Warren: I Won’t Let Trump Do a ‘Handsy Thing’ with Me on Debate Stage

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) told supporters on the campaign trail over the weekend that no one will do a “handsy thing” with her on the debate stage, harkening to claims Hillary Clinton made in her book What Happened, accusing President Trump of trying to intimidate her during a town hall-style debate in 2016.

“I’m gonna start with—I know how to fight and I know how to win,” Warren told supporters in Seattle, Washington. “And—you don’t back down from a bully. You just, you have to be willing to lay into this, right?”

“And nobody’s gettin’ behind me on a debate stage and doing a handsy thing,” she continued, referring to Trump. “That’s not happening”:

Warren was seemingly referring to the second presidential debate of 2016, which did not feature podiums, thus allowing the candidates – Trump and Clinton – to walk around as they answered questions:

Clinton later revealed in her book What Happened that she believed that Trump was attempting to intimidate her by walking around and added that she felt “incredibly uncomfortable”:

This is not OK, I thought. It was the second presidential debate and Donald Trump was looming behind me. Two days before, the world heard him brag about groping women. Now we were on a small stage and no matter where I walked, he followed me closely, staring at me, making faces. It was incredibly uncomfortable.

“Well, what would you do? Do you stay calm, keep smiling and carry on as if he weren’t repeatedly invading your space?” she asked.

“Or do you turn, look him in the eye and say loudly and clearly: ‘Back up you creep, get away from me. I know you love to intimidate women, but you can’t intimidate me, so back up,'” she added.

As recent polls suggest, Warren is on the rise among Democrats. A Monmouth University Poll released Monday showed the Massachusetts senator tied for first place with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) with 20 percent support each. Joe Biden (D) fell to third place with 19 percent support. However, with a margin of error of +/- 5.7 percent, the three are statistically tied.