In an excerpt from her upcoming book about the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton has stated that, during her time debating against Donald Trump, the republican nominee made her “skin crawl”.
As The Independent reports, excerpts from Clinton’s upcoming memoir “What Happened” were aired on MSNBC, and they described how uncomfortable Clinton felt during the second presidential debate with Trump. Many viewers noted at the time that, rather than remain in his seat as Clinton took live questions from the audience, Trump followed her around.
“This is not OK, I thought,” the excerpt reads. “It was the second presidential debate and Donald Trump was looming behind me.”
The debate occurred only two days after audio leaked of Trump bragging about groping women. “We were on a small stage and no matter where I walked, he followed me closely, staring at me, making faces. It was incredibly uncomfortable. He was literally breathing down my neck. My skin crawled,” writes Clinton. She continued, “It was one of those moments where you wish you could hit pause and ask everyone watching: ‘Well, what would you do?’ Do you stay calm, keep smiling and carry on as if he weren’t repeatedly invading your space? Or do you turn, look him in the eye and say loudly and clearly: ‘Back up, you creep. Get away from me. I know you love to intimidate women but you can’t intimidate me.’”
Clinton recalls she chose the first option but wondered if a more direct approach would have been better. “I kept my cool, aided by a lifetime of dealing with difficult men trying to throw me off,” she says. “It certainly would have been better TV, Maybe I have over-learned the lesson of staying calm, biting my tongue, digging my fingernails into a clenched fist, smiling all the while, determined to present a composed face to the world.”
Trump’s behavior was noted by viewers of the debate and many noted how Trump appeared as though he was stalking his political opponent. Regardless, Trump went on to win the presidential race and is now in the White House. Reflecting back on the loss, Clinton writes: “Every day that I was a candidate for president, I knew that millions of people were counting on me and I couldn’t bear the idea of letting them down. But I did,” she says. “I couldn’t get the job done.”
Hillary Clinton’s memoir “What Happened” is due to be released on September 12.
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