Was Donald Trump‘s sniffling a conspiracy to make him look bad?
Yes, maybe, according to the Republican nominee, who has denied sniffling at all despite video evidence and tens of millions of witnesses who heard otherwise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BJjUv_TD2E
Asked about his sniffling during an interview with Fox & Friends on Tuesday morning, Trump said there was “no sniffling” while also claiming that “the mic was very bad,” which may have led to an inaccurate amplification of his breathing.
Trump Started The Debate Sniffling And Now People Are Concerned For His Health https://t.co/dsh33Rt6vt pic.twitter.com/tPRLYxPxsb
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) September 27, 2016
Trump expressed his theory that his mic was intentionally rigged almost immediately after the debate, telling reporters in the spin room, “They gave me a defective mic!” He added, “[I] wonder, was that on purpose?”
Video: @realDonaldTrump says Holt did “fine job,” claims his mic was “defective” pic.twitter.com/dLpPgv55SU
— Mosheh Oinounou (@Mosheh) September 27, 2016
Trump’s mic theory and sniffles denial comes amid a string of polls and focus groups that found Democratic rival Hillary Clinton “won” the first presidential debate, despite efforts from Trump’s supporters on 4chan and Reddit to weight the polls in their candidate’s favor.
Neither the Trump campaign nor the Commission on Presidential Debates, which produced the event, immediately responded to a request for comment.