They didn’t even fake a friendly greeting. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump did not shake hands before the third presidential debate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, on Wednesday, October 19, and neither did their spouses Bill Clinton and Melania Trump.
The former secretary of state, 68, and the business mogul, 70, each approached their podiums without any interaction and immediately began the Q&A portion moderated by Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace.
The presidential hopefuls engaged in the customary ritual at the start of the first presidential debate on September 26, but dropped the greeting at their second face-off on October 9 as the election became more contentious, with their spouses being drawn into the conversation.
The former president, 70, and the supermodel, 46, engaged in a friendly handshake at the last two meetings, but they, too, ditched the pre-debate protocol for the final battle before the November election.
According to The New York Times, the former first lady’s campaign requested a different set-up so her husband could avoid Trump’s family this time around. The move comes after the Republican presidential nominee concocted a plan to bring three women who accused Bill of sexual assault into the family section at the second debate, which would’ve meant the former president would have had to shake hands with them. However, the Commission on Presidential Debates intervened, and the women sat with the rest of the ticketed audience instead.