HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Donald Trump has a cold. Or at least something gave him the sniffles.
The Republican nominee sniffled very loudly throughout much of the first general election debate Monday, eliciting a slew of comments and jokes on social media.
The hashtag #sniffle quickly become popular on Twitter, while some compared the audible breathing, or loud sniffing, to Al Gore’s sighing from the 2000 presidential debate. One Hillary Clinton supporter, former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, took it one step further, posting on Twitter: “Notice Trump sniffing all the time. Coke user?”
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the Republican nominee’s health or Dean’s question. Clinton did not bring it up during the debate.
On Tuesday, Trump floated the theory that debate moderators gave him a bad microphone on purpose. While on Fox and Friends, he said his mic at Monday’s debate was “terrible.”
WATCH: Trump’s sniffles drawing attention during first debate
Trump denied there was any sniffling. He said the microphone was very bad, “but maybe it was good enough to hear breathing. But there was no sniffles.”
The GOP presidential candidate said he doesn’t have a cold or allergies.
Trump told Fox News the microphone was going on and off and that his volume was lower than Hillary Clinton’s microphone.
WATCH: The best moments from Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump during the presidential debate
-
![]()
Clinton responds to Trump’s microphone complaint, says it’s a sign of a bad night -
![]()
Presidential debate: Clinton slams Trump telling him she’s been preparing to be president -
![]()
Presidential debate: Trump denies that he said climate change is a hoax -
![]()
Presidential debate: Clinton slams Trump over ‘racist birther lie’ -
![]()
Presidential debate: Hillary Clinton slams Trump’s ‘stamina’ comment with her lengthy resume -
![]()
Presidential debate: Trump’s sniffles drawing attention during first debate -
![]()
Presidential debate: Hillary Clinton implies Donald Trump doesn’t pay income taxes -
![]()
Presidential debate: Hillary Clinton calls out Trump’s ‘pigs, slobs, and dogs’ comments regarding women -
![]()
Presidential debate: Trump says Clinton ‘doesn’t have the stamina’ to be President -
![]()
Presidential debate: Clinton says a man who can be provoked by a tweet ‘shouldn’t have his finger near the nuclear codes’ -
![]()
Presidential debate: Trump denies support of invading Iraq -
![]()
Presidential debate: Donald Trump tells moderator Lester Holt he’s wrong on ‘stop and frisk’ -
![]()
Presidential debate: Donald Trump says Hillary Clinton has been fighting ISIS ‘her whole adult life’ -
![]()
Presidential debate: Trump calls NAFTA ‘the worst trade deal maybe ever signed, anywhere’
“I wonder, was it set up that way on purpose?” he asked.
“I don’t want to believe in conspiracy theories, but it was much lower than hers.”
His campaign manager Kellyann Conway told CNN that she heard from audience members that his mic sounded off. She said that from where she sat backstage, the mic sounded fine.
Trump’s claim about the microphone is far from the first time he has suggested that outside forces have conspired against him. He has warned his supporters several times that he believed he could lose in November because the general election would be “rigged.”
Still, Trump was less combative Monday when debate moderator Lester Holt asked the candidates if they will accept the outcome if the other wins the election.
If Clinton is victorious, Trump said, “I will absolutely support her.”
Comments