Mayoral candidates clash over Trump in final stretch

State of play: Trump talk dominated much of the NBC4 forum, seen as the contest's final marquee stage in the tight contest.

• Janeese Lewis George tried to portray Kenyan McDuffie as soft on Trump, arguing his campaign had taken donations from supporters of the president, amounting to "tens of thousands of dollars" after a public match.
• To which McDuffie, whose stump speech often deploys the phrase "my fight is with Donald Trump," shot back, saying "99.9%" of his donors are Democrats. "She's engaging in a campaign of disinformation that is as Trump-like as you can get."

Zoom out: On the flip side, McDuffie claimed Lewis George is soft on crime, claiming her record on the D.C. Council backing progressive policing measures would make the city less safe.

• JLG called it "fearmongering," alluding several times to her previous work as a juvenile prosecutor.
• "Who do you trust to show up and fight for all residents?" Lewis George said.

When it comes to the top issue on voters' minds, Lewis George unequivocally called it affordability — not crime, which has declined in recent years.

• "When I talked to D.C. residents," she told reporters after the debate, "that's what they're complaining about."

McDuffie, who slams Lewis George for opposing youth curfew zones in the face of disruptive mass teen gatherings, told reporters it's "hard to say," that public safety and high prices come up across the board. "It really depends where you go," McDuffie said.

• "We need to keep people safe," he said. "And that's the No. 1 priority."

See Axios D.C.'s voter guide with all seven candidates