September 23, 2016, 02:46 pm
Clinton camp urges Lester Holt to push back on false statements from Trump
By Ben Kamisar
Hillary Clinton's Democratic presidential campaign implored debate moderator Lester Holt to hold Donald Trump accountable for untrue statements during Monday's debate, sending reporters 18 pages of debunked claims by the Republican nominee to tar him as a liar.
"Donald Trump has shown a clear pattern of repeating provably false lies hoping nobody will correct him," said Jennifer Palmieri, Clinton's communications director, during a call with reporters on Friday.
"This warrants a particular focus because his level of lying is unprecedented in American politics. He repeatedly and unabashedly fails to tell the truth to voters."
She then called on Holt to pay close attention to Trump's claims during Monday night's debate in New York and not be afraid to push back, arguing that Clinton can't be the only one doing so.
"For the moderator to let lies that come out of his mouth at this debate to go unchallenged would give Donald Trump an unfair advantage. We do believe it is the role of the moderator in this case to call out those lies and to do so in real time," Palmieri said.
"She will certainly do that and respond when he misrepresents her own record. But given the historic nature of how much Donald Trump lies, it cannot be only on her," Palmieri added of her boss.
There's been a concerted effort by both campaigns to pull Holt toward their side. Trump warned Holt on Thursday not to inject himself into the debate, evoking 2012 debate moderator Candy Crowley's decision to correct Mitt Romney during a debate against President Obama.
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/297498-clinton-camp-urges-lester-holt-to-push-back-on-false
