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Clinton recalls why she held back at the 2016 debate

In a CNN interview with Anderson Cooper, she says concern about being perceived as an angry woman shaped her response to Trump.

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CNN Story of November 4, 2026Trari Newsroom

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Why this story? One of CNN's most watched videos since yesterday, with 1,219,363 views.

'Back up, you creep': Hillary Clinton on what she could've said during 2016 debate

Hillary Clinton considered confronting Donald Trump as he stood behind her during their second presidential debate in 2016. What stopped her, she tells CNN's Anderson Cooper, was concern about how an angry response would be received.

Cooper, who co-moderated that debate, revisits the encounter with Clinton in a short interview posted on Election Day. Archival footage accompanies their recollections, before the conversation turns to her assessment of Trump today.

Clinton says she felt he was trying to intimidate her and present himself as the dominant person in the room. Asked how she would handle the encounter today, she recalls considering turning around and telling him to back away. Instead, she restrained herself, conscious of the scrutiny a woman candidate's anger could attract.

"And Lord knows we don't want an angry woman," she says sarcastically.

The clip also contains Clinton's sharply critical assessment of Trump's presidency. "Look, I think that he's lost the plot," she tells Cooper, arguing that he no longer has advisers who can restrain him. She also criticizes his proposals to renovate Washington landmarks, alongside footage of him speaking near the Reflecting Pool.

The interview gained about 1.2 million views since yesterday. It ends with Clinton joking that Cooper could have intervened at the debate by challenging Trump to a duel, prompting laughter from the panel.

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