'My skin crawled': Hillary Clinton describes a feeling every woman will recognize

"What Happened," Hillary Clinton's book about the 2016 campaign, won't be out until mid-September - but we got a sneak peek Wednesday morning when MSNBC aired a short excerpt from the audio version.

Clinton, who reads the audiobook herself, describes a moment in the campaign that every voter will remember - and a feeling that every woman will recognize.

She recalls the second presidential debate last October, when she and Donald Trump faced off on a small stage in St. Louis - and Trump stood uncomfortably close to her as she spoke.

"This is not OK," I thought. It was the second presidential debate and Donald Trump was looming behind me. Two days before, the world heard him brag about groping women. Now we were on a small stage, and no matter where I walked he followed me closely, staring at me, making faces. It was incredibly uncomfortable. He was literally breathing down my neck. My skin crawled.

It was one of those moments where you wish you could hit pause and ask everyone watching: Well, what would you do? Do you stay calm, keep smiling and carry on as if he weren't repeatedly invading your space? Or do you turn, look him in the eye and say loudly and clearly, "Back up, you creep. Get away from me. I know you love to intimidate women, but you can't intimidate me, so back up."



>>Here is a look back at reactions during and after election night... "My skin crawled," Hillary Clinton writes, recalling her second presidential debate with Donald Trump.

>>Here is a look back at reactions during and after election night... "My skin crawled," Hillary Clinton writes, recalling her second presidential debate with Donald Trump. Photo: Rick T. Wilking, Associated Press Photo: Rick T. Wilking, Associated Press Image 1 of / 42 Caption Close 'My skin crawled': Hillary Clinton describes a feeling every woman will recognize 1 / 42 Back to Gallery

Not every woman has felt Donald Trump hovering behind her on national television. But we've all felt that skin-crawling discomfort when a man gets just a little too close - when he's suddenly right there in our personal space, leaning or looming or even touching. Whether he intends to intimidate or threaten or just throw us off our game, it feels uncomfortable and dangerous.

And every woman has asked herself: Should I try to smile and stay cool, not make a big deal out of it? Or should I say something and risk making a scene?

Clinton continues:

I chose option A. I kept my cool, aided by a lifetime of dealing with difficult men trying to throw me off. I did, however, grip the microphone extra hard.

I wonder, though, whether I should have chosen option B. It certainly would have been better TV.

Maybe I have over-learned the lesson of staying calm, biting my tongue, digging my fingernails into a clenched fist, smiling all the while, determined to present a composed face to the world.

Did I do the right thing? Should have I told that creep to back off, or was it smarter to smile and endure? Much of Clinton's life has been unlike anyone else's, but the experience she describes here is practically universal for women. And now, just like the rest of us, she's second-guessing her own reaction.

Read more about the book.