(ZHE) We previously observed that among the reasons why last night’s debate broke all TV and social media popularity records, was Donald Trump’s recurring sniffling, which promptly became a viral phenomenon and was dubbed #Trumpsniffle on Twitter. While the discourse was mostly in good humor, and some say Trump had it coming after all the focus on Hillary’s health – with good reason – over the past month, things escalated last night when democrat Howard Dean suggested that Trump is sniffing because he may be a “coke user.”

Moments ago, Dean appears on MSNBC where he was asked to explain the comment and whether he would apologize and delete his tweet. His answer: “no, absolutely”, and added that “the sniffling, the grandiosity, the delusions, the pressured speech — you know, this guy’s already proven himself to be unstable, the question is, why is he unstable?”

The full exchange below.

KATE SNOW: Why did you go there?

HOWARD DEAN: Well, you can’t make a diagnosis over the television, I would never do that, but he has some interesting — that is actually a signature of people who use cocaine. I’m not suggesting that Trump does…

KATE SNOW: Well, you are suggesting it, actually, in a tweet.

HOWARD DEAN: No, I’m suggesting we think about it, because here’s the interesting constellation — he sniffs during the presentation, which is something that users do, he also has grandiosity, which is something that accompanies that problem, he has delusions — I’m not talking about being crazy, but for example when he told everybody he was very smart not to pay taxes then denied he said it after he said it in front of a hundred million people, it’s not that he’s delusory about it, it’s that he thinks somehow he’s not going to get caught. That is delusional. He has trouble with pressured speech. He interrupted, as you pointed out, Hillary Clinton 29 times, he couldn’t keep himself together. So look, do I think at 70 years old he has a cocaine habit? Probably not, but you know, it’s something I think it’d be interesting to ask him and see if he ever had a problem with that.

KATE SNOW: So, as a physician and as a medical person yourself, you’re suggesting that we ought to look at whether the Republican candidate for president has a cocaine habit.

HOWARD DEAN: No, I don’t think he has a cocaine habit, but again I don’t make any diagnoses over the television. I don’t, I think that’s wrong, I think doctors shouldn’t do it, doctors have done it in the past and they shouldn’t do it. But I just was struck by the sniffing and then by his behavior, which all sort of came together, these four symptoms. Do I think he has a cocaine habit? I think it’s unlikely that you could mount a presidential campaign at 70 years old with a cocaine habit, but it was pretty striking.

HOWARD DEAN: Something funny was going on with Trump last night. Do I think it was cocaine? Probably not. But again, the sniffling, the grandiosity, the delusions, the pressured speech — you know, this guy’s already proven himself to be unstable, the question is, why is he unstable?

KATE SNOW: You’re not going to delete the tweet? You’re not going to — you don’t regret it? And…

HOWARD DEAN: No.

KATE SNOW: — you don’t apologize for it, is that right?

HOWARD DEAN: No, absolutely right.