The Republican candidate Donald Trump appeared to be relaxed and composed for most of the final one-on-one clash in the bitter race with his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Commentators say, however, that things tipped when he dodged the question of accepting his eventual defeat on November 8.

When asked whether he would concede the election if the polls show he lost to Hillary Clinton, Trump told the moderator Chris Wallace he would "tell you at the time."

"I'll keep you in suspense," he said.

The Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton immediately slammed this stance as "horrifying"

"That is not the way our democracy works," she said. "We've accepted the outcomes when we may not have liked them. And that is what must be expected of anyone standing on a debate stage during a general election."

Another Trump remark drew outrage during the immigration portion of the debate, after  Trump restated his plan to build a wall on the US-Mexican border.

"We have to keep the drugs out of our country, right now we're getting the drugs and they're getting the cash," he said.

"We have some bad hombres here and we're going to try and get them out."

The twitter hashtag #badhombres went viral immediatelly after.

US political commentator Ana Navarro says Latinos think Trump is "a bad and crazy man"

Social media users also pounced on Trump calling Clinton ""such a nasty woman," during the discussion on social security and health care. Trump interjected with the "nasty" comment as Clinton said her plan would raise taxes on the rich, including her rival and herself.

DW's US correspondent Ines Pohl watched the Las Vegas event at a debate party at the University of Memphis.

According to CNN's snap poll, 52 percent of viewers said that Clinton won the night, with only 39 marking Trump as a victor.

 

You can see DW's blow by blow updates on the debate here.