his alleged ability as a negotiator and Clinton offers policy that won't change much. And little prospect of politics getting classier or more substantive any time soon

        1. Primus Secundus Tertius

          Re: Donald Trump is a plonker

          But some people say the Vice-President debate offered hope for the future.

          I'm British, I do not watch these USA things, I only pass on what I read.

          1. Eddy Ito

            Re: Donald Trump is a plonker

            But some people say the Vice-President debate offered hope for the future.

            That's the most depressing thing I've ever heard. Pence is basically a cross between Bush the younger and Pat Buchanan while on the other side you've got Kaine who is Walter Mondale with the self control of Howard Dean. [$DEITY] help us.

            So do you want mayo or mustard on that shite sandwich?

      2. bombastic bob Silver badge
        Megaphone

        Re: Donald Trump is a plonker

        at least Trump wants to do the RIGHT things - you know, lower tax rates, simplify the tax code by getting rid of special interest loopholes, enforce the LAW [instead of having 'special favor' grey areas decreed by executive orders], get rid of OBAKA-CARE [a SNAFU from the point it was rectally extrapolated from the bowels of HELL], and actually DEAL with ILLEGAL immigration... AND dealing with ISIS and other terrorists as they SHOULD be dealt with. And, don't forget appointing "originalist" judges to the Supreme Court. We're down by one 'Scalia' at the moment.

        "Her Royal Heinous" aka "mother of lies" aka Mrs. Clinton isn't even REMOTELY correct on ANY of these policies. In fact, she wants to DOUBLE DOWN on what has been going WRONG over the last 8 years of Obaka. Talk about RUINING the country! If Mrs. Clinton gets in the white house [again], expect things to fall off the cliff, and be "locked in" for DECADES [due to Supreme Court 'justice stacking' by 'the left'].

        That's the *REAL* choice, and NOT the media soap opera that's fodder for late-night comedy.

        (thanks in advance for the downvotes, they're a badge of HONOR when you stand up for Conservative and Libertarian ideals)

        1. wikkity

          Re: Donald Trump is a plonker

          You WANT to get THAT KEYBOARD looked at, MAYBE sandwich CRUMBS under the *SHIFT* key?

          1. Kurt Meyer

            Re: Donald Trump is a plonker

            @ wikkity

            You're wasting your time. Bob glories in it.

            From a post of his in this thread: "... /me not going to change based on the opinions of others. I'm "bombastic bob". You know, "bombastic". I take on that name because it's what I am, and I wear it with pride."

            From the Cambridge Dictionary: bombast - "language that is intentionally difficult, usually to make something sound more important than it is"

            Yes indeed, Bob's got a lot of pride.

            1. Eddy Ito

              Re: Donald Trump is a plonker

              Besides, Donald doesn't actually plan to win. If ever there was a false flag campaign this is it and it's been known for over a year. Just ask yourself who he supported in the NY Senate races of 2000 and 2006, Hillary. What about the 2008 Presidential campaign? Hillary. Why do you suppose he began all his birther nonsense to push Obama back? Hillary. Which foundation did he contribute to? The Clinton Foundation. Who did he invite to his wedding in 2005? Bill & Hillary Clinton. Not convinced? Who did he consult with at length in mid-2015 just before throwing his hat in the Republican race for President? Nope, it wasn't Hillary, it was Bill Clinton. After years if not decades of support are we supposed to believe that he's serious about defeating Hillary?

              Come now, I may have fallen off the corn wagon at harvest time but it wasn't this year.

          2. Bluto Nash

            Re: Donald Trump is a plonker

            Wouldn't be bombastic without LOTS of CAPS, would it?

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Clinton is only marginally better. A very, very small margin.

        Really how so?

        The MSM lay into Trump for his sexist comments that are unbecoming of someone running for president but he HARMS NO ONE.

        Meanwhile Mrs. Clinton has a history of indefensible actions that cause REAL HARM to people's lives. As a lawyer she got a violent paedophile rapist who left a 12 year old girl unable to have children a light sentence of just a few months by falsely accusing her of wanting sex with older men. Yet the MSM brush this off as a minor irrelevance compared to Trump's words and women are encouraged to vote for her.

        Not to mention her history of selling off US assets cheap to foreign investors in exchange for donations her private Clinton foundation, and the unjustified intervention in Libya under Obama ("we came, we saw, he died - he he"). So Celebrating the death of another statesperson is acceptable behaviour for a future president, but sexist comments cause Republicans to drop their support for Trump?

        The gullible US electorate allow their opinions and false moral standards to be decided for them by the money power who control their media. The whole freak show is obviously scripted from the start, and the US electorate are treated ever more as imbeciles. One of these people will have their hand on the nuclear trigger and may decide the fate of the world.

  6. M.Zaccone

    Where is Christopher Walken when you need him?

    Is it just me or does DT's candidacy bear far too much resemblance to the plot of "The Dead Zone"?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Where is Christopher Walken when you need him?

      Damn, I was thinking of hiring him to simplify the whole change of government thing, as in The Dogs of War.....

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Films

      Trump the Manchurian candidate?

  7. mhenriday
    Boffin

    Is she says the Rooskies did it ...

    «“The Russians hack the information and Wikileaks is involved,” she said. “We have never been in a situation where an adversary is working so hard to influence the outcome of an election.”» And as we all know, Ms Clinton, in addition to being an expert on foreign policy - take Libya as an example of her statecraft - is equally expert in the field of data security and hacking. So if she says the Rooskies did it (with the help of that horrible WikiLeaks), Roma locuta, causa finita....

    Can't wait for her to pay them back by dropping a few bombs on Moscow - and one, of course, on the Ecuadorian Embassy in London (faulty maps, you know, just like in Beograd back in 1999 - if memory doesn't fail, there was another Clinton involved in that escapade)....

    Henri

    1. Simon Sharwood, Reg APAC Editor (Written by Reg staff)

      Re: Is she says the Rooskies did it ...

      Is any politician qualified to comment on it? Can any politician even spell HTML?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Is she says the Rooskies did it ...

        HTML?

        Human Targeting Maniacal Leadership?

        - The Surreal Donald

      2. Fungus Bob

        Re: Can any politician even spell HTML?..

        They can't even figure out how to pronounce it as it doesn't have any vowels...

    2. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Pint

      Re: Is she says the Rooskies did it ...

      If the Russians *DID* do it, I'd like to buy them a round of beer!

  8. Julian Bond

    Stay classy, USA.

    Craig Murray has some choice words.

    https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2016/10/blatant-neo-con-lie/

    It is a plain lie that Russia was responsible for the leak of the Democratic National Committee emails to WikiLeaks. It is quite extraordinary that the Obama administration formally adopted the accusation yesterday.

    The US government cares so little about its relationship with Russia that it is prepared to launch completely false allegations at the Kremlin in order to influence a domestic election. The implications of that are chilling.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Stay classy, USA.

      The US government cares so little about its relationship with Russia that it is prepared to launch completely false allegations at the Kremlin in order to influence a domestic election. The implications of that are chilling.

      How? That has been the "order of the day" for the last 20 years.

      In fact, this is the reason why we have Russia in its current state.

      Putin is a direct product of the USA, UK and Saudi financing freedom fighters taking maternity wards, theaters and primary schools as hostages. If it was not for the 20 years and billions of dollars/pounds/ryals invested in "regime change" and "liberation wars" Russia would have still been ruled by some disorganized and useless ex-[volleyball | hockey | football] player harmless drunk. It would have been slowly disassembled by cleptocrats and would have probably voluntarily "lost" its nuclear weapons in a debt swap by now (just like Ukraine). There would have been no reason for a strongman to emerge and start putting things in order.

      Instead of that we have the direct product of the blowback - armed to the teeth state which is financing regime change outside its boundaries and is under the command of a (gasp) Russian who does not drink. Putin is the BIGGEST "USA regime change operation (TM)" blowback of all times. Iran and the ayatollahs being a close second.

    2. Tom Paine
      Mushroom

      Re: Stay classy, USA.

      There are furry things in tupperware boxes lurking at the back of my fridge that have more credibility than Craig Murray.

    3. Robert Carnegie Silver badge

      Re: Stay classy, USA.

      At the personal risk of receiving some sort of fiendish e-mail bomb, or even just an actual bomb, I honestly think that you are most likely one of the many persons paid or coerced by the Russian government to go around denying things. Or a reasonably convincing Artificial Intelligence performing the same function.

      Russian private sector IT is (1) a world leader in hacking and (2) firmly controlled by the Russian public sector, which also has the capability. Yes, yes, Israel and China are good at it as well. But are less likely suspects. And if the action wasn't directly ordered by one of these governments then it is still unlikely that it was done without permission granted at that level.

      As for Wikileaks, I'll be disappointed although not psychologically unprepared if they do turn out to be a foreign tool and not just a moderately but not totally reckless publisher of information that someone somewhere doesn't want you to have. Which is one definition of "news".

      It is now rather hard luck on Mrs Clinton if you can get her speeches to the 1% online for free and don't have to pay her many $$$ for same, and I do respect copyright, but does she really need the money anyway? I hope she gave a lot of it to charity. Then that would serve the 1% right. For paying her and maybe for trusting her.

  9. Zippy's Sausage Factory

    I don't want to agree with Trump but in this (isolated) case he's right.

    There may be no hackers, true - it could be an insider leaking to WikiLeaks. We don't know that, WikiLeaks won't tell us (obviously).

    Even if there are "hackers", are they Russian? Do we have proof of that? We didn't see much proof that North Korea "hacked" Sony as I recall...

    1. Just Enough

      "I don't want to agree with Trump but in this (isolated) case he's right."

      Don't worry. As with most of his statements, within a week he will be saying the exact opposite and denying he ever said different. Trump is incapable of consistency, even when he's right.

      1. wikkity

        incapable of consistency

        If he is consistently inconsistent does that make him consistent or inconsistent? Or maybe he is consistently inconsistent at being inconsistently consistent? My head hurts.

  10. anonymous boring coward Silver badge

    “The Russians hack the information and Wikileaks is involved,”

    Hmm... "hack the information"?

    What did I miss here? Don't you hack the system to get to the information, or inplant the misinformation?

  11. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Megaphone

    "Back on the right track" and other retarded delusions

    I think the best black helicopter statement regarding these "russian hacks" is here. In fact, the fast-track revelations may have been to throw Trump, the loose bewigged cannon.

    A Government Is Seizing Control of Our Election Process, and It Is Not the Russians

    Though the first “Russian” hacks were reported in July, it is only 48 hours before the second presidential debate that the statement was released. It could easily have been held until Monday, there is no national security urgency for this to come out Friday. However, with the timing, Trump, essentially tied with Clinton in the polls, will now spend much of the debate defending himself. Since the statement includes no details, only accusations, it is hard to see how anyone could defend themselves. It would be near-impossible for Trump to come out ahead Sunday night; this is a near-coup.

    Despite the certainty with which the US government has accused Russia of trying to influence the election by hacking into secured email servers, the FBI maintains there is no evidence the Russians or anyone else accessed Clinton unsecured, unencrypted email server laden with actual classified materials, including during Clinton’s first trip to Moscow when she sent and received encrypted email over the Internet and WiFi.

  12. MT Field
    Unhappy

    Have to assume "the Donald" is a stooge who doesn't want to win, the strategy is to get Clinton in the white house with a fully republican senate and congress.

    'cos that's what'll happen.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The Russians hack the information and Wikileaks is involved

    I believe Mr Assange has hinted that the DNC emails came from a DNC staffer who was later murdered?

  14. FozzyBear
    Facepalm

    Last year El Reg ran a story on John Mcafee running for president.

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/09/08/mcafee2016/

    Based on those original stories and comments and the happenings over the last 5 months. There are a few that have come to light.

    Firstly John can no longer be considered the craziest nor most dangerous nominee. Trump and Clinton has John reaching for the coke and magic mushrooms trying to keep up with their level of crazy

    Secondly John would make for entertaining TV. Man I was dead wrong on that point.

    Thirdly, If John was still running for president you're choices would be clinton or trump or a person who has been charged with drug driving and firearm offences with only a tenuous grasp on reality.

    It would make the decision quite easy

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      It would make the decision quite easy

      Well? Don't keep us hanging - we need some direction here!

  15. rtb61

    My Preference

    I live for the day when every country hacks every other country and exposes all the secrets of each others politicians to the global general public, a bad thing, absolutely not, the best thing imaginable.

    I still think a lot of the 'hacking' was done by insiders, for the NSA to claim they had no idea where the secretary of States email server was and what was on it, a laughable lie or the NSA is way more incompetent than they claim to be and I can't accept that, not one bit.

    Sure the Russian and Chinese are hacking but the NSA are the best at hacking on the planet (better than the CIA or NATO whom the NSA and the FBI are jointly investigating) and so, them and the FBI itself are likely to have to investigate themselves at pretty senior levels, excluding of course political appointees.

    Once that block of prosecution of high crimes is gone, youch, the FBI with the NSA are going to have a field day, they can be pretty hard up anal types and they really do not like to be treated like dupes and fools. 'Oh, what a tangled web we weave. When first we practise to deceive'.

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