Hillary Clinton says Trump made her “skin crawl” during debates in her new book

In her forthcoming memoir about the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton says that Trump made her “skin crawl” during their second debate. You might remember which debate she’s talking about — it was the one where Donald Trump wandered around the stage, often approaching Clinton while she was speaking. It was obvious enough during the entire campaign that the two candidates didn’t get along. But in her new book, What Happened, Clinton does not hold back.

Here’s what she writes about the second debate:

"It was incredibly uncomfortable. He was literally breathing down my neck. My skin crawled. It was one of those moments where you wish you could hit pause and ask everyone watching, ‘Well, what would you do?’ Do you stay calm, keep smiling and carry on as if he weren’t repeatedly invading your space? 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.’

Oh, if only she had gone with her gut instinct and given her opponent a piece of her mind. Wherever you stand on the political spectrum, you have to admit his behavior on the debate stage that night was simply bizarre.

Remember, this debate came just two days after the release of the Access Hollywood tapes, on which Trump said he doesn’t hesitate to grab a woman he’s attracted to “by the pussy.” It wasn’t a great time for his campaign — and many people thought it would lose him the election.

Which might be why Clinton didn’t come with the thunder during the debate. She, like many other people, assumed that Trump’s antics would speak for themselves.

She added:

"I chose option A. I kept my cool, aided by a lifetime of dealing with difficult men trying to throw me off. I did, however, grip the microphone extra hard. I wonder, though, whether I should have chosen option B. It certainly would have been better TV. Maybe I have overlearned the lesson of staying calm, biting my tongue, digging my fingernails into a clenched fist, smiling all the while, determined to present a composed face to the world.

That’s something most women can likely relate to. If you’re feeling nostalgic for Clinton’s ability to deliver some sick burns, there are likely more in her book, which comes out on September 12.