What Hillary Clinton was thinking during her second debate with Trump
Clinton's interview with "CBS Sunday Morning's" Jane Pauley will air at 9 a.m. Eastern.
Since Hillary Clinton lost her second bid for the presidency in November, she's had ample time to reflect on the decisions she made during the campaign and wondering what, if anything, she could have done to keep the presidency from slipping out of her grasp.
One of the campaign's pivotal moments was the second presidential debate, in which she faced Donald Trump just two days after the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape was released. The tape revealed the GOP nominee using crude language about women and talking about grabbing them in a vulgar manner.
In her memoir, "What Happened," which will be released Tuesday, Clinton described how it felt to be on the small stage as candidate Trump "followed me closely, staring at me, making faces. It was incredibly uncomfortable," she wrote. "He was literally breathing down my neck. My skin crawled."
During an interview with CBS News' Jane Pauley on "CBS Sunday Morning" -- the first televised interview Clinton has granted since she lost the election -- the Democratic nominee talked about what raced through her mind and the reactions she considered as she stood on the stage in St. Louis.
"It was so discombobulating," she told Pauley at her home in Chappaqua, New York. "And so -- while I'm answering questions, my mind is going, 'OK, do I keep my composure? Do I act like a president? Am I the person that people can trust in the end to make hard decisions?' Or do I wheel around and say, 'Get outta my space. Back up, you creep.' Well, you know, I didn't do the latter."
"But I -- I thought -- you know, people say, 'Well, we don't know her,' and I think my composure, which I have developed over years being in the public eye -- has well-equipped me for being a leader, because you should keep your cool and you should be steady and predictable," Clinton said. "But I think in this time we're in, particularly in this campaign, you know, maybe I missed a few chances."
In "What Happened," Clinton details her experience of becoming the first woman nominated for president by a major party in an election "marked by rage, sexism, exhilarating highs and infuriating lows, stranger-than-fiction twists, Russian interference, and an opponent who broke all the rules," says publisher Simon & Schuster.
Pauley and the former secretary of state discuss Clinton's bid for the White House campaign, her thoughts on President Trump, Russian hacking, former FBI Director James Comey's effect on the race and her life since Election Day 2016.
The interview will be broadcast Sunday, Sept. 10 (9:00 a.m. ET; check your local TV listings) on "CBS Sunday Morning."
