"I will demand an apology from Hillary. She should apologize," he told TODAY's Matt Lauer on Monday. "She lies about emails, she lies about Whitewater, she lies about everything. She will be a disaster about everything as president of the United States."

As Rick Moran noted yesterday, Hillary Clinton’s Saturday night debate claim that videos of Donald Trump are being used by ISIS as a recruiting tool is false. No such videos can be produced. This morning, speaking by phone with Matt Lauer on Today, Trump demanded an apology (video below):

Lauer did his best to play defense, leading with Trump’s own claim of videos showing tens of thousands of American Muslims celebrating 9/11. But Trump brushed past that, claiming it was true.

This puts Hillary in a very awkward place. Does she try to brazen through, the way Trump does? If so, will it work for her? My guess is that it will not, that a double standard will apply – the politician (Hillary) being held to a different standard than the outsider (Trump). This will knock her off balance, to say the least.

Trump has shown a masterful ability to get inside his opponents’ heads. I suspect that he is doing exactly that with Hillary. She is in a no win situation here. If she tries to Trump her way through this, she will come off badly. But if she apologizes (which is not in her nature, save for extra-long bathroom breaks), she looks weak. Especially when compared to Trump. In a context of world affairs where Americans are yearning for a strong leader to protect us.

The Clinton campaign is already rattled. Watch campaign spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri display anxiety as she stumbles through an explanation for Hillary’s incorrect claim.