National

Donald Trump won’t bring Flowers to the debate, Mike Pence says

By William Douglas

wdouglas@mcclatchydc.com

September 25, 2016 12:25 PM

Republican vice presidential candidate Indiana Gov. Mike Pence speaks during the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition's Annual Family Fall Banquet, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, in Des Moines, Iowa. He said Sunday that Donald Trump won’t bring Gennifer Flowers to the first presidential debate against Hillary Clinton Monday. Charlie Neibergall AP
WASHINGTON

Gennifer Flowers, whose claim of an affair with Bill Clinton nearly sank his 1992 White House run, will not be in the audience at Monday’s presidential debate as Donald Trump’s guest, his campaign said Sunday.

"Gennifer Flowers will not be attending the debate tomorrow night," Mike Pence, Trump’s running mate, said on "Fox News Sunday."

The will-she-or-won’t-she attend flap began after Hillary Clinton’s campaign reportedly invited Mark Cuban, a Trump critic and owner of the National Basketball Association’s Dallas Mavericks, to the debate.

Trump responded with a tweet Saturday that suggested if Clinton brings Cuban, he’d have Flowers sit in the front row next to Cuban at Monday’s debate at Hofstra University in New York.

September 24, 2016
">

But Pence and other Trump campaign officials hit the Sunday news show circuit and walked back Trump’s tweet, saying he wasn’t serious about having Flowers at the debate.

"Donald Trump was using the tweet yesterday really to mock an effort by Hillary Clinton and her campaign to really distract attention from what the American people are going to be focused tomorrow night, which is on the issues, on the choice that we face," Pence told Fox News’ Chris Wallace.

Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, speaking on CNN’s "State of the Union" Sunday, said "we have not invited (Flowers) formally and we don't expect her to there as a guest of the Trump campaign."

Just got a front row seat to watch

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban in Sept. 22 tweet

However, she said that Trump’s tweet put Clinton and Cuban "on notice that we could certainly invite guests that may get into the head of Hillary Clinton."

Rumors of a lengthy affair between Flowers and Clinton almost derailed his 1992 presidential campaign. He denied the allegations then, but later admitted under oath in 1998 to having a sexual encounter with her.

As for Flowers, she wouldn’t mind being at Hofstra University Monday night. A Flowers personal assistant told BuzzFeed Saturday that “Ms. Flowers has agreed to join Donald at the debate.”