President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney engaged in a contentious second presidential debate Tuesday night in New York, trading jabs over a wide range of domestic and foreign issues.
The first question of the often-confrontational town hall-style debate came from a college student, Jeremy Epstein, set to graduate in 2014 who expressed concern over his economic prospects.
Romney said he would ensure students could afford a college education and avoid debt by continuing to grow the Pell Grant program and keeping student loans in place. He also repeated his pledge to create 12 million new jobs in four years.
“When you come out in 2014 -- I presume I’m going to be president -- I’m going to make sure you get a job,” Romney said.
While Obama often stresses his Pell Grant reforms on the campaign trail, Obama responded to the question by emphasizing his larger economic plan to invest in infrastructure, energy and education.
“If we do those things, not only is your future going to be bright, but America’s future’s going to be bright as well,” Obama told Epstein.
Two of the tensest exchanges throughout the 90 minutes came over energy policy and the situation in Lybia. Obama and Romney bickered face-to-face over oil and natural gas production in the United States during the past four year. The president also accused Romney of politicizing recent attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi while the Republican nominee criticized the Obama administration’s initial response.
The final presidential debate takes place next Monday in Florida.
