Donald Trump had a lot more to say during his first presidential debate against Hillary Clinton. The GOP candidate, 70, revealed why he decided to hold back during an interview with CNN.
“Everything I wanted to say I got out except for the transgressions of Bill,” Trump told journalist Dana Bash after the debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, on Monday, September 26. “I’m very happy that I was able to hold back on the indiscretions with respect to Bill Clinton, because I have a lot of respect for Chelsea Clinton and I just didn’t want to say what I was going to say.”
As previously reported, the media mogul suggested that he was going to give Bill’s former mistress Gennifer Flowers a front row seat to the debate. Flowers replied to Trump via Twitter, and wrote that she was in his “corner.” Trump’s team, however, denied that they actually extended an invitation.
“We have not invited her formally, and we do not expect her to be there as a guest of the Trump campaign,” Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway told CNN on Monday.
Still, Trump teased that he may bring up Bill’s past next time around. “Maybe I’ll tell you at the next debate,” he told Bash. “We’ll see. But I’m very happy.”
Trump’s decision to leave Bill out of the debate on Monday may have something to do with Chelsea’s connection to his eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump. Chelsea, 36, and the businesswoman, 34, have been friends for years.
Earlier this month, Chelsea opened up about their history. “We were friends long before this election; we will be friends long after this election,” she said during an appearance on The View. “[Our friendship] certainly is not going to end because of politics. I have tremendous respect for Ivanka. I love her family. She’s a working mom like I am. We have so much more in common than we have disagreement about.”
Relive some of the craziest moments from the debate in the videos above.
