The first presidential debate of the 2016 election is officially on the books after Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump squared off in easily one of the most bizarre debates in the history of televising these events. Republican nominee Donald Trump floundered his way through much of the debate, then later praised himself for doing the classy thing by holding back and not bringing up Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky.
In a post-debate interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity (whose name Trump could barely stop dropping during the debate itself), Trump said, "I didn’t want to say—her husband was in the room along with her daughter, who I think is a very nice young lady—and I didn’t want to say what I was going to say about what’s been going on in their life."
Harping on a point he couldn't seem to let go of during the debate, Trump told Hannity that he could have unleashed Bill Clinton's affair because Hillary Clinton has been so "mean" to him throughout the campaign. "I decided not to say it," he said. "I thought it would be very disrespectful to Chelsea and maybe to the family. But she said very bad things about me... it’s a disgrace."
Shortly after the interview with Hannity, Trump praised himself yet again for not brining up the affair during Monday's debate.
Trump's camp, short of actual highlights from the debate to focus on during their spin, focused heavily on how great Trump was for not talking about Bill Clinton's affair.
During an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said,
I have to say, certainly as a woman, I appreciated the restraint at the end, and I am not sure I would have been able to exercise it myself. To tell Hillary Clinton after she accused him about women, and I was prepared to go rough tonight and I am not going to do it because of your husband and daughter are here, and that’s a great temperament.
Don't worry, Donald. There's always next time to make an even bigger ass of yourself.
