Report: Clinton Requested to Skip Pre-Debate Handshakes Between Her Family and Trump’s

Protocol for the third presidential debate has been changed tonight, and it might be a sign of the extreme political nastiness yet to come.

As the hours wind down before Hillary Clinton‘s Las Vegas face-off with Donald Trump, sources have reportedly told The New York Times that she requested a change to the pre-debate setup. According to these sources, Clinton requested separate entrances to the debate hall so that her family will not greet the Trump family or encounter them face-to-face.

Debate observers noticed at the second debate that neither Clinton nor Trump offered each other a handshake when they arrived on stage. This came as a stark contrast to how Bill Clinton shook hands with Melania Trump and her family at previous debates.

It is likely that Mrs. Clinton’s request is a response to how Trump invited her husband’s sexual abuse accusers to accompany his family at the previous debate. Trump tried to have the women follow his family so that the former president would be forced to meet them, but the Commission on Presidential Debates killed the stunt at the last minute.

The new arrangement will allow the Clinton and Trump parties to get close to their seats without any need to cross the room.

Since Trump has brought President Obama‘s estranged half-brother and Benghazi mother Pat Smith as his debate guests, indications suggest that this debate will get very messy very fast.

[Image via screengrab]

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