Trump: I’ll hit ‘harder’; Clinton buoyant in N.C.
Republican says he’ll bring up Bill; Democrat rips his debate outing.
Donald Trump on Tuesday said Hillary Clinton did not get under his skin during their first debate and suggested that he may “hit her harder” in their next encounter by raising the subject of former President Bill Clinton’s infidelities.
“I really eased up because I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings,” Trump said on Fox News, contending that he would have brought up “the many affairs that Bill Clinton had” but held back because the Clintons’ daughter Chelsea was in the audience.
“I didn’t think it was worth the shot,” he said. “I didn’t think it was nice.”
Trump’s provocative post-debate comments, including new jabs he took at a former Miss Universe about her weight and complaints that his microphone
was malfunctioning, kept the focus on the GOP nominee’s defensive performance during Monday’s event at Hofstra University on Long Island.
For her part, an ebullient Clinton told reporters that she had a “great, great time.”
“The real point is about temperament and fitness and qualification to hold the most important, hardest job in the world, and I think people saw last night some very clear differences between us,” the Democratic nominee said en route to a campaign appearance in North Carolina.
The former secretary of state declined to respond to Trump’s suggestion that he might go after her husband’s personal life.
“He can run his campaign however he chooses,” Clin- ton said. “I will continue to talk about what I want to do for the American people.”
She added. “Anybody who complains about the micro- phone is not having a good night.”
Speaking later at the Raleigh campaign event, she criticized Trump’s performance in the debate, the first of three between the presidential contenders.
“He made very clear that he didn’t prepare for that debate,” she said, noting that he was critical of her decision to take time out from campaign appearances to get ready.
“Just trying to keep track of everything he says took a lot of time,” she said.
Clinton said many of Trump’s debate comments didn’t make sense.
“What I’ve heard from my opponent is dangerously incoherent,” she said, referring to his take on foreign policy issues. “It’s unclear exactly what he’s saying.”
Clinton also repeated her debate claim that Trump does not appear to pay federal taxes, again calling on the billionaire to release his tax returns.
Trump maintained that the Democratic nominee did not unnerve him.
“No, not at all,” he said on Fox News. “I didn’t see it that way.”
But he allowed that he was irritated “at the end, maybe” when Clinton brought up Trump’s treatment of Ali- cia Machado, a woman from Venezuela who was crowned the 1996 Miss Universe at age 19.
“She was the worst we ever had,” Trump said on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends,” adding: “She gained a mas- sive amount of weight, and it was a real problem.”
The Clinton campaign moved quickly to capital ize on the issue, releasing a web video featuring Machado, who said Trump called her “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping.”
The ad also features footage from the 1990s of Trump saying in an interview that Machado went from 117 or 118 pounds to 160 or 170: “So this is somebody that likes to eat.”
Sen. Tim Kaine, Clinton’s running mate, told “CBS This Morning” that the night showed Trump can be “easily rattled.”
“That was very, very apparent throughout the debate,” he said. “And the longer the debate went on, the more apparent that was.”
Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s campaign manager, said that voters will see Trump as a “changemaker,” praising the real estate developer for being “polite and a gentleman.”
Conway told CNN that Trump was prepared to bring up Bill Clinton’s marital indis- cretions during the debate, but that he made “a split-sec- ond spontaneous decision” not to raise the issue.
That will earn him points with female voters, she said.
“I thi nk that whole exchange will grow in impor- tance over the next couple of days,” she said. “Women will like that.” The clash came at a critical juncture in the campaign. With six weeks until Elec- tion Day, and with voters in some states already starting to cast ballots, polls show Clinton’s summer lead has all but evaporated. Trump is effectively tied in many of the battleground states where Clinton had enjoyed comfortable leads.
For his part, Trump said he was pleased with the points he made on immigration, trade and jobs in the first half hour of the debate. He gave his Democratic rival a “C-plus” when asked to gradeher performance, but declined to grade himself, saying: “I know I did better than Hillary.” Despite his apparent sniffles throughout the night, Trump s aid he did not have a cold or allergies. He blamed the noises on his microphone, which he said could not be heard well in the room.
“I don’t want to believe in conspiracy theories, of course,” Trump said. “But it was much lower than hers, and it was crackling.”