Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., experienced her own "Please clap!" moment on Monday when an expected applause line fell flat.

During a CNN town hall in New Hampshire for students, the Democratic 2020 presidential candidate responded to a question about how she planned to appeal to disaffected middle-class voters from the heartland who cast ballots for President Trump in 2016.

"I guess you look at what I've done, and that is that I am someone that runs in a purple state," Klobuchar said of Minnesota. "Every single time I have run, I have won every single congressional district in my state, including Michele Bachmann's."

After a slight pause, Klobuchar added to laughter: "It's when you guys are supposed to cheer, OK?"

[Related: Please clap 2.0: Howard Schultz encourages applause at his first policy speech]

Bachmann, a Tea Party Republican, served Minnesota's 6th Congressional District from 2007 to 2015.

The exchange was reminiscent of a moment during the GOP primary contest for the 2016 presidential campaign. Former Republican Florida Gov. Jeb Bush popularized the phrase "Please clap!" when he used it during a New Hampshire campaign event, held as part of his unsuccessful bid for the presidency, to engender applause. The viral moment fed into Trump's preferred dis for Bush: "low-energy."

Klobuchar had better luck when she joked with host Chris Cuomo as she was trying to wrap up an answer to a query regarding rural voters and climate change.

"I feel you creeping over my shoulder. Not in a Trumpian manner," she said, referring to how the president appeared behind Democratic 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during their second debate.

On a more serious note, Klobuchar, a former prosecutor, said special counsel Robert Mueller included some “very disturbing things” in his report on the federal Russia investigation's findings that “would lead you to believe" Trump obstructed justice by attempting to interfere with the various government probes.

"If the House brings the impeachment proceedings before us, we will deal with them," she said.

Klobuchar, one of about 20 Democrats running for the right to challenge Trump next year for the White House, has about 1.8% support nationwide, according to RealClearPolitics' polling average.

[Read more: Amy Klobuchar releases more than a decade of tax returns]