Donald Trump answered press and social media critics who slammed him for appearing to skulk behind Hillary Clinton during their town hall-style debate last Sunday – accusing the Democratic nominee of invading his personal space.
In an interview Tuesday night on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor," Trump insisted "I never walked near her."
"Right after the debate they left and said 'oh, Donald was in her space,'" he said. "I was at her lectern and all of sudden she walks over and stands in front of me. … she came into my territory. … I never walked near her. She stands right in front of me. The next day, it was I was in her space. … This is typical Hillary Clinton. She's a phony person."
O'Reilly interjected, however, "It was the press who did it. The whole thing is ridiculous."
"It was the Hillary Clinton camp that spun the press, and it's part of the rigged system," Trump replied. "The press is a total extension. Look, if Hillary Clinton didn't have the press… she wouldn't be running. She would have lost immediately. But if she didn't have the press on her side, and it's a total fix job. If she didn't have it, she'd be at 10 percent right now. Nobody wants her. "
Asked if he felt "Saturday Night Live" post-debate spoof of him was "coordinated," Trump asserted: "They don't like what I stand for."
"Before I ran, I used to get great press," he declared. "My wife said the other day, she said 'you used to never get a bad story.' Well, I got some, but I got very few. Now I can be on the front page of the New York Times in three different stories, and every one of them is a hit job. … It's a very unfair press, but I knew it would be bad. I didn't know it would be this bad."
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