Getty Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump shake hands after the second presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, on October 9, 2016.
In her new book, Hillary Clinton says President Donald Trump made her “skin crawl” and referred to him as a “creep.”
The book, titled “What Happened,” is set to be released September 12. But before that, Clinton and the book’s publishers gave a preview of what’s inside when they released an except to NBC News.
In the excerpt, Clinton speaks about a presidential debate she and Trump had October 9 on the campus of Hofstra University. The debate came just days after a tape was released that had an audio recording of Trump bragging to Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush about grabbing women “by the p***y”.”
“It was the second presidential debate and Donald Trump was looming behind me,” she said. “Two days before, the world heard him brag about groping women, now 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.”
Clinton said at that point, she weighed her options of what to do next.
“Do you stay calm, keep smiling and carry on as if he weren’t repeatedly invading your personal 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, so back up,” she says. “I chose option A, I kept my cool — aided by a lifetime of dealing with difficult men trying to throw me off.
“I did, however, grip the microphone extra hard. I wonder, though, whether I should have chosen option B, it certainly would have been better TV. Maybe I’ve 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.”
Listen to Clinton reading the excerpt in the video below:
Prior to that second debate, Trump tried to go on the offensive and change the subject from the damning Access Hollywood audio. He held a press conference with three women who accused Bill Clinton of having inappropriate sexual behavior.
During the debate, Trump refused to say that he would accept the results of the November 8 election, claiming the political process is rigged against him. In addition to that claim, he accused the FBI and the media of conspiring to back Clinton.
Clinton called Trump’s answer to a question from debate moderator Chris Wallace about the peaceful transfer of power as “horrifying,” accusing him of “talking down our democracy.
Clinton continuously labeled Trump as a dangerous candidate and referred to him as a “puppet” of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Watch the full debate in the video below.
