Donald Trump Donald John TrumpBubba Wallace to be driver of Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin NASCAR team Graham: GOP will confirm Trump's Supreme Court nominee before the election Southwest Airlines, unions call for six-month extension of government aid MORE stoked speculation on Friday that he may have intentionally been given a faulty microphone at Monday’s debate.



Speaking at a rally in Novi, Mich., Trump said that dealing with audio problems at the Hofstra University debate was more of a challenge than taking on rival Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonJoe Biden looks to expand election battleground into Trump country Biden leads Trump by 12 points among Catholic voters: poll The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden goes on offense MORE.



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“Working that microphone was a hell of a lot more difficult than working crooked Hillary Clinton, that I can tell you,” Trump said. “They just announced …. that the microphone in the auditorium, the big room, was defective, and it was difficult. And when you have a situation like that and you know it’s bad and you think you have 100 million people watching, what do you do, stop the show? Please fix it.”“I wonder why it was bad?” Trump continued. “Think of it. I wonder why it was bad? It was so bad.”The Commission on Presidential Debates issued a one-sentence statement Friday admitting "issues" with Donald Trump’s audio within the venue, but the group did not provide any details or say whether the technical difficulties extended to Trump’s microphone. Any problems did not appear to affect the debate's broadcast."Regarding the first debate, there were issues regarding Donald Trump's audio that affected the sound level in the debate hall," the statement said.Trump argued after the debate that his microphone was defective.He has said the debate was a “rigged deal” and his allies have railed against moderator Lester Holt, believing he unfairly fact-checked Trump while passing on tough questions for Clinton.Polls show Clinton was the resounding victor in the debate, and she has mocked Trump for making excuses about his performance."Anybody who complains about the microphone is not having a good night," Clinton told reporters this week.