The White House laughed off Donald Trump’s suggestion that he and Hillary Clinton should undergo drug testing before the final presidential debate.

Press secretary Josh Earnest ridiculed the idea during the White House daily press briefing on Monday.

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“So you’re telling me that the candidate who snorted his way through the first two debates is accusing the other candidate of taking drugs?” Mr Earnest told reporters. “That’s a curious development in the campaign.”

When reporters continued to press Mr Earnest, asking if he was suggesting that Mr Trump was actually taking drugs, he walked back the remark.

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“Just trying to have a little fun,” he said. “You guys are so serious today.”

Mr Trump proposed that the two candidates take drug tests during his Saturday appearance in Las Vegas.

“I think we should take a drug test prior to the debate,” he said. “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.”

Speculation arose after the first debate at Hofstra University last month, as Mr Trump sniffed regularly through his delivery. Former Vermont governor Howard Dean came under fire after he tweeted his thoughts about the cause.