London - Donald Trump threatened to bring a woman Bill Clinton had an affair with to a television debate with Hillary Clinton.
Trump slated Clinton-invitee Mark Cuban on Twitter by calling him “dopey” and threatened to bring Mr Clinton's former lover, Gennifer Flowers, to the debate. He said in a tweet: “If dopey Mark Cuban of failed Benefactor fame wants to sit in the front row, perhaps I will put Gennifer Flowers right alongside of him!” The tweet was published with Ms Flower's first name mispelled, deleted, and then republished with the correct spelling.
Later, the Trump campaign said Flowers had not been “formally invited” to attend the debate, The Guardian quotes campaign manager Kellyanne Conway as saying: “I can’t believe how easily the Clinton campaign was baited.”
Flowers had a reported affair with Mr Clinton while he was governor of Arkansas, which briefly threatened to derail his presidential campaign at the time.
An influential businessman and fellow billionaire, Cuban has publicly criticised Trump in the past – repeatedly attacking him for not releasing his tax returns and calling him “batshit crazy”.
“Trump scares me,” Cuban said after announcing his support for Ms Clinton. “Donald, initially, I really hoped he would be something different, that as a businessperson, I thought there was an opportunity there. But then he went off the reservation and went batshit crazy.”
One Clinton aide told CNN that Cuban was invited to the front row of the event because “he has proven to be singularly effective in making the case against Trump and for Clinton.”
If dopey Mark Cuban of failed Benefactor fame wants to sit in the front row, perhaps I will put Gennifer Flowers right alongside of him!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2016
After Trump's statement, Flowers said on social media she would come to the debate. Her assistant later confirmed to Buzzfeed that Flowers would accept an invitation from Trump to sit in the front at the event.
Trump recently released a negative campaign advertisement featuring brief footage of Mr Clinton being interviewed about Flowers in 1992.
Following the exchange, Ms Clinton's communications director said: “Hillary Clinton plans on using the debate to discuss the issues that make a difference in people's lives. It's not surprising that Donald Trump has chosen a different path.”
It is unclear whether the Commission on Presidential Debates, which is organising the event, will allow either Flowers or Cuban to sit in the front row as it may disrupt the discussion.
The Independent
* The debate will be televised live on DStv (channels CNN, BBC World News and AlJazeera) at 3am South African time, Tuesday September 27. - IOL