WASHINGTON, D.C. — White House spokesman Josh Earnest had a sharp response when asked about Donald Trump’s suggestion the presidential candidates take drug tests ahead of Wednesday’s debate.
“You’re telling me that the candidate who snorted his way through the first two debates is accusing the other candidate of taking drugs? That’s a curious development in the campaign,” Earnest said.
Later Earnest clarified that he was “just trying to have a little fun” and that he wasn’t implying Trump himself used an illegal substance ahead of the presidential debates.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Earnest’s remarks.
Trump suggested Saturday that his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, has been “getting pumped up” with performance-enhancing drugs. He challenged Clinton to take a drug test before the final debate next week.
“I think we should take a drug test prior to the debate,” Trump said during a rally in New Hampshire. “Because I don’t know what’s going on with her, but at the beginning of her last debate, she was all pumped up at the beginning, and at the end it was like, huff, take me down. She could barely reach her car.”
Trump continued: “A lot of things are going on, folks. A lot of things. I think she’s actually getting pumped, you want to know the truth? She’s getting pumped up,” Trump said Saturday. “She’s getting pumped up for Wednesday.”
The Clinton campaign responded to Trump’s comments by saying the Republican nominee is trying to depress voter turnout by his “shameful attempts to undermine an election weeks before it happens.”
