Robby Mook, Hillary Clinton's campaign manager, tweaked Donald Trump on his debate performance. | AP Photo Clinton camp: Trump ‘spiraled out at the end of the debate’

Hillary Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said Donald Trump “spiraled out at the end of the debate” Monday night as faced tough questions from moderator Lester Holt and attacks from the former secretary of state.

“We saw him to begin to unwind and become unhinged. And as you pointed out, by the end of the debate, that temperament that we're all concerned about, that inability to, you know, think clearly and make good judgments, it just came out,” Mook said of Trump’s performance in an interview on CNN’s “New Day.”


“You know, he just doesn't have the temperament to be president of the United States. You think about if Donald Trump were to sit in the situation room for an hour or 90 minutes and unwind this way,” he added. “I mean, I think it was a huge warning sign. I think that's why, two to one, people think Hillary won this debate.”

Perhaps the biggest blow landed by Clinton Monday night came late in the debate, when she attacked Trump’s history of derogatory remarks against women. In a post-debate spin room interview, Trump said he had considered responding by raising Bill Clinton’s history of marital infidelities but opted against it because the couple’s daughter, Chelsea Clinton, was in the room and Trump though such a comment would be disrespectful.

Tuesday morning, Mook dismissed that potential line of attack from Trump, as well as the Manhattan billionaire’s threat that he may use it in subsequent debates. The Clinton campaign manager said Trump was reverting to his primary debate form as a bully because he was lacking on substance on the debate stage.

“You know, Donald Trump is a great reality television star, that's where his career really went to the next step. This is -- it's such an obvious dodge. He spiraled out at the end of the debate and so, of course, he wants to bully,” Mook said. “And so he wants to talk about the supposed indiscretions. The American people want to hear how someone's going to create jobs, how they’re going to help them afford education and health care. And he came with no plans. He came with no substance and he had no command of the issues. So this is his way of wallpapering that.”

“Trump wants to talk about anything but the actual issues that people care about and that's because he didn't prepare,” he added. “He didn't show up ready to talk about the things that matter in people's lives, and it's unfortunate. We'll see what he does next.”